Johnshaven Cemetery - grave location.

[Johnner Kid]

Hi Jean

I wonder if you could help me with my grandfathers and grandmothers grave
I have found that they were buried in the Old part of Johnshaven Cemetery
Compartment E Section 3 numbers 553 554 and 555.
I would like to know if there are any gravestones.
I live in England but am hoping to come up there next year.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Montrosekid

Hi Cousin Dot,
I visited Johnshaven last week and spent a bit of time in the old graveyard looking for the grave of our grandparents Walter and Isabella FREEMAN.  A thorough and detailed search of the graveyard including the taking of many photos did not find my grandparents gravestone. On a trip to to Stonehaven Registrar I was able to view a schematic outline of the  graveyard but was not permitted to have a photocopy of the location of the lairs 553, 554 and 555.  The photos below show that the area where they are located is almost totally devoid of stones.
Does anyone know if there is any older Aberdeen Council Department likely to have a more detailed map survey of this graveyard which would show the location of my grandparents lairs in relation to the two Ritchie gravestone shown below.

Cheers,
Sy

[Johnner Kid]

Update:
My grandfather Walter Freeman bought the following three lairs in March 1909.
Burials were as follows:-
Lair 553 - Walter Freeman (Lair Owner) buried on 15/09/1925
Lair 553 - Isabella Freeman (Wife of Walter Freeman) buried 27/07/1943
Lair 554 - Elizabeth Freeman (daughter of Walter) buried 22/11/1918
Lair 554 - Williamina Freeman (maiden surname Wyllie, wife of David Freeman my grandparents eldest son) buried 07/05/1932
Lair 555 - Alexander Adam (brother-in-law of Walter Freeman) buried 09/03/1909
Lair 555 - Mary Jane Adam (sister-in-law of Walter Freeman) buried 25/01/1915

These three adjoining lairs are almost certainly located in the grassy area shown in the photos above.  There is no way of knowing who else is buried there without  a graveyard plan.  I have e-mailed Aberdeenshire Council to try and get a copy.
I now have a better idea of who among my ancestors are actally buried in this old graveyard.  What I don't know is the actual lair location.  It would require a graveyard plan to show this but all my requests for one have been either refused or ignored!

[Rowana]

This is probably a bit of a long shot, but probably worth an email.

As you probably know, and apologies if I'm "Teaching Granny", Kincardinshire disappeared into Grampian Region sometime in the 1970's, and then when the next lot of reorganisation took place, it ended up in Aberdeenshire.  Much of the records of the former Kincardineshire now reside with the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire archives in Old Aberdeen.

It might be worth an email to archives@aberdeencity.gov.uk to see if they have anything that would help in your search. They are a friendly lot, and it's amazing what they Do have!

Best of luck.
Jim

[Johnner Kid]

It might be worth an email to archives@aberdeencity.gov.uk to see if they have anything that would help in your search. They are a friendly lot, and it's amazing what they Do have!

Thanks Jim, I will take your advice and e-mail my question details to the Archives Staff.
I do know the present Aberdeenshire authorities now administer all of what was formerly Kincardineshire.  The Registars' Office, however, is still located in the View Mount building in Stonehaven which formerly housed the Kincardineshire County Council.  I visited in August and have subsequently consulted them by e-mail.  They have confirmed the lair numbers and the burials detailed above.  What they have not been able to help me with is a copy of a graveyard plan.  Without such a plan I am not able to find the actual location of my grandparent’s burial place.  I have been told by a local Aberdeen memorials specialist firm that if I want to raise a replacement for the missing memorial, the Council’s burial grounds staff will be responsible for installing the concrete base.  That means they must have a graveyard plan to allow them to determine the actual location of lairs. 
Thanks again Jim
Regards
Sy in Dumfries

[Johnner Kid]

Update:
Today I received an e-mail from the Registrar in Stonehaven who has now agreed to supply me with a photocopy of a partial plan of the graveyard showing the location of my ancestors burials. There are no names on the plan, only lair numbers.

Polite persistence pays!

[Johnner Kid]

Further update:
Since writing the above I commissioned a gravestone from a memorial specialist company. We followed all the correct regulations/conditions and complied with the requirements stipulated by Aberdeenshire Council.  Last week I was finally about to have a memorial erected to mark my grandparents grave in Johnshaven old graveyard.
Unfortunately things don't always go to plan!  The memorial specialists I had commissioned arrived at the graveyard with this new memorial only to find that Aberdeenshire Cemetery staff had failed to install the concrete base for the stone.  The reason given by the cemetery staff was that they had wanted to double-check the location but on phoning the appropriate Council department were told the records had been uplifted for digitising. Unfortunately neither me nor the monumental masons were kept informed.  The company I had commissioned had a wasted journey and the memorial has been returned to storage until the Council complete the task they have already been paid to do.
I’m posting a photograph of the memorial for the benefit of any FREEMAN or ADAM researchers who may been following this thread.

Sy in Dumfries

[Johnner Kid]

The memorial shown above was erected in Johnshaven old graveyard last week before the end of November.  I have now completed my task to have my grandparents properly commemorated.
I hope to make my next visit in the Summer of next year.