Genealogy Chat

Hi,
I'm new to all this but can anyone tell me how to find where people are buried and how to find their plots?
Many thanks
Cath

It can be a bit of a lottery finding them, but - if they're likely to be buried in a cemetery - it may be worth ringing the cemetery near where they lived around the time of death to see if they have a record of the burial.

With churchyards, sometimes the burial registers will still be at the church but older ones could be held at the local records office so you might have to go through them on microfilm or microfiche. (Sometimes people were buried a few miles from where they lived - if, say, they were Catholic and their nearest church was C of E, they might have been buried at the nearest Catholic one. Other times they may just have been buried in the local churchyard regardless of the denomination.)

Sometimes graves aren't marked at all (or possibly, were marked and the stone has been removed due to damage) even when there is a record of that person being buried in a particular churchyard, so it could be that they were buried in whichever place but the family didn't put a stone up - or couldn't afford to.

Hi,
Thanks for esponding. Unfortunately, I do not know the death date. All I know it was in the Leeds area (possibly Lawnswood cemetary). The name I am looking for is a Joseph and Annie Bradshaw (nee Spink). I though if I could find the grave I could find when they died.
Thanks again
Cath

Hi Cath, could this be them?

1911 Census, Annie E Bradshaw, age 43

HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW ANNIE F 1896 15 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW BERTHA F 1894 17 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW CASEY F 1900 11 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW EMILY F 1904 7 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW GEORGE HENRY M 1889 22 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW JOSEPH M 1898 13 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW JOSEPH M 1859 52 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding
HOUSEHOLD BRADSHAW TOM M 1891 20 Leeds Yorkshire West Riding

1901 Census

Joseph Bradshaw
Age: 41
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Annie
Gender: Male
Where born: Chesterfield

Civil parish: Leeds
Ecclesiastical parish: All Saints
Town: Leeds
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England

Street Address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status: View image

Registration district: Leeds
Sub-registration district: South East Leeds
ED, institution, or vessel: 19
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 198
Household Members: Name Age
Joseph Bradshaw 41
Annie Bradshaw 32
Sarah Bradshaw 13
George Bradshaw 12
Tom Bradshaw 10
Rutha Bradshaw 7
Annie Bradshaw 5
Joe Bradshaw 3
Cassie Bradshaw 1

In which case they died after 1911, and could well be buried at Lawnswood, which opened in 1905. I would contact Leeds Council and see what records they have. I have no expereince of Leeds, but my own relatives in Macclefield and High Peak I have foudn easily via a short email to the person in chare of cemeteries, and they have done a search for me withiin a couple of days, and for free. If you want alot of deaths looking for then they will charge, which is quite reasonable.

Good luck

Margaret

Hi,
Yes, that is the family I'm trying to trace. I still have relatives in the Leeds area so I will get them to contact the council to see if they have any records. Thankyou very much for your help.
Cath

Possible death for Joseph:

Deaths Sep 1924
Bradshaw Joseph 64 Leeds 9b 327

Elaine - re "a friend of mine says that it is extremely expensive".

I don't think that is the case. I think the case is the cost is extremely variable.
There are cemeteries where a search is extremely expensive, but there are other places where it's free - there's even places with their indices online (up to a year or two back) and you can search yourself.

Morecambe Town Hall didn't cost a penny. Got two different graves in two different graveyards. Found four people!
Also supplied us with maps of where unmarked grave was.
Thank you Morecambe!
anne.

Cath,

I'd give the local council a whirl before deciding it's too expensive. I have not yet paid a penny for at least 100 grave searches I have had done. I have sent donations to named charities for a couple, and to a church for another lot. Their websites may well say £x for a half-hour search, but most of these officers enjoy their jobs and will do the odd few searches for nothing.

Some councils have their records at least partly computerised, so searches are easy. Those that haven't may well get a wake-up call if enough people ask for searches but don't want to pay much.

Let us know how you get on.

Margaret

Cath,

I'd give the local council a whirl before deciding it's too expensive. I have not yet paid a penny for at least 100 grave searches I have had done. I have sent donations to named charities for a couple, and to a church for another lot. Their websites may well say £x for a half-hour search, but most of these officers enjoy their jobs and will do the odd few searches for nothing.

Some councils have their records at least partly computerised, so searches are easy. Those that haven't may well get a wake-up call if enough people ask for searches but don't want to pay much.

Let us know how you get on.

Margaret

As you discovered, it is much more pleasurable to go and have a look for yourself.