Where I have the information regarding burials/cremations I have only ever found one relative's burial within less than seven days - indeed most were 10 days or more. I would therefore consider the eight day gap quoted by Jenny to be the norm, rather than to be caused by hospital research. If he was in hospital unexpectedly then after his death somebody would have to be found to pay for the funeral, or arrangements to be made for the burial, this could have caused a slight delay. The entry on Ancestry looks to be from the day or account book, so as well as the place being given as Mile End Old Town, the cause of death is Consumption. Also shown are the costs for the space and the people. Though I confess to having difficulty interpreting the first few columns! The age at death variance is, as Jenny says, probably irrelevant - two different informants with two different ages, not unusual. Whether the Burial book itself is extant I don't know - this could/should confirm his occupation. JK On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 11:49 AM, Jenny De Angelis <jennyda2@gmail.com>wrote: > Hi Mary, > > I found a burial that might fit but there is no way of knowing for sure, > from the details given, whether it is your George Bartlett or not. What I > have found is on the Ancestry site, London England Deaths and Burials > 1813-1980. Burials at St. Dunstan's church, Stepney, Middlesex. George > Bartlett abode Mile End Old Town buried 3rd July 1840 aged 41. > >

J K gen wrote: > The age at death variance is, as Jenny says, probably irrelevant - two > different informants with two different ages, not unusual. He might even have had a birthday between his death and burial. I know the age should be that at death but ...... -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Greinton and Clutton, SOM Asst OPC for Ashcott and Shapwick, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk

Thank you JK for your very informative information on this. We had a Great Aunt who was buried in Chatham, Kent, about 10 days after her death. We wondered why the delay. From your description, it seems this was fairly common. Anne J K gen wrote: > Where I have the information regarding burials/cremations I have only ever > found one relative's burial within less than seven days - indeed most were > 10 days or more. I would therefore consider the eight day gap quoted by > Jenny to be the norm, rather than to be caused by hospital research. If he > was in hospital unexpectedly then after his death somebody would have to be > found to pay for the funeral, or arrangements to be made for the burial, > this could have caused a slight delay. > > The entry on Ancestry looks to be from the day or account book, so as well > as the place being given as Mile End Old Town, the cause of death is > Consumption. Also shown are the costs for the space and the people. Though I > confess to having difficulty interpreting the first few columns! > > The age at death variance is, as Jenny says, probably irrelevant - two > different informants with two different ages, not unusual. > > Whether the Burial book itself is extant I don't know - this could/should > confirm his occupation. > > JK > > >

The reason I said in my message to Mary that 8 days between the death and the burial was longer than normal is because I have found that most of my ancestors who died in the 1800s, and up to and including one who died in 1915, have been buried within 3 or 4 days of death, as a general rule. The one who died in 1915 died on Wed. August 4th and was buried on Fri. August 6th he died in hospital of a fractured skull after a fall downstairs at the end of July. So not a death from an infectious disease which might cause a body to be buried quickly. I have a page from the local newspaper showing the inquest report and the announcement of his death with the details of the funeral arrangements. The same deaths column of the paper shows details of funerals of other people who had also died a few days earlier in 1915 who were to be buried within days of dying. As Mary was talking about a death in 1840, when there would not have been refrigeration for keeping bodies longer than a few days, I believe that most people would have been buried within 3 or 4 days of death at that time. A delay might be caused by the inquest but I have found that the inquests that have taken place for members of my past family have usually been the day after the death and the body released for burial within a day or two of that inquest. Nowadays of course things are different and in England, at least, funerals tend to take place about a week after the death. Here in Spain funerals still take place within 2 days of death, apart from exceptional cases. Regards Jenny DeAngelis Spain.