Death and Burial of Geo & Eliz TINGLE, Littledean, 1851/2 (General)

by fraser-donna , Saturday, June 25, 2011, 23:34 (4903 days ago)

I have had this brick wall on my direct line for over 25 years and am hoping someone can give me some guidance or suggestions so that I can put my 3rd great grandparents final days to rest.

At the time of the 1851 census George and Elizabeth Tingle were living in Littledean Hill operating the Royal Oak inn. George was 61 years old, a coal miner, born East Dean. His wife Elizabeth was 63, also born East Dean.

I believe that it wasn’t coincidence that this family chose to live in an extra parochial area.

George and Elizabeth Tingle were members of the Littledean Non Conformist church.

My brick wall is proving Elizabeth’s death and George’s burial.

The burial register of Littledean Independent Church shows
“George Tingle, husband of ? Tingle, L. D. Hill, (no age given), Inn Keeper, Little Dean Hill, East Dean, Gloucester” showing the date of death as Dec. 10, 1851 and date of burial as Dec. 16, 1851. Please note that the last two dates were added with a different handwriting and I wonder if it is therefore suspect.
Source: Gloucester Record Office: D6514 1/3 Burials Littledean Independent.

George Tingle died three months later, 18 Mar 1852 at Littledean Hill. I have his death certificate. One would assume he was buried with his wife at Littledean Independent Church but no entry can be found (I have checked both the parish registers on this website and the original register at the Gloucester Record Office).

I believe the above mentioned Littledean Independent burial record is an amalgamation of both George and Elizabeth Tingle’s burials. Perhaps there were no other burials in that three month period which led to the confusion. Literacy may also have been a problem at the time.

I cannot find Elizabeth’s death registration. There is an Elizabeth Tingle registered in the March Q of 1852 at Westbury-on-Severn but she was a 17 year old girl. As I understand the rules around civil registration, it wasn’t strictly enforced until about 1875 but I did think a death certificate was needed prior to a burial by the 1850s.

I suspect the only reason there is a death registration for George Tingle is that it was needed to prove his will.

Do I conclude that it was Elizabeth who died and was buried in December 1851 (even though the register says it was George) and that her husband is buried with her in the Littledean Independent Church? I’d feel much more comfortable if I could find some documentation supporting this hypothesis, a headstone, etc. Have the monumental inscriptions been done for the Littledean Independent churchyard?

Your thoughts and help with this puzzle would be most appreciated.

Thanks from their Canadian descendant.
Donna Fraser