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The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Follow Friday -- How can 3 Death Records be wrong?

The three death certificates shown below, for the same person, are not 100% correct.  The first one, has my 2nd great-grandmother's name totally wrong. She is listed as Fanny McGleason Pool and it should be Frances "Fanny" M. Gleason Poole (4 errors in the name).  Since I liked the colorful green record, I made a quick call to Brookline, Massachusetts to get a corrected copy.


Corrected copy below.
Corrected copy, but the last name is still wrong.

There is no listing for the maiden name of mother, although it was clearly on the original record.
Name of cemetery isn't listed, although it was clearly on the original record.

Original state Death Record, obtained several years later was also filled with errors.
Name should be Frances M. Gleason
Husband's name should be spelled as William F. Poole
Maiden name of mother is incorrect, should be Fanny Belden Hubbard (error of informant)
Informant's name should be spelled as William F. Poole (son)
(Clearly the informant didn't proof this, as he would have noticed his name spelled wrong.)

Lesson learned:  get a copy of the original, but don't assume it is correct.