Missing Gravestones

[AbzCB]

I had quite a time finding where some of my third and fourth great grandparents had been buried. When I eventually found where they were, obviously, I went to visit but when I found the location found no headstones, which was disappointing!

There were the remains of some memorials there but whether they were my grandparents or not I'm not sure.

Is there any way of finding whether there was ever a memorial in place? I have been in touch with the local council but they are unable to say. I should probably add that I'm in Scotland - I assume different locales will have different mechanisms in place?

[cemetery friends]

You have to be aware that many families could not afford a formal headstone or kerb and the grave could have been marked by a wooden cross which weathered over the years and rotted.

To place a grave the sexton often kept a notebook and a plan of grave plots. This was very often kept in his house or cottage and only brought out occasionally and perhaps not regarged as formal church records. Probably when he retired [or died] the notebook was passed on to a grave digger or replacement sexton. In most cases these informal note books disappeared but you should always check with the appropriate record office [usually classed in Parish Chest records].

Any application for a stone permanent grave had to be approved by the church including any wording on the grave; normally a fee was charged to gain approval. These may have been recorded in the minutes of the parochial church council minutes which again if they exist today would normally be in a record office.

I think that your chances of finding such a record or a sexton's log book to be very small.