Morag Hughson, blog author of Wir Unst Family, has shared this blog as part of our ongoing “How I Solved It Series”. 

Her blog details how she had no luck until she noticed that the death record was one of three with the same informant. That informant information led to her being able to sort out relationships and which John Henderson she was actually dealing with.

It’s certainly true that you can’t always use ancestral records in isolation; sometimes there is simply not enough information in them to be able to use them alone. However, the supporting information can sometimes be closer to hand than you realize.

In trying to locate the death record for a man called John Henderson, so that I could discover his parents, I found one possible record. It was quite early in the Statutory Records processing, 1857 – only a couple of years after they started in 1855, and they record whether a person was married, but not who to. Since I know that there are a number of John Henderson’s living in the area, how can I be sure if this is the man I’m looking for? After trying a variety of different ways of looking at it (looking for siblings with the same parents; trying to track down the Brother-in-law who was the informant on the record) I get the feeling I’m never going to be sure if this is him or not.

I sit back and stare absently at my screen.

No. Surname and Name.
Rank or Profession, & Condition,
(whether Married or Single,
Widower or Widow.)		 When and Where Died,
with Hour of Death.		 Parents’ Names,
and
Rank, Profession, or Occupation.		 Cause of Death, and how long
Disease continued. – Medical
Attendant by whom certified,and
when he last saw deceased.		 Signature, Qualification, and Resi-
dence of Informant, If out of the
House in which the Death
occurred.
16 Henderson
John
Fisherman
.
(Married)		 1857
June
Eleventh
7.30 am
.
Some miles
off Skaw		 Andw Henderson
Fisherman
(deceased)
.
Margt Henderson
maiden name
Gray (deceased)		 Drowned at Sea
in a gale of wind		 John Priest
Brother in law
of Deceased
17 Henderson
Laurence
Fisherman
.
(Single)		 1857
June
Eleventh
7.30 am
.
Some miles
off Skaw		 John Henderson
Fisherman
(deceased)
.
Mary Henderson
maiden name
Spence		 Drowned at Sea
in a gale of wind		 John Priest
Uncle of Deceased

Skaw Map

Map showing Skaw in the north of Unst.
Click on the map to go to the zoom-able version on the NLS website

It’s then I notice that the informant for all three death records on this page is the same name. It’s clearly a boating accident as all three are recorded as “Drowned at Sea in a gale of wind” at the same date and time, and “Some miles off Skaw”. Three people registered with the same cause of death on the same day, and the informant has the same name surely means that the informant is the same man.

This man, John Priest, is a Brother-in-law to the first man, Uncle to the second man, and neighbour to the third. The second man is recorded with a father’s name the same as the name of the first man. Given the relationship of John Priest to each of them, this means that the first man is the father to the second man. Father and son working in the same fishing boat is certainly a common occurrence.

This also means that the mother recorded on the second man’s death record is the missing spouse on the first man’s death record. Now I can be sure they are the men I’m looking for.

Knowing his spouse is Mary Spence, I am also then able to place John Priest (the informant), as there is a John Priest married to Catherine Spence (who lives in Norwick in 1851 which is not far from Skaw) which tells me something about the Spence girls – that they are sisters – that I didn’t previously know. Finding both their death records also confirms they have the same parents.

So, when all looks lost, sit back and look around you!

If you have a story idea or a blog that you’d like to share as part of this series, please let us know about it in the comments.

Morag Hughson

Morag Hughson

Morag Hughson was born in Shetland, and grew up on the island of Unst, Britain's most northerly island. Her own family history comes from Unst, and she has been researching it off and on for ten years. She started as a teenager, but after a long pause, reconnected with her research after a trip home to Unst where she came across the old crinkly paper family tree. Five years ago she expanded her research and she is now conducting a one-place study to create a fully-sourced family tree for the whole of Unst. She writes her blog to document her progress and share her stories with other amateur genealogists and bloggers like herself. Learn more about Morag and her family history research on the complete Unst family tree by visiting her blog.
Morag Hughson

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