Obituary lookup request

runepriest · Post by **runepriest** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:19 am

Hello all;

It's been a long time since I visited this board

I am looking for the obituary of my g grandfather, David Lawson DOB 14 Jan 1862, DOD 1943, spouse Margaret Bruce.

I was hoping some kind soul could search for his obituary. I will compensate them for any costs incurred.

Thank you in advance

Brian

Post by **SarahND** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:50 am

Hi Brian,
Welcome back

Where did David Lawson die? Would you expect his obituary to be in a newspaper there or would their be another area (say, if his family was well-known in one town, although he died in another).

Have you checked any of the newspaper freebees that have been going around? Not sure if any of them cover 1943, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who knows...

Cheers,
Sarah

runepriest · Post by **runepriest** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:00 pm

Thanks, Sarah

Good to be back.

As far as I know, David died either in Brechin, or Edinborough. All I know from an uncle is that he died in 1943.

Yes, I have searched whatever free resources there are for obituaries, but have had no luck.

Thanks.

Brian

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:16 pm

Hi Brian

As far as I know, David died either in Brechin, or Edinborough. All I know from an uncle is that he died in 1943.

Have you tried a search on Scotlands People to see if you can narrow down the place of death?
Obviously, depending on whather it was Brechin or Edinburgh, the newspapers involved will be different.

Do you know what he did for a living?

Best wishes
Lesley

runepriest · Post by **runepriest** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:55 pm

Hi Lesley

Yes, I did try SP to try to narrow the time frame down, but had no luck.

As for his employment, I have no idea.

All the info I have is from a now deceased uncle who, as an afterthought, gave me what I have posted.

Sorry I can't offer more info.

Thanks.

Brian

Post by **SarahND** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:30 pm

Hi again,

You have probably seen that there are no David Lawson deaths on SP in 1943. There are 3 deaths between 1940 and 1945, with birth year 1862 +/- 3
1 in 1942 in Clova, Angus (about 31 miles from Brechin). This one was born in 1862.
1 in 1944, in Perth, born in 1863
1 in 1945 , not sure where, but not in any of the obvious places, born in 1865

None of them have a mother's maiden name Smart (I assume I have found the right birth on the IGI), but perhaps the informant didn't know his mother's name.

I'd vote for the 1942 one-- looks like a lovely location

Lesley,
On the censuses he is a farm servant (ploughman)

All the best,
Sarah

runepriest · Post by **runepriest** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:41 pm

Hi again Lesley

Yes, I noticed that there was a lack of info from SP.

Upon digging into the handwritten tree that my now deceased uncle provided me, it does mention that David was a ploughman; so, I would have to agree that the second option, is likely the correct one.

But, as I have found out a few times in the past, nothing can be taken for granted when looking for elusive families.

Thanks again for the help.

Is anyone close to Brechin, or a major city that could possibly look up the obituary? I would greatly appreciate it.

Hear from you soon

Brian

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:30 pm

Hi Brian
If you can ascertain the place of death by locating the correct death entry, it may help anyone who is in a position to help you. Without knowing the precise date of death and a fairly precise location it is well nigh impossible to locate a newspaper article about someone. Local newspapers are not digitally indexed - in some cases there may exist a card index, but in many cases there is no index at all. Even with a date and place, it can involve several hours trawling through either old newspapers or miles of microfilms.

Not everyone would have an obituary placed in the newspapers - often it is only noteable citizens in the area, or those who lived to a great age or who were very well known in their community for example - do you know of anything he might have achieved which might make it more likely there was an obituary? Or did someone in the family say they had seen one? In some cases there may not even be a death notice in the paper. Sorry to be all doom and gloom, but experience in searching microfilms and newspapers in the past for events which happened in the 1940s proved to me that all that you hoped might be mentioned, was often not!

Best wishes
Lesley

runepriest · Post by **runepriest** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:15 am

Hi Lesley:

I managed to find his record of death on SP. Page 203 of the register. It shows his age as 67, having passed away on May 28, 1943. Place of residence is Edinburgh.

I can't make out the profession he had before he retired

I understand that researching newspapers, especially ones as old as some Scottish ones, can be very frustrating.

As mentioned before, any help in this area is greatly appreciated.

Talk to you soon.

Brian

Post by **AndrewP** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:23 am

Hi Brian,

Try uploading a copy of the death certificate into the TalkingScot Gallery and others will have a go at deciphering the mystery occupation.

All the best,

AndrewP