GGrandfathers Burial

[Moulder86]

I'm relatively new to the whole genealogy thing, although I have always asked questions about my past family and that sort of thing.

I have come up with a bit of a problem my Grandad can't remeber where his father is buried, despite attending the funeral. They belive him to be buried in Bradford-upon-Avon church yard, but we have not been able to find him. I called the Wiltshire council and enquired about it and spoke to the relevant people but there is no record of him being buried in that particular place.

His name is Walter Willsher and died between 1960 and 1970, would somebody please tell me the best way for me to find him.

Thank you I appreciate any help.

Stacey

[JanM]

Hi Stacey
If your family is relatively confident of the general area where your G-gt father was buried, it could be a good plan to check out the funeral directors in the surrounding district. I don't know about in the UK, but here in NZ funeral directors have quite detailed records, including family information.
Good luck.
Jan

[busyglen]

Could he have been buried in a local Cemetery rather than the churchyard? If so the local authority would have details of the names and details of the graves. I note that you said you had tried the Wiltshire Council, but it may be that they don't have all of the individual authorities details in that area. I'm not sure on this, but it's worth a try.

Glenys

[Moulder86]

I really appreciate both of your ideas, I hadn't thought of the funeral directors that sounds like a good plan. Also I didn't think about the local authorities, I will give them both a go thank you very much.

Stace

[Pam Downes]

Hi Stacey,
What you must do first of all is to obtain a copy of the death certificate. This will give you the date of death and an address. The date is especially important because no company or authority is going to look through 10 years of records for you. If you want to know how to find out about death registration and obtaining the certificate, then yell, but you could always ask the rellies first to see if anyone has got a copy stashed at the back of a cupboard.
If Walter was living in, or local to, Bradford-on-Avon, then it may be worth contacting B-o-A library to ask if they have copies of old local newspapers, and if so, if you gave them a date of death, would it be possible for them to send you a copy of the obituary. Depending on when the death/funeral took place and the day of the week on which the paper was published, you may get just brief details or you may get the full obit with a list of mourners and their relationship to Walter, but in both cases it will most likely say 'funeral arrangements by.....'. And if you get the full obit and mourners, it should say where he was buried or cremated.
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltslib/getlib.php?id=5

continued.......

[Pam Downes]

Have just re-read all the posts in this thread, and notice that you say in your first one 'They believe him to be buried in Bradford-upon-Avon church yard, but we have not been able to find him.' Does this mean that you have walked round the churchyard looking for a headstone? If so, remember that not everyone had a headstone/memorial. In which case, I would first ask Wiltshire & Swindon Record Office if they hold the PRs for B-o-A burials and if so, up to what date. (You can ask this while waiting for the death certificate info.) If they have those registers then just confirm how much it would cost for them to send you a copy of the entry.
http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/leisure...rch-records.htm
If the Record Office doesn't have the PRs then you will have to write to the present vicar for details. He can legally charge you about £15 for this service, but for this price you should also be able to get precise details about the grave site.
Pam Downes

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[Moulder86]

My Grandad and Nan seem to remember standing in front of that church for the funeral and it is believed that there was a head stone put on the grave at a later date. Although as I mentioned we can not find (from a search around the church yard). I have thought about getting the death cer, although we already know where he died (in a local Hospital) it's just the burial site. I have contacted both the Wiltshire and Swindon authorities with no luck. I will however try what you have suggested and I appreciate the help, it's something I want to do for Grandad before something happens to him.

Sorry I may be being really thick but PRs? I'm not completely sure of all the short hand.

Thank You
Stacey

[Geoffers]

Does this mean that you have walked round the churchyard looking for a headstone? If so, remember that not everyone had a headstone/memorial..............and not all memorials survive. I've just finished indexing the memorials in our local cemetery, even some from 30 years ago are damaged and/or difficult to read. Has the local FHS indexed/transcribed burials in graveyards?

Pam's given you what I think is the best way to find where someone was buried and funeral notices in newspapers are very easy to search.

By the way PRs - Parish Registers

Geoffers

[Moulder86]

Ahh thank you! I know I think it's a real shame that theres not someone to look after them and keep them in reasonable condition.

Is there a place on the site that abbrevations are listed for begginers like me (I can be really dense sometimes)?

Thanks again
Stacey

[busyglen]

Stacey, you are not dense! It's like any subject...they all have their own abbreviations. I STILL don't know all of the abbreviations used in Genealogy, and if I don't understand, like you, I ask.

I had the same problem when I was trying to set up my own web site. Some of the people on the help-line kept using abbreviations and I was completely thrown. I found a site that gave useful tips and listed most of the terms etc. used which helped.

Regarding genealogy abbreviations....I don't know of any on the forum, but I would continue to do as you have...just ask...everyone is willing to help. :)

Glenys

[Pam Downes]

Hi Stacey,
Although I said you needed to send for the death certificate I based that on your statement of 'Walter died between 1960 and 1970', but if you know his date of death (in addition to place), then obviously you won't need the certificate. On the other hand do you know for certain that he lived in Bradford on Avon and not in a nearby village where he is perhaps more likely to be buried? The death certificate should give a home address unless he had been in hospital for a long while.
Re Geoffers' comments about not all headstones surviving and has the local FHS transcribed/indexed churchyard burials, have a look at
http://www.familyhistoryonline.net/database/WiltsFHSMI.shtml#Coverage
I've just entered Walter Willsher (with variants for forename and surname), Wiltshire, all records, 1950-1980, and it comes up with no records shown. Which, considering the dates given for Bradford on Avon MIs, seems to indicate that either no headstone/memorial was put on the grave or if one was, that it didn't last very long at all.
(MI = Monumental inscription)
I don't know Wiltshire at all, so am not familiar with local cemeteries, but is it possible that Walter had a church service but was then buried in the cemetery (as Glenys has suggested), or even cremated after a church service.
There is no mention of cemetery MIs on the Wiltshire list so it might just be worth double-checking with Wiltshire FHS. There's a contact email at the bottom of that URL, and they might even know of cemeteries in the B-o-A area. If not, you might have to contact the B-o-A Tourist Board. Wonder if that'll be the first time they've been asked 'do you have a cemetery in the town?' :D
Pam Downes

[Moulder86]

There maybe a way of finding him as one of my grandads brother in law's was there so he may remember (grandad had forgotten he was there). Takes all the fun out of it though trying to find him the hard way.

But thank you all who replied it has helped with me knowledge and widened my research basis.

Stacey :-)

[jenny gape]

Try contacting the Vicar or Churchwarden of the church.
There may be a plan of the graves which are in the churchyard.
This would be kept by the vicar.
Just been down that road myself ,only to find that the said plan had been"mislaid"!
Hope you have better luck
Jenny(Salisbury)