Where might they be buried?

[wilson8]

Looking for the churchyard or cemetery where my 3xgreat-grandparents are buried.

Hugh Wilson - death registered in the March qtr. 1875 - age listed as 71 (would have turned 72 later in the year)
reg. district, Birkenhead, Wirral, Cheshire

Jane Ann Wilson (his wife) - death registered in the June qtr. 1905 - age listed as 85 (would have turned 86 later in the year), reg. district, Birkenhead, Wirral, Cheshire

With this info., is it poss. to locate their actual burial places?

[elsinore]

The Liverpool Mercury of 9th February 1875 has a short entry for a Hugh Wilson aged 71: his address given as Magazine Park, New Brighton. Apparently he had been British Consul at Tacna, Peru. Is this your man?

The nearest cemeteries to that address would be Wallasey Cemetery (Rake Lane) or Flaybrick Hill Cemetery (now known as Flaybrick Memorial Gardens). Both have websites.

Friends of Wallasey Cemetery will undertake a search to locate a grave and, if successful, make a small charge for finding and photographing the grave.

I did a quick search (unregistered) of Flaybrick, without success.

Peter

[Lesley Robertson]

Don’t forget that many people did not have grave stones, and that acid rain has not helped with inscription stability. If the Friends mentioned by Peter cannot help, you could ask the local FHS whether there are records of inscriptions. The people responsible for cemeteries (these days, frequently the Parks and Gardens Dept of the local Council) should have what we call in Scotland “Lair Books” where all graves, marked or not, are recorded.

[wilson8]

Peter....thank you for your help and suggestions. Yes, you did find the right Hugh Wilson (he was a British Consul for many years in South America).

I took yr suggestion and went to the website for Wallasey Cemetery, however, it states that the first burials there first took place in 1883 (too late for Hugh who died in 1875).

Jane would most likely be buried next to her husband, and he can't be there.

So...I was wondering where I might find the actual burial permits for Hugh and Jane? There must be an office or dept. that would have issued burial permits (and the permit would indicate place of burial?).

In the UK - where are burial permits kept/recorded - in the district or sub-district office, a county office?

If they are buried in a churchyard, would I just go to that churches website (and/or write) to inquire if they have a list of burials?

I appreciate yr help!

[wilson8]

Hi Lesley...thank you for replying. I have ordered the MI books in the past for some of the church yards where family members are buried in England. That would certainly be a good avenue for me to try again. Not being from the UK - does every town have a local Council, or are Councils at the District and Sub-District level that I would check out? As I mentioned in my reply to Peter - there must have been burial permits filled out when Hugh and Jane were buried??? Where would they be kept? Appreciate yr. help.

[Megan Roberts]

We don't have burial permits in the UK.

If your ancestors were buried in a churchyard then that church may have a record of them. If they were buried in a municipal graveyard then there should be a record somewhere, however because over the years there has been lots of local government reorganisations, it can be difficult to discover where that might be. If the graveyard is still in use then actually the best people to ask are where the records are kept can be local funeral directors!

Both Wallasey and New Brighton come under the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and this is a link to that council's website:
https://www.wirral.gov.uk/about-coun...head-town-hall

[Lesley Robertson]

I always go to GENUKI for info about archives, libraries,etc. For Cheshire, it's HERE.

Bearing in mind that most offices (unless considered essential) are closed at the moment (and probably for the next few weeks, at least) I would probably try the two societies they list, first. They will most likely be run by volunteers from their home PCs.

As someone who's escaped from the Scottish Forums (and therefore doesn't have the necessary books), I'll be interested to see any answers about burial permits - I have not heard about them...
Thank you Megan, I see our messages crossed.

[wilson8]

Thank you Megan....I knew one of my cousins from the UK once sent me a document (which I thought was a burial permit), so that's why I thought there must be such records for the whole UK.

I took another look at the doc after seeing your post and it says "Burial Board" of the parish of .... notice of Interment, etc. So it wasn't an actual permit, but rather just listing the details of the burial. It did indicate though the exact cemetery, location in the cemetery, date and time of funeral, and even the name of the officiating minister!

Thank you for the link to the Council's website, I will check it out.

[elsinore]

I think the Burial Boards may have become defunct around the end of the 19th century with the passing of The Local Government Act 1894, which

“introduced a change into the government of burial grounds (consequent on the general change made in parochial government) by transferring, or allowing to be transferred, the powers, duties, property and liabilities of the burial boards in urban districts to the district councils, and in rural parishes to the parish councils and parish meetings; and by allowing rural parishes to adopt the Burials Acts, and provide and manage new burial grounds by the parish council, or a burial board elected by the parish meeting” (1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica).

This means that Hugh's burial in 1875 would have been instructed by the relevant Burial Board, for which there should be a record. Presumably, it would be similar to the one you have, although different boards may have had different practices.

This page is a little more specific regarding location of records:
https://www.
wirral.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/wirral-archives-service/documents-held-wirral-archives
scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Nowadays, a Registrar will issue a green burial certificate at the time of death registration but, to my knowledge, it does not specify where and when the burial will take place. It is simply a permit to allow the burial to be arranged and carried out by whoever is responsible. I don't know if these records are kept and/or are accessible.

Peter

[wilson8]

Peter...thank you again. Yes, the Burial Board record I have is from 1878, so apparently before the change you mentioned over to the district and parish counsils.

I did scroll to the bottom of the link you provided and I see they recommend contacting the reference libraries (in my case, Birkenhead and Wallasey), and/or the Cheshire Record Office. I will certainly give it a try.

A bit confusing for me (and others from the US), as on our death cert's from about 1910/1920 onwards, the place of interment as well as the name of the funeral director is listed. So, one stop shopping - if you have the death cert., you know the place of burial as well, name of cemetery, etc.

With your help, and the help of Megan and Lesley - you have put me on the right path and, hopefully, I will find what I am looking for.

Was back in the UK for a family reunion in 2014, but was unable on that trip to make it to the Wirral. Am planning another visit in the near future and wanted to be able to go in person to see where my family members are buried there. So, again - many thanks everyone.