An ancestor b 1848 in Bedford avoided the census takers in 1881, 1891 and 1901 and also seems to have avoided having his death registered (unless he is still with us). He had a family in this period but his wife described herself to the census takers as head of household and joiner's wife. It would appear that he could have been using an alias and that his death was registered under the alias. Would he have been required to register the use of an alias? Was proof of true identity required when registering a death between, say 1900 - 1950? Ray Melbourne Aust. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Exclusive Xmas Game, help Santa with his celebrity party - http://santas-christmas-party.yahoo.net/

In message <20051222043445.70287.qmail@web26806.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>, Ray Valentine <wellsclanman@yahoo.co.uk> writes >An ancestor b 1848 in Bedford avoided the census >takers in 1881, 1891 and 1901 and also seems to have >avoided having his death registered (unless he is >still with us). Well, some people lived to surprising ages, but that would be a miracle. > >He had a family in this period but his wife described >herself to the census takers as head of household and >joiner's wife. Joiners, like other building workers, did get around the country - maybe he worked elsewhere and found another lady and stayed there. Maybe, of course, he emigrated. > >Would he have been required to register the use of an >alias? > No - whatever he wanted to call himself was fine, unless for purposes of fraud (i.e. he could not use William Ewart Gladstone and say he was Prime Minister, or Charles Dickens and say he wrote books.) >Was proof of true identity required when registering a >death between, say 1900 - 1950? No - the name you commonly used was the name you were buried under. > >Ray >Melbourne >Aust. > > > > > > > > > > > >___________________________________________________________ >Yahoo! Exclusive Xmas Game, help Santa with his celebrity party - http://santas- >christmas-party.yahoo.net/ > > >==== BEDFORD Mailing List ==== >The Bedfordshire Family History Page is at >http://www.bfhs.org.uk > -- Eve McLaughlin Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society