Burial ....

[Welsh Girl]

I wonder if anyone could help me locate a burial please ?
My GG GM died October 1870 (aged 22) and was living in Manchester Street, Littleham at the time.  Any suggestions where she could be buried, and how I go about finding her plot please ?
Many Thanks

[cemetery friends]

Which Littleham, Bideford or Exmouth?

[Welsh Girl]

Exmouth please

[Welsh Girl]

I have quite a few VIGERS that lived around Littleham / Starcross / Mamhead ... would they be buried in the same place do you think?  Please

[cemetery friends]

By general practice burials would be at the parish church in this case St. Margaret and St. Andrew, Littleham unless the family found an alternative burial ground nearby eg for Methodists. In 1854 the government introduced an Act of Parliament forcing many provincial churchyards to cease burials due to over crowding and local councils were given powers to develop cemeteries as an alternative. I do not know as to what happened at Exmouth clearly if they had vacant land they would have been permitted to continue with burials for a number of successive years. However a cemetery at Sidbury opened in 1868 suggesting that either local churchyards were then full or soon to reach that status. The records for Sidbury cemetery are with East Devon District Council. Searches of the registers may be undertaken by advance arrangement. In all cases a minimum fee of £23.00 per name will be charged. If you do not find the burial there it is probable to be at the parish church [on the premise that they were still accepting burials in 1870]. You should write to the vicar enclosing a SAE to enquire whether burials were still taking place in 1870 and the cost of a search. Do keep in mind that often families could not afford a headstone or kerb etc and particularly as the lady was only 22 suggesting that the death was "unexpected" the family may not have had savings available and in such cases a common or pauper grave may have been used - these graves are not allowed to have names as identity and are often just marked with a small wooden cross [which over the years due to weather etc may have disappeared?]

[Welsh Girl]

um .. so does that mean there isn't a local churchyard where they are likely to be buried ?

Surely Sidbury wouldn't hold burials for Starcross, would they ?

[Welsh Girl]

you know ... this is what REALLY REALLY gets my goat with the bandwagon jumpers for genealogy ... now, a Council thinks it's OK to charge £23 to search for ONE name   .. and they wonder why I get so miffed ! 

[cemetery friends]

There is every chance that the burial would be in a churchyard in the locality if the churchyard was still "open" and it is only possible to discover if it was still "open" in 1870 is by consulting the administration office / vicar of that particular parish. Some parishes continued to have space available after the 1854 Act. I have no knowledge of Exmouth area cemeteries and only offer general guidance.

If you do not wish to pay for a search there is the alternative of personally examining each grave in a cemetery. Bereavement Services of a council are there primarily to supply burials in compliance with regulations and to maintain pathways and boundary walls for the local council tax payers. If the council is also prepared to use employees to search records for information for persons engaged in a hobby that is regarded as an extra statutory service and fees to cover such services vary from council to council. Many councils set a minimum charge and if unfortunately one entry is the subject of the enquiry then the minimum charge applies. It is in most cases cheaper than traveling to the cemetery to check out each headstone. At least a council search will give you the plot number and possibly a map [and probably confirm whether there is a headstone in existence].

When cemeteries were first opened by local authorities they were few in number and large distances apart but soon increased in other locations within a few years of each other. Therefore if a local churchyard was "closed" it would have been necessary to transport the body to the nearest cemetery then in existence albeit it could be some miles distant [an example being the majority of London burials sent by train to the privately owned cemetery at Brookwood in Surrey]. As the only cemetery opened just prior to the death of your relative was Sidbury in 1868 it must be viewed as a possible even though less likely. If you are not keen to pay for a council search of their records, as suggested ask the parish church if they were accepting burials in 1870 [the parish office will then advise you of any search fee].