Deceased Estate Files for SA family history research

In the context of South African family history research, deceased estate documentation is a valuable starting point. If an ancestor died in SA, the chances of discovering further information are good – better than if he was passing through on his way to another colony or making a temporary stay before returning to his place of origin.

Using deceased estate material it’s possible to go back to his earlier history as well as forwards to more recent generations, even to living descendants.

First, search NAAIRS to identify a relevant deceased estate file for your forebear. If his area of residence isn’t known search on the RSA (all SA) database adding a reasonable time frame for the event in the ‘beginning’ and ‘ending’ facility at the foot of the search form. As always, it helps if the ancestor had an unusual surname or forename. His spouse's name could also be useful in identifying the correct person.

You can expect to find the following in an estate file: Death Notice, Will, Final Accounts and correspondence. All of these are potential sources of information. There’s a tendency to access only the Death Notice: while this is an important document, it’s advisable not to stop your search there but to check (or delegate your researcher to check) the other file contents too. If I am repeating myself, I apologise, but this extra care is vital.

It is false economy to limit a search to the Death Notice alone. There is so much more to be discovered in even the most unlikely pieces of paper e.g. an argument by correspondence between family members over who would pay for the tombstone reveals precise details as to burial place of the deceased. Such information may not be obtained easily elsewhere.

Making the most of deceased estate file contents

I've said it before and I say it again for those who missed it: when viewing or ordering copies of the contents of deceased estate files, look at ALL the documents contained therein - or ask your helpful researcher to do so. Each piece of paper has the potential to offer information so don't be tempted to stop at the Death Notice.

An undertaker's invoice, like the one shown above, may offer place of burial (in this case Stellawood Cemetery) as well as the details of the obsequies and their cost - 2 carriages and a special tram car at 26 pounds. The site was purchased for 2 pounds.

The burial should be listed in the Stellawood Cemetery handwritten registers (held at the cemetery) for November 1911, though probably wouldn't add further information.

Gentlemen in Khaki 4

Kitchener's Fighting Scouts

Some forces came into being further on in the war, among them Kitchener’s Fighting Scouts, raised in December 1900, Ashburner’s Light Horse, the Bushveld Carbineers, Dennison’s Scouts, Driscoll’s Scouts and the Cape Colony Cycle Corps.

To research local armed forces serving in South Africa from 1899-1902 The National Archives, Kew, holds original nominal rolls (soldiers’ names) and enrolment forms (completed by each man) in WO 127 and WO 126. 

USING NAAIRS 

The South African National Archives online index (NAAIRS) available at www.national.archives.gov.za/ can help when tracing Anglo-Boer War ancestors. 

A search of NAAIRS index may reveal an ancestor’s deceased estate file, usually with a Death Notice included, and these latter documents are extremely informative. Sometimes there are two Death Notices found in estate files of the Anglo-Boer War period: one filled in briefly at the place of death, by the Adjutant perhaps, and another notice completed more fully later.

To illustrate this application of the online index, an example from my own research:  

William Dixon Smith, of Northumberland origins, emigrated to Natal in 1880, settling in Alexandra County where he established himself as a carriage-builder and blacksmith. He joined the local permanent volunteer force and at the time of the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, having been resident in Natal for twenty years, was Lieutenant Quartermaster of the Border Mounted Rifles. All volunteer units responded promptly to the call for mobilization and William, along with the rest of his contingent, entrained for Ladysmith on 28 September 1899. By January 1900 he was dead, one of many who died of a variety of diseases during the Siege of Ladysmith. The Death Notice provided his age at death, his occupation, his birthplace and parents’ names, his marital status, the name of his spouse and place of marriage, and the names and ages of his children. Other documents in the deceased estate file included a detailed inventory of his possessions, including the forge and anvil and other tools of his trade as well as household items, giving a picture of his lifestyle in the colony. Muster rolls preserved in Natal Defence Force records made it possible to track William’s career in the volunteers from the time of his enrolment.

BMR Trooper's mother receives
 'War Gratuity' of five pounds after
her son's death at Ladysmith - note that it
took two years for her to get it.

Correspondence in archival files could give further information about the next-of-kin: widows or mothers claiming the deceased’s pay or the five pound ‘war gratuity’, a seemingly scant return for the son's supreme sacrifice. A poignant memo mentions a youthful soldier’s only piece of movable property – his horse, ‘killed for food during the Ladysmith siege’.  Other documents in the case of this trooper showed that he had several younger siblings dependant on him. Such details take us beyond mere statistics and bring the human story to light.

Why no reference to my ancestor on NAAIRS?

Not finding a reference on NAAIRS, the SA National Archives online index, doesn’t mean the ancestor did not spend some time in South Africa. It could be that his activities didn’t generate any public records, or that his sojourn was brief and he remained invisible as far as records were concerned.

