Hi Carolyn Death certificates can often be the hardest to find, because (a) death may have occurred in a different district than the person's normal abode, and (b) because even after the mid 1860s, when age was added to the index information, ages can be unreliable as informants were often only able to make an educated guess. Moreover, the death certificate itself offers rather sparse information, particularly for unmarried women, so deciding which is the "right certificate" can be tricky. So there is no way that either the GRO or a local Register Office will be able to tell for certain that a particular registration is "yours". Obtaining certificates from local Register Offices has become very much harder in recent years, as increased interest in family history has upped demand, whilst budgetary constraints have prevented extra staff being employed to deal with it. So most offices now require you to provide them with considerable detail (such as date and place of death) before they fulfil their statutory duty to supply a certificate. Plus, going down this route would still require you to apply for three certificates, but to three separate offices and possibly more, as the old West Ham registration district is split between three separate modern districts in Essex! So the GRO would be your best bet. As you say, you should get one certificate at a time and hope to get lucky before the third. It is possible to ask them only to supply the certificate only if it meets certain criteria (such as address at death or occupation etc). In your case I cannot see that there is any criterion which would guarantee to pick out your Jane, but you can specify that you only want the certificate if the person in question was a spinster. To do this, you need to check the "no" box when asked whether you have the GRO reference (even though you do), but enter the relevant year in the appropriate box. When you get to the details screen, enter only the required information (put the district in the place of death) then choose "single" in the marital status drop down box. Hope this helps! Caroline > > Could someone possibly point me in the right direction as to which > registry > office to use to apply for a death certificate please? If I use the GRO > I > think I will have to buy all 3 - or at least one at a time! > My ancestor was called Jane Ellen MOSS (but sometimes Jane Sarah Moss > as her > mother was called Sarah Ellen). She was born in Whitechapel July 1846 > and > lived around that area as a Staymaker all her life. I don't think she > ever > married and the last I can find of her is as a Boarder in Mile End Old > Town > in the 1901 census. > >From the GRO Indexes I have found the following deaths but am not sure > which > registry office to apply to to see if I have the correct one: > > 1. Apr-Jun 1902 Jane Ellen Moss Age 58 West Ham, Essex Vol 4a Pg 133 > (seems > the most likely but Essex puts me off) > 2. Jan-Mar 1911 Jane Moss Age 66 Barnett Vol 3a Pg 216 > 3. Jane Moss Jan-Mar 1913 Age 69 London City Vol 1c pg 1 > > Perhaps I should add that her sister Louisa, who Jane lived with (also > a > spinster Staymaker) died in 1886 in Middlesex Lunatic Asylum in > Banstead > (now Surrey) of TB so was moved out of the area. > > Best wishes for 2011 to you all. > > Carolyn >