Genealogy Chat

My mum had three babies who died in the 1940's and she told me stories of how if someone couldn't afford a burial plot they would be able to put the baby on a shelf in someone else's grave, has anyone ever heard of this ? and how could I find out where these babies are buried ?

Betty

I don't know about the shelf


but it was once very common for a stillborn child to put in a grave that was open that day for someone else's burial


I believe that many cemeteries, if not all, kept records of stillborn babies being so buried


but be aware that not all the babies would have been named.


They might be under Female Smith, Baby Smith .... or possibly no name at all.


You would have to find out which cemetery those babies were buried in and then see if they had the records, and could/would share the information


I believe there is not a registry of still births at that period ........ I think it began later.


The parents of a stillborn child can find out the name and information if the baby is on the stillbirth register ..... if they are both dead, then a sibling of the baby may be able to find the information, but have to have proof of the parents' death.


look at this site

www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Registeringlifeevents/Familyhistoryandresearch/
Birthmarriageanddeathcertificates/index.htm



re-connect the 2 parts of the url before copying it



sylvia

Hi Sylvia, as far as I know the babies were not still born, but died at a few months old. I have a rough idea of the cemetery they might be in, so will try and do a search there. thanks for your reply.
Betty

My husband's baby brother died at 12 hours old in 1946. We found from his burial record that he was buried in the same grave as a 2 year old girl who was not connected to the family.

I think it was done to save or share the cost of a funeral. Many funeral directors did not charge for the burial of a baby.

Kath. x

Hi Kathleen, where would I find a burial record ?
thanks
Betty

We found ours at the County Records Office. The record gave us the churchyard where the baby was buried. The church used to be near to where we live but had been demolished. Another church close by had the sexton's record book for the demolished church and the vicar of the nearby church found the record in the Sexton's book for us which told us about the burial with the 2 year old girl.

Kath. x

My brother died when only 3 hours old. Fortunately I know where he is buried and I try to visit once a year to remember him and write a message in the church book. However there isn't a headstone or any sign to indicate where he is. Because he died before he was christened the Parish priest of the ime would not allow him to be buried in consecrated ground. therefore he was buried in a tiny white coffin against a church wall. My mother was to ill to go to the funeral, something she always regretted. However there is a record of his death in the church files and a more enlightened reverend has agreed that I can put a small plaque in the church.
Thank goodness times have changed

Bridget

Several years ago when I asked the local council where in the cemetery my great grand parents were buried they had no headstone. Turns out that there were three coffins in the grave, the first one being that of their adult son had two babies buried with him. There were not related and no names were recorded. At the same cemetery, my father’s baby brother aged 18 months also had another baby buried with him. I doubt if my grandmother would have known this. As to the babies being on a shelf, that wasn't mentioned.

Anne-Marie