I was recently contacted on Ancestry by a user “US” who queried the death I have recorded of my 2x great grandfather John Hall (1846–1902)

I noticed you have a death certificate for John Hall who died in 1902 as being that of the husband of Elizabeth Emma Carr and you gave information about an inquest. However, I thought that certificate applied to a different John Hall who was born around 1839. There is a gravestone in Ashington which records the death of that man, who also had a wife named Elizabeth, but contains the additional information “late of Rothbury”. There was a John Hall born in Rothbury about 1839 who was a coal miner and who made his way to the Ashington area and lived in the 6th Row. He appears on the 1901 census as a retired miner at that address while the other John Hall, who lived in the 4th Row, was recorded as an invalid miner.

The death certificate in question records the death of John Hall on 5 Apr 1902 age 63. He was a Stone Man.

The cause of death was Capillary Bronchitis subsequent on accidental injuries received in Ashington Colliery. The informant was Chas Percy, coroner for Northumberland. An inquest held 9th April 1902

The place of death is a little confusing. It appears to read 9-6th Row, Ashington U.D. but the leading 9 is possibly a run-on from the entry number 479.

One interpretation is that the entry number is 4799 and the place of death is 6th Row. An alternate reading is the entry number is 479 the place of death is number 9 on 6th Row.

The rows are a series of terraced streets built to house the miners of Ashington Colliery.

The question is whether this death certificate belongs to my ancestor John Hall or not.

There are a couple of problematic areas:

1. There is no connection to the rest of the family. Often the informant is a relative which makes it easier to match the document to the right person. In this case the coroner was the informant.
2. The age at death doesn’t correspond with the date of birth I have for John Hall, 11 Aug 1846 in East Holywell. The John on this death certificate would have been born around 1839, as pointed out by “US”

The inquest into John Hall’s death was reported by the Morpeth Herald on 12 Apr 1902:

The report gives details of the injury sustained by John Hall on the 15 Dec 1898 (although the final sentence changes this date to Dec 1902, which can’t be accurate since the article was published in Apr 1902). He died as a result of this injury three and a half years later.

Unfortunately the report gives almost no biographical details, except to mention a living brother who gave evidence.

Turning to the census of 1901, there is a John Hall living at 231 Fourth Row, Ashington¹. He is aged 54, born in Earsdon and under occupation is recorded “Invalid Coal Miner”. He is living with his wife Elizabeth E. Hall age 57, born in Horton and three children: George, Margaret and James W.

I’ve always ascribed this entry to John and his wife Elizabeth Emma Carr. The youngest child James W. is my great grandfather James William Hall.

The fact this census entry records him as being disabled supports the idea that he is the John Hall from the death certificate and inquest.

I looked up the other John Hall mentioned by “US”. It turns out there are three other John Halls living in Ashington in 1901 plus Joseph John Hall, the colliery manager mentioned in the inquest report earlier.

I found him living at number 9, 6th Row². He was aged 62, a retired coal miner/hewer, born in Lemmington, Northumberland.

He was living with his wife, Elizabeth, age 60, born in Rothbury, two grand children John Wm and Mary Lizzie, his married daughter Catherine Dixon and her husband Wm. Henry, his widowed daughter Elizabeth Sinclair and her two children and an unmarried daughter Isabella.

This John hall fits the death certificate. He is the right age and is living at the exact address recorded on the certificate. He is not recorded as an invalid on the census but he is retired.

So it looks like “US” was probably right, the death certificate I have is for a different John Hall. Now I need to find his death.

I checked Elizabeth Emma Carr’s death certificate. She died 22 Dec 1907 in Blyth (Tynemouth district). Crucially I note that her occupation is given as “wife of John Hall Coal Miner” which implies he is still alive. If he were dead then normally she would be described as widow of John Hall.

The informant was her son George Wilson Hall who had been living with her and John in the 1901 census. By 1911 George was back in Ashington, living at 33 Third Row with his wife, daughter and his father in law. There is no sign of his father John.

This is suggestive of John dying between 1907 and 1911.

I found one possibility:

• John Hall, age 62, Q3 1909, Tynemouth, vol 10B, page 153

I have ordered a copy of this. Sadly it’s not available as a digital image so I need to wait for a PDF copy.

If John was still alive in 1911, then this would also be a possibility:

• John Hall, age 70, Q1 1916, Tynemouth, vol 10B, page 277

In conclusion, it’s always important to keep an open mind and to look again at the evidence. It’s also important to not get precious or protective of “facts” that you know to be true. We all have mistakes in our research or have reached conclusions based on limited evidence. Thank you to “US” for bringing this discrepancy to my attention.