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The will of Thomas Mendus received, unfortunately it doesn't give any information other than his wife's name. Nothing about his Welsh origins.

Does anyone know what information might be on his death certifiacte? (USA certificates 1918)

Any researchers in Berks County, Pennsylvania USA??
Looking for information on Thomas Mendus b. 1851 Wales d. 1918 Reading PA

wife 1. Elizabeth T b. 16 Apr 1853 St Clair PA d. 1898 Reading PA
wife 2. Martha W Shaneman b. 1867 d.1944 Reading PA

looking for marriages

looking for Berkshire Railroad employment records - may have some info on Thomas Mendus

Re title: it's Berks Co, not Berkshire Co - OK, it's named after Berkshire in the UK, but it's not called that (the W-most county in MA is called Berkshire - MA is big on English county names - there's also a Hants Co in NS).


Just searched for mend:
Last_Name First_Name Middle_Name Suffix_Name Date_of_Death Volume Page Line
Mendes Eliz. T. 1899 1 126 3
http://rwills.co.berks.pa.us/geneology/BCDeath.aspx


Check out:
http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/about/contactus.shtml#Retired/Relatives


Several nations followed UK constitutional practice, so just like there is no UK death certificate, the is no US, Canada, nor Oz death certificate. They're not issued at that level, but at the country, state, provincial or territorial level.
I've no idea what's on a 1918 PA d.cert. You might get lucky, and find a tree online where the owner has attached an image.

Check out:
http://tinyurl.com/ng9sbyx

A bit of progress!
Through the Berks Co rootweb, have found newspaper articles about Thomas Mendus

Reading Eagle june 18 1916 page 19
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ZuSUVyMx-TgC&dat=19160618&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

Reading Eagle Oct 9 1918 page 4 Obituary
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ZuSUVyMx-TgC&dat=19181009&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

A BIT of progress??? Vicci, what a fantastic find - it certainly is tying things together.

On page 1 I said I was sceptical about the immigration year of 1865 BUT if he ran away from home at age 14 then that is about when he would have arrived in the US the first time.

Timeline - Thomas Mendus gleaned from newsparer articles

b. Llantrissant Wales (matches my relative)
1865 ran away from home to USA
lived with uncle in Kansas/Indiana for 3 years
1868 returned to Llantrissant Wales
worked in Wales
including for Taffs Wales Railway Co. where his father was an Inspector (matches 1871 Wales census father Charles was a Foreman Platelayer)

1878/79 East Indies for British Govt
Mexico/Panama
shipwreck Dardenelle

1881 Wales
1885 returned to USA Larksville Luzerne Co. (mine explosion)
1889 Reading PA
1891 worked for Reading Railway Co.

no mention of wife and children in Wales or his wife Elizabthe T. in USA

still have not been able to locate him on any passenger lists

Vicci, there are lots of passenger lists missing or not on-line. I have rellies that I know travelled back and forth but there are no records (unless they teleported).

At 14 he could possibly have stowed away. Returning to the UK c1868 - incoming passenger lists start at 1878.

Outgoing passenger list from the UK start at 1890 and then are usually only to other continents so if he travelled via another part of Europe there would be no record. Reading the newspaper articles he likely took a circuitous route back to the US so likely not the sort of passages that would have records available.