Jane Wilson Watt: Insights from a 1907 Scottish Death Record

 

Source: Scotland. Statutory Register of Deaths, 1907, entry 459/2 14, Jane Watt; Crown Copyright, National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh. Digital image, Scotland’s People (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 25 June 2022).

My second great-grandmother, Jane Wilson Watt, spent most of her life in Methil, Fife, Scotland. She was the daughter of John Wilson and Elizabeth Baird. I have located a few census records for Jane, but not much else. The record shown above is her death certificate; a transcription of the information it contains is provided below.

Death Record: Jane Wilson Watt

·       Name of Deceased: Jane Watt, widow of John Watt, Flax dresser

·       Date of Death: January 18, 1907 at 11:45 P.M.

·       Address of Death: 25 Dock Place, Methil, Wemys

·       Place of Death: District of Buckhaven in the County of Fife, Scotland

·       Age: 69 years

·       Gender: Female

·       Marital Status: Widow

·       Name of Father: John Wilson

·       Occupation: Spirit Merchant, deceased

·       Name of Mother: Elizabeth  Wilson nee Baird, decease

·       Cause of Death: Influenza Bronchitis

·       Certified by James Caskie MD

·       Informant: George Watt, son, Present

·       When Registered: January 19, 1907

·       Where Registered: Buckhaven

Jane Wilson Watt’s death record provided a small but valuable glimpse into her life in Scotland. From it, I learned her mother’s maiden name and the occupations of both her husband and father. These details led me to explore those occupations further and offered insight into what life might have been like in Scotland in 1907.