iMy grateful thanks to Peter Latta for permission to use his research story in this article.

Column 1 Date and Place of Death- 1910, 12 February; Railway Gully near Grafton; (Copmanhurst Shire. This information is clearly stated and at face value seems correct.

Column 2 Name and occupation- John Latta, Teamster. The Latta family historian had known his ancestor by the name John Latta, so that information lined up although he was not known as a teamster earlier in his life, there was no reason for him not to be in that occupation later in his life.

Column 3 Sex and age- although this stated age on the certificate of 59 years didn't equate with his probable age, the family historian should not be worried as age is seldom correct on death certificates.

Column 4 Cause of Death,Duration of last illness, Medical attendant, when he last saw deceased- You will note the numbers have been crossed out and the following stated-

Injuries accidentally received by falling from a horse; Finding at Inquiry held at Grafton by A J Bisley, Coroner 14 February 1910.

This statement, that there was an inquest into the death on the `14 February led first to the Coroner's Inquest Register at the State Records of NSW. This register only notes dates,place of the inquest and the findings to the cause of death. It was the surviving local newspapers at Grafton, The Grafton Argus and the Clarence and Richmond Examiner of the 14 and 15^th February 1910, that gave the details of the inquest. These details supported the information given in the first three columns of the certificate. However by the evidence given in the inquest, we note that the Coroner had not examined the body and it was not present at the inquest at Grafton. The coroner had relied wholly on the evidence of the witnesses,including the Government Medical Officer, who had examined the body, although this fact was not recorded on the Death Certificate. The inquest report also stated the coroner was 'A J Piesley', not 'A J Bisley' as the handwriting on the Death Certificate could have been interpreted.

Column 5 Name and Occupation of father; Name and Maiden name of mother- You will these are stated as unknown

Column 6 Informant- Certified by A J Piesley, Cororner, Grafton. How much information on the deceased was given at the inquest to suggest the Coroner could certify the information? Note he had no confirmation of any of the information by any kind of documents, it was all given orally by witnesses.

Column 7 Particulars of registration- J M Bowthorne, 14 February 1910, Grafton. Possibly the District Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Grafton, or his chief clerk.

Column 8 When and where buried, name of undertaker- We note that he had been buried on the 13 February at the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Railway Gully by an undertaker named Richard Holt.

Column 9 Name and religion of Minister and witnesses of burial- J Franey and A Barnier.

The information in these columns led the Latta family researcher to contact the Roman Catholic Church in Grafton concerning the burial details of John Latta at the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Railway Gully. This drew a response that they had no record or knowledge of the burial nor about a Roman Catholic Cemetery at Railway Gully. An inquiry at Grafton Undertakers drew the response that there had never been an undertaker by the name of Richard Holt. The winesses A Barnier had given evidence at the inquest, but J Franey was not identified until later.

The Latta researcher had not been able to find 'Railway Gully' on any maps although the inquest had stated that it was on the 'Coaldale Road' and was approximately 11 miles out. He approached the Lands Department at Grafton to try and resolve the problem. Their staff although well versed in the local landscape could not locate the place, so contacted me so see if I could help. As often happens in family and local history, the co-incident was that a couple of weeks before I had been discussing this very place with another family historian, whose family had connections on the Upper Clarence. The place in question had been a teamster camping place on the Coaldale Road for over a half a century by the time John Latta camped there in February 1910. The locality had been named 'Railway Gully' in 1906 after the Casino-Grafton Railway line had been opened. However there was never a village, township, or a cemetery in that area. The facts were that John Latta had been given a 'decent Christian burial', on 13 February 1910, by his work mates and peer at the place where he fell. The lone grave may or may not have been marked, but there is certainly nothing in the area today which shows where he was buried.

Column 10 Where born and how long in the Australian Colonies or States- With the statement-Unknown-We have no idea if the Coroner or indeed anyone had asked these questions at the before or during the inquest, nor can we tell if John Latta's work mates knew anything about his earlier life.

Column 11 & 12 Place of marriage, age, and to whom and Children of the marriage- As there was no wife or family called at the inquest it would suggest that John Latta was not known to have been living with anyone in a relationship and had children in this locality, nor was it known that he was a bachelor and had never married. It may infer that his friends and peers may have known that he had been married at one time, but they knew no details so didn't offer any information.

Getting back to the original task. Can the 'Latta' family researcher say that this death certificate belongs to his ancestor? Even though there is little information on the certificate that would definitely confirm he has the right person, in this case there is no information on the certificate to suggest that this cannot be his ancestor, and until he or another researcher comes along in the future with documents that proves he has the wrong ancestor, he possibly has the right person.

A special note concerning 'Stillbirths'.

It has been a requirement by law for the registration of 'Stillbirths' in New South Wales since the late 1920's. At times stillbirths may have been registered as a birth, a death or both.. Sometimes a child may be living at birth, but dies within hours, days or weeks. Although the child should have been registered, it may not have been. Family historians would be well advised to see if there was a baptism of the child, with a nearby church. Not necessarily of the same religion as the family were known to practice. Since 1969 the regulations have change concerning the issuing of certificates for for stillbirths. See the website for particulars at http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/stillbirths.htm.

The moral of this story is that when you receive a certificate your work has just begun. You should try to collect as many documents as you can about this event. In the case of a birth certificate- church baptism register, newspaper notice, family bible, and birth certificates of siblings. For a marriage certificate- collect church register entry, newspaper notices and wedding article, family bible entries, and siblings marriage certificates. For a death certificate- Burial records from church registers, newspaper notices and articles, cemetery transcriptions, headstone photographs, wills and probate records. These will not only help to confirm the information on the pertinent certificate, but may offer much more information about the event and person you are researching.