Family tree question, any advice on how I can find the d.o.b of my Grandad, when I only know when and where he died?

[Jeanieology]

My Grandad died in 1945 (he was a fair bit older than my Grandma),and I’d love to be able to find out more about him.
However, I believe that death certificates from that time generally don’t have the date of birth of the deceased on them, so although it’s a long shot, I’m wondering if there’s any way at all I may be able to find out more information about him?

Unfortunately he had a popular name and surname, which would make things more difficult, and my Grandma didn’t tell us much about him other than he was born in 1892, in London, I believe.
As mentioned, the only details I have are his name, date of death and place of death.

I’m stuck at a brick wall not knowing how to find more info on him, and I’d appreciate any advice!

I guess I’ll definitely need to order the actual death certificate, just to see if anything more is in there than the details I’ve found on my Grandad’s death online.
I didn’t know where he’s buried, so I looked at ‘deceased online’ I think it was called, and after I put his details in, I found his actual grave, which I visited. (There was no headstone there though)

The info I got from that site did tell me which of my local hospitals he died in, so I wonder if there is a way I could get info from the hospital records of that time as to his d.o.b?
The deceased online also gave an address of where he supposedly lived. However, on checking the 1939 census he wasn’t on it, so maybe moved in nearer to his death in 1945.

I will search for my Gran, you never know I could find something!

I did consider this, but I’m unsure if it’s very accurate every time?

It’s so frustrating isn’t it, trying to find that piece of a puzzle!

Do you know his mother's maiden name? The birth index includes mother's maiden name, so if you do a Birth, Marriage & Death search on Ancestry and add the maiden name in the mother's last name field then it should narrow down the possible birth records.

Perhaps you could get in touch with where he's buried to see if he might be buried with family members?

The death certificate will have an age on it at that period. However information on Death Certificates is often inaccurate because the person who registers the death might not know the proper details. I have one ancestor where it's about 10 years out!! Maybe he lied about his age!!

She did let slip that she was his maid and had an affair with him, so I really should look to see if I can find my Gran on any census records alongside his name. I actually believe he was probably married to someone else, hence my Gran’s reluctance to talk about him, other than to say he was a lovely man.

Wouldn’t that have shown up on the deceased online information? It’s worth me looking again.

Sorry, just seen he was born in 1892, so my advice won't work as the mother's maiden name wasn't added until later.

How do you mean not very accurate - it's DNA, of course it is accurate. The only unknown is who else has tested and thus how much you can figure out from your matches.

No I’ve no idea, as I don’t know my Grandad’s birth details, other than he was 53 when he died in 1945, so was born either late 1891 or 92.

DC is very usual. May include DOB or approximate and place of birth. Plus person who registered death and their relationship to deceased and address. This may give you enough info to locate his BC or him on 1939 register and/ of census.

Its like a jigsaw, each piece gradually builds the picture.

I didn’t know where he’s buried, so I looked at ‘deceased online’ I think it was called, and after I put his details in, I found his actual grave, which I visited. (There was no headstone there though)

If it was in a church yard the church may have records - Burial Register.

I didn’t mean it to come across like that, I know DNA is accurate, but unsure if people only get a percentage of a possible match.

I have ancestry and FMP subs. Happy to also look for you if you like. PM me what you know about your gran, Grandad and dad.

If you search for his name on the 1939 register then look for people (probably married) with a DOB in the right sort of time frame and with domestic servants or help listed as living at the same address - that should help narrow it down a bit? You might or might not find your grandmother listed with him, she may well have been living elsewhere in 1939.

Re DNA you get an estimate of how closely related a person is to you. It is very accurate but depends of course on if your relatives are on ancestry. If you get matches you can look at their trees and if there is enough info it will suggest common ancestors. It won’t give names etc of living relations.

If he is willing I would get your dad to do a DNA test.

I might just do that, I can’t see him objecting 🙂

Thanks so much I may just do that 🙂

Born in 1892, he would most likely have served in WWI as he would have been 22-26 years old.
Try Ancestry military records of the county your dad was born in, and near by.
The 1939 record is great because it has actual dates of birth, not just ages, and has often been updated with women’s married names. Definitely find your gran on it

Thank you all so much for your advice!
I”m popping out for a while but will be back later.

Some ideas:

Did he serve in the forces at any point? They will have records that you can apply for. There are different routes, depending on which service, the dates and whether or not you are next of kin (Google is your friend here) - the records can take a long while to come back as they may be held in different places and need to be physically collated.

Did any of his siblings have a less common name? You may be able to find their records, which could narrow down the search. If you search for baptism records, you may find the siblings were baptised in the same church, possibly even on the same day.

Although not married to your gran, might he have been married to someone else?

Bear in mind though that the name, year and/ or the place you have been given for his birth may be wrong, even if it comes from an official source.

Look for phonetically similar versions of the same names (say it out loud in the local area accent).

If he was several years older than your grandmother, he may have lopped off a few years to make the perceived age-gap, although still large, less than what it really was. Or he may have added a few years at some point to appear old enough to do do something (often get married or to join the army).

Similarly, when reporting to the authorities such as for registration or census, people may make an error, possibly accidentally, such as reporting the first place they remember living, or deliberate either to conceal something or to just be awkward in the face of authorities asking for personal information.

Good luck.

Knowing she was his maid should be useful to narrow it down on records, you can at least look for people with servants in the household and who match his age and occupation.

I'd agree on DNA being useful, if either of your parents can do it too it will show if your matches are from your mother or father's side. I've managed to work out who my great great grandfather is from doing that, but am another still trying to work out my great grandfather! Neither are the people listed on the birth certificate, so records definitely can avoid telling the truth...

Obituary or will search could also be useful, if he was someone with enough money to have servants then there's more of a chance of being a trail that way - or in the British newspaper archive?