Can anyone help me find the death of my 2xgreat-grandfather Israel James Burnby? He married his second wife in St Albans in 1862 and she remarried as his widow in 1867. He worked on the railway. Despite many years searching I have been unable to find a record of his death.
Thank you.
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Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
This suggestion might turn out to be a red herring, but could he have possibly died in Brazil? Bear with me as I list these interesting coincidences:
1. Israel James Burnby married Emma Pepler (nee Bonner) in 1862. She was the widow of Andrew Pepler, an Engine Driver, same occupation as second husband Israel James Burnby.
2. Emma Pepler is described as "Wife of an Engineer" in the 1861 census in Maidstone, Kent. But where is husband Andrew in 1861?
3. Several of Israel James' children are baptised circa 1861 in St Albans. In the baptism images, the Abode is always "Brazil".
At first I thought a St Albans area village/town had been mispelled as "Brazil" or something. Yet the word "Brazil" consistently appears in several Burnby baptism images.
4. When I searched for a death for Andrew Pepler, I found this interesting record on FMP in the GRO Consular Death Indices collection:
British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials
Name: Andrew Pepler
Death Year: 1860-1865
Place: Pernambuco, Brazil
Apparently there was a railroad(s) built in Pernambuco circa 1855-1862, to support the sugar industry and coffee farms in Brazil.
Could Andrew Pepler and Israel James Burnby have been sent to Brazil for the purposes of being Engineers on this railroad? It just seems very odd that Emma Bonner married two Engine Drivers who both passed away within a few years (?) of each other.
I haven't yet searched for Israel James ("James") Burnby in the British Overseas Deaths and Burials collection.
If Israel James was working in Brazil, it probably explains why he's not in a 1861 census record either.
THEORY: After Andrew Pepler died, could IJB have traveled back to England to marry Emma Pepler, and also baptise his younger children in St Albans? It would also explain why two of IJB's daughters are "boarding" with a St Albans family in the 1861 census.
Interestingly, there is a similar death record for a Charles Burnby in Pernambuco. Death Year: 1855-1859. Could he be related to Israel James?
To see either the Pepler and/or Burnby death certificate, you would need to order it from the GRO, slightly different to how you would order a UK birth/marriage/death cert from them. NOTE: Overseas records are not sent electronically via a PDF document. They are sent via "snail mail".
1. Israel James Burnby married Emma Pepler (nee Bonner) in 1862. She was the widow of Andrew Pepler, an Engine Driver, same occupation as second husband Israel James Burnby.
2. Emma Pepler is described as "Wife of an Engineer" in the 1861 census in Maidstone, Kent. But where is husband Andrew in 1861?
3. Several of Israel James' children are baptised circa 1861 in St Albans. In the baptism images, the Abode is always "Brazil".
At first I thought a St Albans area village/town had been mispelled as "Brazil" or something. Yet the word "Brazil" consistently appears in several Burnby baptism images.
4. When I searched for a death for Andrew Pepler, I found this interesting record on FMP in the GRO Consular Death Indices collection:
British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials
Name: Andrew Pepler
Death Year: 1860-1865
Place: Pernambuco, Brazil
Apparently there was a railroad(s) built in Pernambuco circa 1855-1862, to support the sugar industry and coffee farms in Brazil.
Could Andrew Pepler and Israel James Burnby have been sent to Brazil for the purposes of being Engineers on this railroad? It just seems very odd that Emma Bonner married two Engine Drivers who both passed away within a few years (?) of each other.
I haven't yet searched for Israel James ("James") Burnby in the British Overseas Deaths and Burials collection.
If Israel James was working in Brazil, it probably explains why he's not in a 1861 census record either.
THEORY: After Andrew Pepler died, could IJB have traveled back to England to marry Emma Pepler, and also baptise his younger children in St Albans? It would also explain why two of IJB's daughters are "boarding" with a St Albans family in the 1861 census.
Interestingly, there is a similar death record for a Charles Burnby in Pernambuco. Death Year: 1855-1859. Could he be related to Israel James?