If you’re searching for a deceased estate, bear in mind that not everyone who died in South Africa had an estate file lodged with the Master of the Supreme Court. Where there are minimal assets – literally no ‘estate’ – a deceased estate file would not be opened. The death might have occurred within the last 20-30 years, in which case there would be no reference on NAAIRS: the file would be at the Master’s Office in the area where death occurred. Incidentally, there’s no legal or other obligation for the Master to send estate files to archival repositories at any stage; it’s incorrect to speak of deceased estate files being automatically ‘transferred’ to archival repositories.

The ancestor, contrary to what you or your family believe, may not have died in South Africa but moved on elsewhere or even returned to his place of origin: emigrants were extremely mobile.

The name you are looking for might not be correct: quite apart from variations in spelling names were sometimes changed completely if a person wanted to start out with a clean slate in the colonies. Do some lateral thinking - he might have used his mother’s maiden name.

If his time in the country pre-dates 1834 you won’t find a death notice for him.

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.

Where there's a Will ... in SA

If a will was made by the deceased, it should be found in his deceased estate file. Some wills are not particularly informative being in a standard format, though beneficiaries (people benefiting under terms of the will) are named and specific bequests such as the medals of a military man may be included. Occasionally, there are unexpected revelations e.g. additional bequests to a favourite god-daughter, or an adopted or illegitimate child previously unknown to the family; or even a mistress being rewarded for services rendered (be careful, she might have been the housekeeper).

Family rifts may show up in the will. One angry father would not allow his daughter to benefit under his will because she had 'taken her mother's side' in her parents' divorce. A child not appearing as a beneficiary isn't necessarily evidence of a rift. Sometimes parents preferred to leave assets to children who weren't as well-established as the others. This could lead to ill-feeling in the family and to a will being contested.

Instructions might be given in the will as to the deceased's choice of burial or cremation, which could be helpful when you're seeking his last resting-place.

If an individual died intestate (no will) the document will obviously not be among the contents of the estate file.

In family history research, it's essential to look beyond the stated facts: a list of children on a Death Notice of 1903 showed 5 sons and 3 daughters, only 2 of them 'of age' (majors) and all of them living with the surviving parent, their mother. The minor children ranged in ages from 14 to 4 and none of them were wage-earning. From the time of his father's death, the eldest son would have to take on the role of breadwinner. The Death Notice revealed that the estate was of limited value, and that the deceased had died intestate, leaving no immovable property and not much in the way of movables either. Reading between the lines, a parlous situation for this family - and not a particularly unusual one. Considering the date (1903) it's possible that the father was a casualty of war; the Anglo-Boer War ended in 1902.

Why no Deceased Estate file for my ancestor?

There isn't a deceased estate file for every person who died in South Africa. Reasons for not locating an estate file vary. The most obvious is that, contrary to what you've been led to believe, the individual may have died in another country. There could have been minimal assets, literally ‘no estate’. The death may be of too recent a date to appear on the online index, NAAIRS. Death Notices did not exist until 1834 and to find information for the period before that date trying other research avenues will be necessary.

An ancestor who lived in South Africa but died in England may have had a South African Death Notice if he owned property in South Africa. In such a case, the country where the estate was administered would depend on where the individual was resident at date of death. Frequently, delays may be caused and a South African Death Notice may not be filed for some time after the death occurred.

Finding two separate Death Notices in one deceased estate file may mean that the first form was completed at the place of death e.g. by the camp Adjutant during a military conflict – there are many instances of this during the Anglo-Boer War. Later, a more detailed Death Notice would be produced.

The format of the Death Notice changed at various dates. Earlier forms were printed horizontally across the page and often on blue paper which doesn’t photograph particularly well. These ‘sideways’ Death Notices were invariably completed by hand (not always legibly) in pen and ink. The vertically-printed Death Notice followed, but were still filled in by hand until the advent of the typewriter made them easier to read (except where the ribbon was over-used and the text faded).

Recent Death Notices include the SA identity number which first came into being in 1955. The ID number can be important if you want to acquire a South African Death Certificate.

Deceased Estate files in SA family history research

In the context of South African family history research, deceased estate documentation is a valuable starting point. If an ancestor died in SA, the chances of discovering further information are good – better than if he was passing through on his way to another colony or making a temporary stay before returning to his place of origin.

Using deceased estate material it’s possible to go back to his earlier history as well as forwards to more recent generations, even to living descendants.

First, search NAAIRS to identify a relevant deceased estate file for your forebear. If his area of residence isn’t known search on the RSA (all SA) database adding a reasonable time frame for the event in the ‘beginning’ and ‘ending’ facility at the foot of the search form. As always, it helps if the ancestor had an unusual surname or forename.

You can expect to find the following in an estate file: Death Notice, Will, Final Accounts and correspondence. All of these are potential sources of information. There’s a tendency to access only the Death Notice: while this is an important document, it’s advisable not to stop your search there but to check (or delegate your researcher to check) the other file contents too.

It is false economy to limit a search to the Death Notice alone. There is so much more to be discovered in even the most unlikely pieces of paper e.g. an argument by correspondence between family members over who would pay for the tombstone reveals precise details as to burial place of the deceased. Such information may not be obtained easily elsewhere.