Old Churchyard Bathgate look up for Hume Smith

[bmatthews7838]

I am new to this so don't really know how to go about it. 

My relative Isabella Walker Smith is buried in the Old Churchyard, in Bathgate. She died 16 Sept 1860. 
I am trying to find where her husband Hume Smith is buried and when he died. He died before Isabella. Can anyone help.  Thank you.

[Gardener]

There were some similar requests on this thread here http://www.rootschat.com/links/0rmy/

Once you have made another post (or is it two?) then you can send a private message. If you PM the person who did the lookups on that other thread then perhaps they will be able to help.

Try replying to this and then give it a go. Or, you could post your question on the West Lothian board and see if it gets seen by the right people 

[bmatthews7838]

Thanks for your help. I will try that.

Becky

[Forfarian]

1. The Bennie Museum in Bathgate has transcriptions of gravestones in Bathgate. http://benniemuseum.org.uk/contentw/

2. West Lothian Council has the records for many burial grounds in West Lothian. They may have records for Bathgate for burials not commemorated on a gravestone.
http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/law-licensing/640/648/CemeteryandBurialgrounds

3. I take it that you have checked the pre-1855 death on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk ?

[bmatthews7838]

Yes I have checked the pre-1855 deaths on the GRO's for Hume Smith b 1772 but he is not on there.   I know he died before 1851 as he was not on that census with Isabella as she was a toll keeper at the Livingston Toll Bar. Why I can't find Hume Smith's birth or death is amazing to me. I have found all the other Hume Smith's who are all related.  I will try the two places you mentioned. I live in the US but was born in Scotland and it would be so much easier if I could go to the places where they lived. Maybe one day. Thanks so much for your help.
bmatthews7838

[Forfarian]

Why I can't find Hume Smith's birth or death is amazing to me.

Death records before 1855 are very hit and miss - usually miss. It simply wasn't seen as necessary to preserve records of deaths. The idea that anyone other than immediate family would ever be interested in the date of death of an ordinary person was virtually unknown. The Kirk kept records of baptisms and banns because they were relevant to its activities among the living, but didn't always feel the need to keep tabs on those who had gone to eternal life - they would be looked after in Heaven, so there was no real need for the kirk to record down here who went up there when.

[bmatthews7838]

I know what you mean. The reason I need to find a birth record or marriage record is to find out his parents names so I can connect him to the Hume Smith born in Torpichen 29 Sept 1754 who could possibly be his father. I figured if I found a grave then maybe it would have his parents there as well. I will keep hunting. Again thank you.
Bmatthews

[Forfarian]

Maybe - but could his parents' grave be in Torphichen rather than Bathgate?

Also a pre-1855 marriage record only rarely gives the name of the groom's father, so even finding that is unlikely to help much.

[bmatthews7838]

I guess my only chance of finding out who Hume's parent were is to find a record of his birth at the church. I was lucky that his wife Isabella died after 1855 and that gave me her parents names. I will check the LDS and see if they have a film on pre 1855 records for Livingston as that is where Hume was supposed to have been born. I will keep digging.