Back to Basics in SA Family History: the Death Notice

If you’re just starting out in South African family history research and getting to grips with Deceased Estate files, you will have heard about the significance of the legal document known as the Death Notice. This forms part of the contents of a Deceased Estate file and, theoretically, should offer the following details:

Full name of deceased, deceased’s birthplace, parents’ names, deceased’s age at death (or date of birth), occupation, place of residence, marital status, place of last marriage, names of surviving and pre-deceased spouses, date and place of death and names of major and minor children. If the children are minors their dates of birth are included; if daughters their married surnames, where relevant, may appear.

There would also be information regarding any assets in the estate, movable and immovable, whether these assets exceeded a certain value and whether the deceased left a will. The informant’s signature appears at the end of the document with some indication as to whether the informant was present at the time and place of death.

The fullness and accuracy of the details appearing on the Death Notice are in direct proportion to the knowledge of the informant. This informant is usually but not always the next-of-kin. Below is an example of a reasonably legible handwritten Death Notice (click on the image to zoom in).

click to zoom

From an information point of view this Notice is not perfect: instead of the deceased’s parents’ names offering an avenue for further research, the word ‘Dead’ presents a cul de sac. For birthplace at least the county name appears, rather than simply ‘England’ as is often the case. The informant in this instance is the widow of the deceased. Death Notices were – and are – completed under stress of bereavement, which may affect accuracy. A son of the deceased may not remember, or perhaps never knew, the names of his overseas grandparents (particularly in the early days of the colony) or the date and location of his parents’ marriage.

The Death Certificate is an entirely different document, usually signed by a doctor, and the only piece of information given in the Death Certificate which does not appear in the Death Notice is Cause of Death.

Back to basics in SA family history research: the Death Certificate

You’ve found and accessed your ancestor’s Deceased Estate file including the Death Notice and other contents. Now, do you need the Death Certificate?

The Death Certificate is a civil document, usually completed by a doctor. The only piece of information it contains which does not appear in the Death Notice is the cause of death. (The Death Notice – see previous posts - is a legal document, usually completed by the next-of-kin.)

While the cause of death is generally of interest to most family historians, in certain circumstances this could be of vital significance e.g. if mention is made of a hereditary disease, or if there is any suggestion of violent death such as suicide or murder. Sometimes after a ‘suspicious death’ an inquest may be held e.g. in the case of a man who died after injuries inflicted by a passing train (did he fall into the path of the train, did he mean to fall, or was he pushed?). Shades of Miss Marple.

Among the facts which should be stated in the full Death Certificate are: forenames and surname, age and sex of the deceased, birthplace, marital status, occupation, date and place of death, residential address, intended place of burial, cause of death and duration of final illness, name of the medical practitioner, informant’s signature, qualification and address, and when and where the death was registered.

A Death Certificate can be ordered – only if precise and full information of the event is known - from the Department of Home Affairs or from the appropriate embassy/consulate, should you live outside South Africa.

The original civil register may be held in the Archives Repository in the relevant South African province. Only selected registers are available. The 20 year closed period applies to civil registers of Deaths.

Check the Family History Library Catalogue at www.familysearch.org for filmed registers. If the Library Catalogue is a new frontier for you, read Ellen Stanton’s article at www.eggsa.org/articles/locating-death-records.htm

You can see an example of a South African Death Certificate at
http://tornado.he.net/~mross2/ancestors/williamrossestate/page1.html

Hamilton family MI, Stellawood Cemetery, Durban.

South African Death Certificate

Not to be confused with the Death Notice, the South African Death Certificate is a much briefer document. The piece of information it offers which does not appear on the Death Notice is the cause of death. This is given by the doctor in attendance, and includes duration of the final illness.

The only way to acquire an official copy of the Death Certificate is through the Department of Home Affairs. When ordering, ask for a FULL certificate, unless you need the certificate for certain visa or other legal purposes in which case obtain a VAULT copy. If delegating to a researcher, mention the reason for wanting the certificate.

In the SA context, pause for thought before embarking on the ordering of any certificates (birth, marriage or death). There is generally a waiting period for the ordering process to grind through the Department’s mill. If you have located a Death Notice for the ancestor it may not be worthwhile pursuing the Death Certificate.