Missing burials - a general discussion

[coombs]

Lots of bodies washed up on the beach, etc. Plenty in the Thames Estuary, Essex and Kent. Foulness Island has lots of burials of "unknown man found drowned", or unknown woman.

[youngtug]

Many people, mostly in coastal areas, were kidnapped and sold into slavery in north Africa by the barbary pirates. Also some sailors taken from ships at sea.

[conahy calling]

Here in Ireland, Civil Registration of Deaths commenced in 1864.  Even after that date, many deaths were still not registered.

During the Potato Famine (mid 1840s) when about one million died, many of the people who died from starvation and or disease were buried in mass graves with no records kept.

[Billyblue]

I would imagine many thousands who died during the Great Plague, would be unrecorded.

Dawn M

[coombs]

Here in Ireland, Civil Registration of Deaths commenced in 1864.  Even after that date, many deaths were still not registered.

During the Potato Famine (mid 1840s) when about one million died, many of the people who died from starvation and or disease were buried in mass graves with no records kept.

I do feel sorry for those who have Irish ancestry due to the difficulty there is tracing their Irish ancestors.

Another explanation for missing burials could be the person had a mid life crisis or became mentally disturbed, left their family and then died, and the body never properly identified. Not necessarily a traveller, just a random person who went missing.

Maybe he/she is recorded and his/her job included a lot of travelling. They died suddenly and were buried in the local parish instead of their usual residence.

[Melbell]

Here in Scotland official registration did not begin until 1855.


One entry I found just said "an old woman died" no further information. Glad I was not researching her 

Dorrie

You might have been for all you know......!!!

I have a husband and wife who must have both died mid-19th century (earlier lives reasonably well documented) but I've been searching for decades for both deaths/burials.  Sometimes I think they must still be alive today and if I went to their village I'd find them walking about, looking rather the worse for wear.

Melbell 

[PrawnCocktail]

Sometimes wondered if they were just buried in the back garden ....

 

[Billyblue]

Sometimes wondered if they were just buried in the back garden ....
 

Some of them were, so to speak, at least in country Australia, on family properties. Still can be - I indexed one such burial just recently, for the Ryerson Index: 'Funeral service at xx church, to be interred on family property at xxx'

Dawn M

[StevieSteve]

I've seen a couple of wills where they ask for their body to be used for scientific research.

Not sure if they were pre-1837 though.