To see either the Pepler and/or Burnby death certificate, you would need to order it from the GRO, slightly different to how you would order a UK birth/marriage/death cert from them. NOTE: Overseas records are not sent electronically via a PDF document. They are sent via "snail mail".
Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
I wonder if the Charles Burnby, who died in Brazil, is the brother of Israel James Burnby? It would make sense as Elizabeth Burnby (sister-in-law of IJB) is described as "widow" in the 1861 census, living with son Charles in Holborn. Hmm...
If IJB and brother Charles did die in Brazil (or en-route to), I wonder what the cause of death was? Same for Andrew Pepler. Was it illness or rail accidents?
If IJB and brother Charles did die in Brazil (or en-route to), I wonder what the cause of death was? Same for Andrew Pepler. Was it illness or rail accidents?
Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
Thank you so much. Lots for me to pursue.
Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
If I were you, I'd order the two GRO Overseas Burial records for Andrew Pepler and Charles Burnby. They should shed some light on what the cause of death was, and perhaps who their employer was ?? It may have been the Recife and San Francisco Pernambuco Railway Company.
Cause(s) of death don't appear to be limited to the usual rail accidents and derailments...
North Devon Journal 09 January 1861: brief tidbit about "Two Englishmen connected with the works of the Pernambuco Railway were murdered by natives".
No names or other details furnished.
Cause(s) of death don't appear to be limited to the usual rail accidents and derailments...
North Devon Journal 09 January 1861: brief tidbit about "Two Englishmen connected with the works of the Pernambuco Railway were murdered by natives".
No names or other details furnished.Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
Thank you again.
I'm slightly hampered at present as I am in the middle of downsizing and all my FH records are packed in boxes. I don't recall having seen the parish baptism records for Israel's daughters, only the printed versions on Ancestry which don't help. Similarly I don't have the 1861 census for Israel's brother Charles Ashley Cooper Burnby or his wife Elizabeth nee Green. Where did you find these records?
Are you related to the Burnbys or Pepplers or do you have some other interest?
Thank you again
Susan Cooper nee Burnby (email: wshcooper@aol.com)
I'm slightly hampered at present as I am in the middle of downsizing and all my FH records are packed in boxes. I don't recall having seen the parish baptism records for Israel's daughters, only the printed versions on Ancestry which don't help. Similarly I don't have the 1861 census for Israel's brother Charles Ashley Cooper Burnby or his wife Elizabeth nee Green. Where did you find these records?
Are you related to the Burnbys or Pepplers or do you have some other interest?
Thank you again
Susan Cooper nee Burnby (email: wshcooper@aol.com)
Re: Israel James BURNBY 1818-?
No, I'm not related to the Burnby's or Peppler's. I just did some quick research, based on your request. It didn't take too long to work out the Brazil connection and probable lead.
The Burnby baptism images are all on Find My Past. If memory serves, there are three baptisms in St Albans circa 1861. They confirm that IJB's abode, at that time, was Brazil. He does seem to "disappear" after his second marriage in 1862. If you like, I can email you the baptism images. But they definitely indicate "Brazil". So it might be a moot point to email the images.
He must've worked with Andrew Pepler in Brazil. And that's how he's connected to Andrew's widow Emma.
The 1861 census for IJB's widowed sister-in-law Elizabeth Burnby is on Ancestry, FMP, and Family Search. She's living with her son Charles Jnr in Holborn.
The Burnby baptism images are all on Find My Past. If memory serves, there are three baptisms in St Albans circa 1861. They confirm that IJB's abode, at that time, was Brazil. He does seem to "disappear" after his second marriage in 1862. If you like, I can email you the baptism images. But they definitely indicate "Brazil". So it might be a moot point to email the images.
He must've worked with Andrew Pepler in Brazil. And that's how he's connected to Andrew's widow Emma.
The 1861 census for IJB's widowed sister-in-law Elizabeth Burnby is on Ancestry, FMP, and Family Search. She's living with her son Charles Jnr in Holborn.