Transcription of Death Certificate for Peter Washington

On March 11, 2020 I ordered the Coroner's Certificate of Death for my maternal great grandfather, Peter Washington.  I received the document on April 8, 2020 via email attachment.

Following is a partial transcription of the first half of the document. I put asterisks at the information I believe to be questionable or incorrect.

1. PLACE OF DEATH:
     a. COUNTY: Cook Illinois
     b. CITY: Chicago
     c. LENGTH OF STAY (in this place): 17 yrs
     d. FULL NAME OF HOSPITAL OR INSTITUTION (If not in hospital or institution, give street address or location): 3011 S. Calumet Ave*

* Peter Washington probably died at home and was pronounced by the Coroner who, along with the Deputy Coroner, signed the Certificate the following day (May 5, 1953).  Perhaps he died before he could be taken to the hospital. Or perhaps going to the hospital was not an option due to finances or medical coverage.  The Provident Hospital was about three miles from Peter Washington's home.
      An historical aside: As late as the mid-20th century many hospitals in Chicago refused to treat Negroes or even hire Negroes as doctors and nurses.  The Provident Hospital  was organized by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams in 1891 to ensure hospital care for African Americans, as well as a place of employment for African American medical professionals.   (Buelow, Paul A. The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago; Chicago Historical Society: Chicago, Illinois: 2005)

2. USUAL RESIDENCE:
    a. STATE: Illinois
    b. COUNTY: Cook
    c. CITY OR TOWN: Illinois
    d. STREET ADDRESS: 3011 S. Calumet Ave
 
3. NAME OF DECEASED: Pete Washington **

** His name is listed as Peter Washington in the U.S. Census records of 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930; as well as his marriage record (Ancestry.com. Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978 {database on-line}. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013)

4. DATE OF DEATH:  May 4,1953

5. SEX: Male

6. COLOR: Negro

7. MARRIED, NEVER MARRIED, WIDOWED, DIVORCED (Specify):  Widowed

8. DATE OF BIRTH:  Dec. 25, 1892***

9. AGE (in years last birthday):  60 ***

*** According to the 1900 U.S. census, Peter Washington was born Dec 1872. This would make him 80 years old at the time of his death. (1900; Census Place: Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll: T623_810; Page: 8A; Enumeration District : 34)

*** If Peter Washington was born in 1892 he would have been eight years old when his son (and informant) Ned Washington was born in 1900. In the 1910 U.S. census Holmes County, Mississippi, Ned is listed as 9 years old and his father, Peter, is 38 years old. (U.S. 1910 Census, Place Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll T624_742; Page 5B; Enumeration District 39; Image: 861)

*** In 1953 (Peter Washington year of death), his son, Ned Washington was 52 years old. Ned's date of birth is July 17, 1900 which is listed on several documents --  including his WWI Draft Registration Card and WWII Draft Registration Card.

10a. USUAL OCCUPATION (Give kind of work done during most of working life even if retired): Laborer

10b. KIND OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY:  General

11. BIRTHPLACE (State or Foreign Country):  Georgia

12. CITIZEN OF WHAT COUNTRY:  U.S.A.

13. FATHER'S NAME:  Peter Washington ****

14. MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME:  Mary Barrett ****

15. WAS DECEASED EVER IN THE U.S. ARMED FORCES: No

16. SOCIAL SECURITY NO,:  Unknown

17. INFORMANT:
      Name:   Ned Washington
      Address:  3011 S. Calumet
      Relationship to the deceased:  Son

**** Peter Washington and Mary Barrett are the parents of Ned Washington, the informant; not the parents of the deceased.   (U.S. 1910 Census, Place Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll T624_742; Page 5B; Enumeration District 39; Image: 861)

18.  CAUSE OF DEATH:  Atherosclerotic Heart Disease

20. AUTOPSY? No

What I learned:
1. My great grandfather, Peter Washington, may have lived in Chicago for 17 years
2. He died at home and his son, Ned Washington, was the Informant for the death certificate
3. Cause of death
4. Burial date of May 9, 1953
5. Funeral Home: Douglas Funeral Home, 4521 So. State Street
6. Place of Burial: Lincoln (the same cemetery as his wife, Mary Barrett Washington)
7. Reinforcement of the need to analyze information

Questions for further research:
1. Who are Peter Washington's parents?
2. Confirmation of when he moved to Chicago
3. Did Peter Washington live with his son, Ned --  or visa versa?
4. Was there a church service for his funeral?

Copyright © 2020 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Two-Mississippi: Ashtabula bound: We're Going North

My mother's maternal grandparents are Peter Washington and Mary Barrett Washington.  They were married on December 31, 1894 in Floyd County, Georgia.

Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978

Peter was born in Georgia December 1872.  In the 1880 U.S. census he is 8 years old, living with his parents, Ned and Darcus Washington and his four brothers: Silas, Newton, Elijah, and Ned.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Barkers, Floyd, Georgia; Roll: T9_146; Family History Film: 1254146; Page: 314.1000; Enumeration District: 71; Image: 0635.

By the 1900 census my great great grandparents --  Ned and Dortes (her name is different in every census) had moved to Holmes County, Mississippi. The family unit included Peter, his wife Mary and their two children: Lena and Estella.

That census is the earliest information I have found for Mary Barrett.  It shows that she was also born in Georgia with the birth month/year given as April 1875.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll: T623_810; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 34.

According to the 1910 U.S. census, my great grandmother had given birth to seven children of which five lived: Lena, Estella, Ned, Gilbert, and Lucy (my grandmother).  All of the Washington siblings eventually left their home state of Mississippi and moved Ashtabula Ohio.  So far, it seems to be between the years of 1918 and 1924.


Also in the 1910 U.S. census, Lena had already left her parents' home. She and Howard Huggins had been married one year and had a four-month old daughter, Bessie. They lived with his parents and his siblings in Holmes County, Mississippi. On July 3, 1919 they had their first child in Ashtabula Ohio, Amos Huggins,.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll: T624_742; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 1374755

By 1918 Estella (aka Aunt Stella) was living in Ashtabula, Ohio. She and her husband, William David Tyus had their first child, Leroy Tyus, in Ashtabula Ohio on April 20, 1918.

Ashtabula, Ohio, City Directory, 1918

In 1920 Uncle Ned, 20, was living in Ashtabula OH with his wife Virginia (from Mississippi) and newborn son, George. Also in the household was Uncle Gilbert, age 18 -- both men are listed as laborers on the railroad.





On April 10, 1924 Lucy and Noah Brown were married in Erie Pennsylvania -- I don't know why when all their siblings were in Ohio. Maybe they eloped???

However on their marriage license, Noah listed his address as 79 Bancroft Street in Ashtabula OH. Granny listed her address as 20 Depot Street in Ashtabula OH. Their first child, Verlie, was born in Ashtabula on March 1, 1925. Their second child, Arthur, was born in Buffalo, New York on March 23, 1927. Their last two daughters, Vivian and Evelyn were also born in Buffalo.

Ashtabula, Ohio, City Directory, 1926

So both sides of my mother's family --  her Washington aunts and uncles and her Brown aunts and uncles (earlier blog post One-Mississippi) moved from rural Mississippi to Ohio.  Why?


Whatever the reason, they were part of that Great Migration of Black folk leaving the south and moving to the north.  And as was the custom then, it seemed that each family member that moved north, reached out and helped those who followed.