Daily AncestorOverlaying
Overlaying meant a baby accidentally smothered in bed by a sleeping parent or nurse who rolled onto it.
Crowded homes often meant babies slept in the same bed as adults. Coroners recorded deaths as overlaying or overlain when they believed a sleeping adult had smothered the child. A London deputy coroner reported hundreds of such cases in 1889.
The verdict appears in coroners' records and burial registers. Some of these deaths may have had other causes that could not be recognized then.
As seen in a recordCoroner's inquest or burial register
Infant son of Jas. Doyle, 2 mos., Overlaid by mother
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Overlaying." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/overlaying. Last checked 2026-10-01.