Returning to the mystery of how my ancestor Anthony Christy- living in West Central Scotland - managed to turn up at the house of hus father - in - law in East Central Scotland within 24 hours of his death... Does anybody have any idea of how this could happen? Was it a strange coincidence? He couldn't have been telephoned because it hadn't been invented. A telegram might have been a possibility - but who would have sent it, and why didn't THEY report the death? Is there an innocent explanation for the "absence" of his wife? Things must have seemed suspicious enough for a post-mortem to be ordered - he died of a heart-attack, apparently - but those of us who read mystery novels know there are all sorts of ways of bringing on a heart attack. Does anybody have the Url of a perpetual calendar - you know, the kind that will tell you what days the 30th September and 1st October were in 1873? Incidentally, all this came to light when I requested the death certificate of Hugh O'Brien from Scotland's People. They passed on the request to GROS - the General Register Office for Scotland. A sharp-eyed person there spotted that the death certificate had been amended and sent on the "Report of a result of a precognition" which gives a summary of the post-mortem and is signed by the then Procurator - Fiscal - at no extra charge. Gros are wonderful - they can be emailed or telephoned, and if they can't find an answer immediately, they will telephone you back, wherever you are in the world. I know people in Canada who have had a return call from them. It is well worth looking at their web site : www.gro-scotland.gov.uk O.K. back to our poor corpse in Linlithgow - he has been lying in his house in the High Street frm 9 p.m. to 11 a.m. This latter time is presumably when my great-great grandfather Anthony burst in fresh from the morning train. How did he get in ? Was the key left under the mat? Did he have to break down the door? Who had seen him at 9 p.m. the previous evening? ( These time details are in the Procurator Fiscal's report ). Where WAS his second wife? You'll be interested to know that she went on to marry AGAIN some time later. Did she make a career of marrying eldery men and then - becoming a widow? Rosemary S'il te plait, monsieur, dessine-moi un mouton. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com