Info from church registers

[helen]

Is it possible to find out from church registers where someone is buried. What is the likelihood of a grave from 1871 still existing in Birmingham?

Helen

[Rod Neep]

It is more likely, that by that date, that the burial would have been in one of the cemeteries rather than in a church graveyard. But yes, the chances of the headstone surviving are very high.

Regards
Rod

[Guy Etchells]

Wow, what questions!

The simple answer to both is yes.

However; church burial registers were intended to record every instance of burial in that particular churchyard, whether they do or not depends on how conscientiously they were filled in, they may also show internment of cremated remains. The second problem is they only (except for odd occassions) record the burials in their own particular church, this means any burial in the churchyard of another church andmessage=Wow, what questions!

The simple answer to both is yes.

However; church burial registers were intended to record every instance of burial in that particular churchyard, whether they do or not depends on how conscientiously they were filled in, they may also show internment of cremated remains. The second problem is they only (except for odd occassions) record the burials in their own particular church, this means any burial in the churchyard of another church and any burial in a cemetery will not be shown.
One should also be aware in the late 19th century many city churchyards closed as they became full and municipal cemeteries were opened.

I would suggest the best plan of action (unless you know which particular church the burial took place at) would be to contact the cemetoruim department of the local council, they should have registers of burials in the municiple cemeteries and churchyards under the care of the council.

In answer to the second question, providing the churchyard has not be cleared or providing the grave has not been reused yes the grave will still be there.
Not all graves are marked with memorial stones and due to the advent of mechanical grass cutters some churchyards have removed many of the gravestone leaving only a few remaining in place and either leaning them against the perimeter ot using the stones as paving.

All is not lost as the Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy & Heraldry (BMSGH) is very prolific in transcribing and may be able to help.
Cheers
Guy

[helen]

thank you for the responses. Though I am now "addicted" to family resaerch I m a still a novice at knowing what to do and where to seek info.

I have tracked down quite a bit of info about my Cooper relatives from Birmingham and some of the descendants. One of them John George born in 1847 married a Selina Ricketts in 1867. They later migrated to Queensland in Australia and brought with them 9 children.They later had 1 more born in Australia. I have tracked down the cemetries and taken photos of the plots and headstones of them all. However they had a child, Laura Ann, born in Nov 1869 and died in June 1871. Their marriage and baptisms appear to be in St Phillips Church Birmingham, so I hope I am correct in thinking that she may be buried there. One dRicketts in 1867. They later migrated to Queensland in Australia and brought with them 9 children.They later had 1 more born in Australia. I have tracked down the cemetries and taken photos of the plots and headstones of them all. However they had a child, Laura Ann, born in Nov 1869 and died in June 1871. Their marriage and baptisms appear to be in St Phillips Church Birmingham, so I hope I am correct in thinking that she may be buried there. One day I hope to get over or persuade one of the many Aussies I know going over on holidays and take the photo of the plot( if it exists) to complete my set.

Does this sound strange?
Helen

[frannw]

It is more likely, that by that date, that the burial would have been in one of the cemeteries rather than in a church graveyard. But yes, the chances of the headstone surviving are very high.

Regards
Rod
About ten years ago we went to England on vacation and I wanted to locate my husband's grandmother's grave in Brompton Cemetery in Chelsea, London. I contacted the cemetery officials and they sent me a map of the cemetery locating the plot, etc. They said that as the graves were overgrown it would be hard to find and they would have her grave mowed so we could find it. They were so efficient that they mowed the whole section! Of course, we never found the grave. There were stones, but none that I recognized. We found out later that due to limited space, the graves were reused. In reading the burials on the CD of St.Luke's Church in Chelsea, the Burial Register listed each burial, the row,the depth (feet & inches), and the charge for the burial, etc. So, some were buried 5ft, 6in, other maybe 14 ft.

This may be why so many graves are hard to find.

Frann Walker

[Guy Etchells]

Yes and no, though it may mean that the tombstone for a particular person may be hard to find it should still be possible to locate the grave plot.
Many stones in cemeteries carry a plot number, this may be on the back or near the base of the tombstone some may be located on the sides of the stone.
When a stone bearing a plot number is found check nearby stones to find out how the rows and numbers lie then count the plots to the required one.
Cheers
Guy
Ps this method may not always work but will in the

[bob bond]

Another line of enquiry may be with the church. I have found some churches keep two burial books. One containing the names age etc and is often filed at the local records office and a burial 'plot' register. It may be worth checking with the church to see if they keep such a record. I found it very useful and in one case found another burial not recorded in the burial register. It also showed which names had headstones, but best of all it allowed me to find unmarked, (most common in our experience) graves.