Stuart Hamilton (stujuham @t aol.com) of Bedford wrote: Mathius Mull, the Proprietor of the Times of India, lived in Holly Lodge, Chipping Barnet in 1871 census. He died in 1893( aged 71). Where might he have been buried? Also what was the Local Newspaper of the day (obituaries !)

Clearly Mathius Mull is an interesting character as The Times of India (The Bombay Gazette before 1861) was a very significant newspaper employing some 800 staff in the 19th century. (Wikipedia). However his connection with Barnet seems to be very limited - and it seems unlikely the Barnet papers would have reported his death from the information currently available to me.

A check of the census returns (plus some checks of FreeBMD) shows that he was born in London and in 1841 he was an apprentice printer living with his parents. Possibly he was in India in 1851 and may have married his wife there - definitely his family was in Bombay at the time of the 1861 census.

The 1871 census shows that he was not at home (perhaps in India) while his wife and children were living in Holly Lodge Barnet Common. The birth places of the children show the family had been highly mobile: Alfred (14 registered Islington, London); Arthur Sebastian (12 registered Islington, London); Percy H (11 born Bombay); Florence (10 born Bombay); Walter Mendelssohn (8 Broxbourne, Herts, registered Ware) and Sydney (4 registered Pancras, London) This suggests that Holly Lodge may have been no more than a short term rent so the children could be educated in England, and Mathius may only have lived there for short periods.

In 1881 his wife Sarah, and three of the children were back in Islington. He was not at home (in India?) and she was described as a Journalist's Wife. In 1891 he was at Kensington while his wife was staying with their son Walter, who was the bank manager at the bank in Brent Street, Hendon. Mathius died in 1893 and his death is recorded in the Hendon registration district - so his death certificate may show that he died while staying with his son Walter. In 1901 his widow, Sarah, was living with son Percy at Cricklewood, and in 1907 her death was registered in Kensington.

I would suggest at least some of the following might provide further information about his death and place of burial.

• Anthony reports: Mathias Mull was buried at Hendon on 4 October 1893 (register of Hendon St Mary). His address given as Grace House, Brent Street and age as 73 years. I notice that Percy Herbert Mull was married at St Cuthbert Hampstead in 1904. He was a professor (i.e. teacher) of music. Strangely Mathias Mull does not turn up in a search of the National Probate Register and nor does Sarah.

  Get his death certificate (assuming you have not already done so) This should give the date and place of death and who registered it. If there had to be an inquest this might suggest other places to look for information.

• Check the online Times archives. The Times of India was a sufficiently important paper that the death of its former proprietor might be sufficiently newsworthy for an obituary. (The search costs nothing but you need to pay to see any news items in full.)

• Check to see if Mathius left a will - and if so get a copy. If one exists may even state where he wanted to be buried.

• Check The Times of India (I assume the British Library Newspaper Collection has it.)

• If Sarah left a will in 1907 it may say she wanted to be buried with her husband - and the cemetery may be identified.

• Many London burials at this period took place in very large privately run cemeteries on the outskirts of London. and it is even possible that there was one somewhere near Barnet. You should start enquiries at the London Metropolitan Archives - who could suggest where you might look.

Afterthought: Following the additional information found by Anthony the fact that Mathius was the proprietor of the most important newspaper in India, and the servants in the house at the time of the 1871 census suggests that he was then well to do. The subsequent evidence suggests, including the lack of wills, suggest that the family may have been less well off in later years.

If you can add to the information given above tell me.