The Scottish Genealogy Society has recently published: St Mary’s Church, Whitekirk (East Lothian) Mortcloth & Burial Records. The earliest burial records for the parish of Whitekirk are found in the Kirk Session Minutes (CH2/371), held in the National Records of Scotland. There are no deaths recorded in the Old Parish Records. For those of you who are unsure, the Mortcloth was a black cloth used to cover the coffin on the way to the graveyard, often made of velvet with a fringe. The cloth belonged to the parish church and was hired out to parishioners, the profit being placed in the poor box. It is the payments for the use of the cloths where the early records are found. Our publication covers records from c.1713-1856 but also includes entries from the Burial Register (from 1846 up to the end of 1950) kept by the church (now by East Lothian Council). This publication is available from Victoria Terrace or our website at a price of £4.00 plus p&p:
www.scotsgenealogy.com/shop.
