Genealogy Chat

Good morning,

Does anyone know or can suggest how you can locate where a burial took place in Paisley, Scotland?

I have tried both Deceased on Line and Find a Grave but there are no entries for anyone of the same names. I have tried Googling their names, as the little Agnes died of burns in an accident and I thought there may have been some mention in a newspaper but nothing…

The two people I am looking for are:

Agnes McCall Sim – Died 7 January 1920 at the Paisley Infirmary, in Renfrewshire, aged 3 years and nine months, her usual residence being 9 Moncrieff Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire.

And that of her mother who died aged 33 only a couple of years after her little daughter:

Agnes Sim nee McCall – Died 10 March 1922 at 9 Moncrieff Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire.

I have tried Googling their names, as the little Agnes died of burns in an accident and I thought there may have been some mention in a newspaper but nothing…

I don’t live in the UK otherwise I could go around to all the cemeteries myself, so am looking for any help and would be most appreciative. I just can't think of where else I could look and the death certificates don't mention anything about burials.

Thanks

Rachelle

http://www.renfrewshirefhs.co.uk/


May be worth contacting them, they are compiling a CD of Paisley cemetery

Peter

Thanks Peter.

I had a look at the site and it states that they have compiled a listing fo all deaths for the National Burial Death & Index project which is available on CD but only shows to 1855.

Without knowing a correct cemetery I would have to purchase all of their CD's and add that on top of the cost to join in Australian dollars makes it a bit pricey and out of reach at the moment.

I just thought maybe there would be some other way of tracing them...

Thanks for your suggestion.

If you contact them they may have a member who could look for you - no harm in asking!

Peter

Hi There,

Try contacting eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk, my brother works for the council that covers Paisley, but not in that department. I hope I am not misleading you, but it is worth having a go.

Alison.

Just some information I found.

http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ilwwcm/publishing.nsf/Content/els-pl-local-newspapers

Wishing you luck in your search.
Regards
Kath

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I have emailed the library to see if they could have a look through the newspapers for me, I guess they can only say no!

It just seems a bit sad that it is so hard to find a grave. Possibly as they years have passed no one remembers them anymore and the grave is no longer attended.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I had a very helpful librarian who went out of her way to check all of the newspapers and microfiche and found teh following articel for me:

January 1 1920 Paisley Daily Express


Child severely injured

A three year old girl, Agnes Sim, who lives with her parents at 9 Moncrieff Street is under treatment in the Infirmary for burning injuries sustained in the house.

It appears that her father and mother were out at work and the little girl was in the charge of her grandmother. The latter had gone out to the cellar for coal leaving the child seated on a stool by the fire. It is believed that a piece of live coal falling from the grate ignited her clothes. She ran to the door which she was unable to open and called to a neighbour for help.

This was soon forthcoming but the girl was seriously burned on the right side.

Sad...........

The same librarian was able to provide me with an email contact who may be able to assist in locating the grave of Agnes and her mum.

Thank you all once again, I'm a little bit closer, and now I know how the accident happened at least. Fingers crossed I'll find where they are buried next.

Cheers

Rachelle

Hi Rachelle,

Oh how sad, the poor wee girl.
I feel for the grandmother as how will she have felt with being in charge of her Granddaughter.
Oh it doesn't bear thinking about.

On a lighter note, I'm pleased you have found out why she died and are a step closer to finding her grave.

Wishing you all the best
Kath

Yay, I have now recieved confirmed of where they both are buried.

The sad thing is that the little Agnes seems to be buried with her paternal grandparents and some other relatives and the mother seems to be all alone.

Makes me wonder if there was some sort of falling out after little Agnes died and then when the mother died two years later they didn't put them together.

Kath, I know that my first thought what a horrible thing to happen. I have a little girl myself and I could not bear the thought of anything happening to her. Makes me wonder if the mother died so young due to the shock of losing her.

At least I know the right cemetery now so if ever I get the chance to visit Scotland I can visit them both.

Thanks everyone for helping me to resolve this little story

Hi Again Rachelle,

Yes, it certainly appears that there was something wrong why little Agnes's mother wasn't buried alongside her. One reason could be that there was no room left in the lair for the mother though.

Where exactly are they buried Rachelle? I am interested because I am a Glaswegian myself but have lived in England for 25 years. Anything "scottish" intersts me & I have ancestors who were born & raised in Paisley and surrounding areas.

I'm so pleased for you that you have finally found her resting place.

Kind Regards
Kath

Earlier in the week I received my 2xgt grandmother death cert. She also died from burns caused when her clothing caught fire.

I was told this happened frequently. You can imagine in a small house with plenty of children how difficult it was to keep people safe.

No wonder children were encouraged to play outside it was safer

Hi Kath,

Both of the Agnes's are located in the Woodside Crematorium in Paisley.

I thought perhaps themother was buried away from little Agnes but perhaps with her family, but they have confirmed that this is not so. You might be right perhaps the grave was just full.

I was hoping there may have been pictures of the cemetery on the internet but there is not a lot there. One day I hope to be lucky enough to travel and at least take a photo of the graves, lay some flowers etc.

Quinsgran, yes it must have been very difficult, makes you wonder how many accidents there really were. I guess because a lot of people lived in poverty or very poor conditions, a lot of things may have gone unrecorded.