Family Graves & Churches

Headstones and burial records have provided me with lots of information about our ancestors, but sadly there is a worldwide trend to recycle old burial grounds. As churchyards and cemeteries have been re-organised, and in the absence of any known family to contact, the headstones have been moved or even taken away.

Only the well to do, gentry, farmers and major tradesmen buried in the 18th century had headstones. Some of those just had 'bed head' wooden markers, which rotted away in time. Many of those that remain have been broken or weathered to illegibility. But the names of our ancestors appear in the parish burial registers and the less accessible sexton's records show the location of the original plot. Genealogists worldwide are also creating Monumental Inscription (MI) records, transcribing the headstones and cemetery layouts. Archaeologists, too, have recognised that historic churchyards hold a fascinating collection of memorials and tombs and some have produced their own guides.

In the 18^th century, grave-robbers (or resurrectionists) removed bodies for sale to medical schools. Anatomical instruction depended on confiscation of the dead. As demand grew, black markets in bodies flourished, and so did moral, theological, legal, social and philosophical clashes over medical authority and the nature and disposition of the dead. These issues were debated in pulpits and lecture halls, sensationalised in front page bodysnatching scandals, fought out in riots against medical schools, and decided in courts and legislatures.

A mort-safe being lowered over a coffin. This consisted of an iron cage
capped by a massive granite slab which needed block and tackle to insert and remove.

The lovely churchyard of "All Saints" in Nailstone, Leicestershire, England holds our family’s best example of historic headstones. In the 21^st century, we can still view for ourselves, the headstones of Ann Gardner, who died in 1712, her husband, Henry’s dated 1731 and some 38 descendants of Henry and Ann. It is an awesome experience to stand amongst them. Scotland’s Borthwick WA'as burial ground at Roberton, Selkirkshire, holds the remains of James Grieve, who died in 1772, and his wife, Helen, who died in 1784, perhaps some of their forefathers and certainly many descendants.

For the sake of posterity, I have photographed many ancestral headstones and churches where they were baptised, married and buried, in various parts of the United Kingdom, Eire, Germany and Australia.

Webmaster: Sirrah Computing

Date : October 2000
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