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Cremation Records and Burial Register Information
Cremation Records

The first crematorium in England didn't open until 1885 (it was in Woking). What spurred it was an 1884 trial, following the cremation of a Welshman by his father. He was tried for it and acquitted; because there was actually no law stating that cremation was illegal (actually the Cremation Society had already been running for 10 years at this point).

By the end of the 19th century, there were three crematoria in England, although that figure quickly rose, and since the late Sixties more than half the people dying in England and Wales have been cremated.

The ashes are the property of the family, who can dispose of them as they wish - which can be anything from scattering in the country to being kept at home in an urn. It was only in 1944 that the Anglican Church allowed ashes to be buried in a churchyard (although the 1902 Cremation Act gave clergymen the right to refuse a funeral service for those being cremated unless the ashes were to be buried in consecrated ground). In that case it was entered in the church burial register. There have even been rare instances of ashes being scattered on football pitches, although clubs don't publicise this.

The cremation records give the same information as a burial register. Permission to cremate has to be given by a medical authority attached to the crematorium (some crematoria are private, others under the control of the local authority).

However, you're not going to be able to see those records. Because they might contain information about people still alive, access is restricted to those appointed by the Home Secretary, the Environment Minister or the top police officer. That said, you can still get the information: it will simply be provided orally, at the discretion of the registrar of the crematorium, although it will be probably only be given in the case of records old enough that confidentiality isn't a factor.

Death Certificates 1837 to Present Time

As with birth and marriage certificates, deaths have been recorded by the state since 1837. However, if all you need to know is the age of a person at death, for much of the period you don't need to find a copy of the full certificate. Between 1866 and1969, the age at death was listed in the national index (a zero means under the age of one). After that, date of birth is shown instead.

The death certificate shows where and when the deceased died, name and surname, sex, age (or d.o.b.), occupation (or last occupation if retired) and address, and cause of death, along with the signature, description and address of the person giving information about the death, along with when it was registered and the name of the registrar.

One thing to be taken with a pinch of salt is the cause of death. All too often it's a euphemism for something else, and as you go back to Victorian times, diagnoses become notoriously inaccurate. Since 1874 a doctor's certificate has been a necessity for the issuance of a death certificate, and often accompanies it. Indeed, until that date, it wasn't even necessary to put a cause of death on the certificate! That said, between 1858 and 1874, a certificate should state whether the death had been certified or not by a doctor.

You might notice a reference to a certified period of time in the cause of death column. This might refer to the statutory maximum period between death and burial. In the case of an epidemic like cholera, for example, it would be 24 hours. These figures can prove to be of interest.

There are actually rules covering informants of death. If an inquest has been held, then the coroner should be the informant. Otherwise it should be a relative of the deceased present at the death, a relative there during the final illness, a relative in the district, anyone present at the death, the occupier if they knew of the death, anyone else on the premises, and finally the person disposing of the body. Deaths must normally be registered within five days.

Records of Stillbirths

Stillbirths are a category unto themselves, and create an entry that's both birth and death certificate. The compulsory registration of stillbirths only began in 1927, with the cause of death only added after 1960. Prior to 1874 you didn't need a certificate to bury a stillborn child. A stillbirth has to be registered within three weeks of the event. Before 1983 the baby couldn't be name, and still can't be named in retrospect.

Records of Deaths Abroad: Outside England or Wales

If a British citizen dies abroad, the death should be recorded in the same manner as a birth or marriage - that is by the consul or high Commissioner, as has been the case since 1849. However, if the body is returned home for burial, the registrar in Britain has to issue a "certificate of no liability" (curiously, nothing is necessary if the person is cremated abroad and the ashes brought home). You can find these records at the National Archives.

Genealogy Information From The Cemetery

Graveyards are very important to genealogy. The first public graveyards didn't open until 1827, and prior to this date they were either church graveyards (graves were sometimes dug 30 feet deep to accommodate more bodies) or private graveyards, which came into fashion in the 18th century.

The new public graveyards (the first was in Kensal Green in London) were called cemeteries, and soon became the norm around the country. An act in 1850 gave burial powers to local boards of health, and since then cemeteries have been the responsibility of local authorities.

How to Find a Burial Plot From Your Family History

Finding where someone is buried is impossible from the Death Certificate itself. After the registrar issues a certificate of burial or cremation, it has to be returned within 14 days, showing where and how the body was disposed of (which can include cremation). However, the paper with that information is only retained for five years, so on a genealogy search years after the even that's no help.

If you're intent on finding the burial plot of an ancestor, an Obituary can help, and so, sometimes, can a will. Failing those, you're faced with a long search through church graveyards and local authority cemeteries. You should also remember that many cemeteries have separate sections for different religions.

There's one other important piece of information held at the cemetery, and that's the grave register. It tells you who owns the grave, when it was purchased, and who's buried in it. Where there's no gravestone, as if often the case, this can be an especially important piece of information towards your Family History.

As a rule, cemeteries can be very helpful with a genealogy search, but you need to be able to provide them with enough information to find the grave or plot. Their registers aren't the same as death certificates, but do have a surprising amount about the deceased that can add to a genealogy. As well as the place in the cemetery, there's name, address, age, occupation, and dates of death and burial.

Funeral Directors and Genealogy

Funeral directors or undertakers have been around professionally since 1688, but there are no written records before the early 19th century. By then their role was very similar to what it is today, not only arranging the burial, but helping to assemble all the necessary paperwork. In Victorian times, an undertaker covered a neighbourhood, so if you can't find the cemetery but do have the address where the person lived, it might be worthwhile checking the firm that was the nearest undertaker when in a family history.

They tend to have chronological, rather than alphabetical, records, but those are generally much the same as you'll find at the cemetery. Not all keep records – they're certainly under no obligation to do so – and they're not required to let you look. However, with older burials you'll probably find many quite obliging if you tell them you're researching genealogy.

What Gravestones Can Reveal in Genealogy

After burial, the gravestone in the cemetery is the only physical reminder of the deceased. But the majority of those who've died aren't commemorated that way. Either there was nothing (in older times, gravestones cost money most families didn't possess) or the markers were of wood. Many gravestones have become illegible after centuries of weather.

To find a grave, you'll need a map or register, which will be in the cemetery or churchyard. In the case of many churchyards, there's no such document. But, if you can find it, the gravestone can reveal a lot in genealogy. Sometimes family members are buried together, or an extended family might be buried next to each other. Always copy everything on the gravestone precisely, for it can help illuminate relationships, and for those buried before 1813, a stone might offer the only evidence of their age when they died – which is vital for a family history.

Don't be astonished if you find no stone. Apart from the fact that most people don't have one, other factors come into play, too. It might simply not have survived, especially where churches have been extended, for instance. You'll be lucky to find one before 1700, and those from before 1600 are exceptionally rare. Most early stones are flat slabs, known as ledgers, and have often been eroded by wind and rain.



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