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  1. #1
    Brick wall demolition expert!
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    Default Workhouse Burials

    I have seen posts asking where would somebody who died in a workhouse be buried, and think that the general consensus would be somewhere close by.

    Whilst trawling through parish records in Pembrokeshire I came across the burial of an Alfred John in 1908 in the parish of Mathry which states that he had died in the Haverfordwest workhouse. The distance between the two is about 15 miles.

    I have no interest in this particular chap, I just thought that this might be of interest to anyone looking for a workhouse burial. Incidentally he was born in 1853.

  2. #2
    Reputation beyond repute
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    In the event of a death, the family would always be notified and be given the opportunity to claim the body. This would be the preferred option for the Board of Guardians because burials cost money and if the family didn't meet the cost, the workhouse (ie ratepayers) would have to. If the family took responsibility, they would decide where the burial should be.

  3. #3
    Starting to feel at home
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    Default

    Peter, your comments are very timely.

    I have today received from GRO an 1878 death cert for my ggf Timothy Falvey b. 1833 in Macclesfield. This combination of Timothy with Falvey and an England death is quite rare. The only other death listed of suitable date is of Southampton in 1889 and he was a newspaper editor and councillor and my Timothy's father's brother.

    I can track Timothy up to and including his Army wedding in 1864 where the cert shows he is 30 years old. Then, via my g/mother's Birmingham 1865 birth cert, where he is now a police constable. His police career (arrests etc) can be followed via the Birmingham newspaper up to 1874 and then nothing more. His daughter ie my g/mother's married in 1884 and her cert states Timothy as a police constable deceased.

    I can then track his wife via her second marriage in 1879 - a quickish remarriage - and then again via the 1881 census of Stoke Damerel.

    Timothy's (phthisis) took place in Dudley Road Workhouse, Birmingham. What is odd about the death cert is that it shows his age as 55 in 1878 whereas my Timothy Falvey would have been 45. Perhaps the reason lies in that the death is informed by the Master of the Workhouse and also states that his occupation is 'unknown'. The death cert is dated just 2 days after his death.

    Was the Workhouse always the informant where a death occurred within its walls? If the family were informed would not his widow usually be the informant or was Workhouse not be prepared to wait beyond say a few days? Given the error of 10 years on his age and his 'unknown' occupation, although he had been a police constable for at least 10 years, perhaps he was a genuine 'lost soul' in there.

    Next move I guess it to find out who buried him. If it was the workhouse was that usually in a pauper's grave?

    I have found today an 1878 burial record via FMP for a Timothy Falvey in Witton Cemetery. Perhaps the latter office will be able to supply some information on the Workhouse v. family arrangements.

    Ray

  4. #4
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    A workhouse official was usually the informant because the registrar was usually a workhouse official

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