New Monkland Burials 1600 - 1700s Where are they??

[Helzbelzuk]

Hello!

TL;DR - Got a lot of Hendry/Henry/Hendrie's in New Monkland 1600s-1800...where are they buried!?!?!

I see a lot of people researching New and Old Monkland which is amazing... unfortunately none of it relates to my tree a great deal.  Although I've enjoyed readnig all your posts so far.  It's great to see people looking into different families that I now recognise following my obsessive trawling of OPRs!  Particularly the Shanks family (any relation to the farm called Shanks farm? That's where my ancestors lived and worked.)

I have done a HUGE amount on the Hendry's of New Monkland (who then moved to Kirkintilloch, then moved into Glasgow, then came my Mum  )  Fun fact - They were all Henry.  Not Hendry.  I have no idea why their names are spelled in so many different variations on the Birth/Death certs etc.  Regardless...I have a fairly complete set of the New Monkland Henry's (Hendry/Hendrie) going back to the 1650s.

Question is - back in those days, 1600-1700, was the main burial ground New Monkland Parish?  Is there a booklet I can buy that lists all grave inscriptions in the New Monkland Parish?

I live in Aberdeen now so I can't nip down to look. Sadly.

On the oldest birth certs that I have - very early 1700s - it says William Hendry & Christin Finlay lawful son/dau "at this kirk".  Whereas all other registered births on the same page have a place name assigned. Now, does that mean they lived in the Manse!?  Maybe they worked in the church. Church officer?  Reverend?  I can't find any evidence.  Something for another day.

If anyone can point me in the right direction for the location of super old New Monkland burials I'd be grateful!

Thanks all!
Helen

[RJ_Paton]

The bad news is that you may not find what you are looking for if you've already trawled through the OPR's the chances of finding anything else from that time period are slim as the church records are often incomplete. According to the statistics section at Scotland's People there are no Death records for Old Monkland and the Death Records for New Monkland don't start until 1748.

There are numerous books/booklets for sale on the Lanarkshire Family History Society's publication pages which should cover the graveyards you are interested in. There are also several publications of Mortcloth rentals (a Mortcloth was a covering for the coffin often rented out by the Church) but as above its unlikely that you'll get any new information.

Commercial companies such as http://www.memento-mori.co.uk/  may have already photographed the cemeteries in the area and have what you need.

[Helzbelzuk]

Thanks so much for your reply!

I've tried all those Just no records on death at all.  I have the Mortcloth dues records so I know roughly the month/year they died.  Just can't figure out if the New Monkland Cemetery actually still has the burials from such a long time ago.

I've tried a handful of burial websites. FindAGrave, DeceasedOnline, etc. Can't see anything beyond 1800s.

I wonder if they've been long gone for a while.  I've read multiple accounts of farmers moving stones and tearing down buildings (even the first kirk!!) to make room for his animals to graze.  So perhaps they're lost forever 

[Skoosh]

Monkland was formerly the property of the Abbey of Newbattle which had a chapel at Kipps which was destroyed at the Reformation, Monkland was divided into Old & New in the 1640's & the present parish kirk of New Monkland dates from 1777. Is that the site of the old kirkyard as was the case at Old Monkland, or maybe Kipps?

Skoosh.

[Forfarian]

I've spent several freezing hours traipsing round the old kirkyard at Glenmavis looking for my own relatives. I've found some, but not many before the late 18th century. I've no doubt there will be plenty of bones there, but there are not so many legible inscriptions.

I am not aware of a comprehensive book of inscriptions - if anyone does know of one I'll buy a copy!

[Helzbelzuk]

Thanks both for replying again!

Skoosh, yes that's exactly right! I knew I'd read it somewhere.  The Kipps kirk was destroyed in the reformation, as you said.  I remember reading that the ruins of the Kipps kirk were shifted by a farmer.  He probably sold the bricks lol fair enough.  I'd probably have done the same if I were a farmer trying to make a living and feed my enormous family!

So my family that I have got to - and sadly, I believe they will be my "end of line" - were born between 1714 and 1729. All eight of the children were written in the OPR as being born "in the kirk".

I've searched the Fasti database and there is no record of a Henry/HendryHendrie Reverend so I am stumped on that description of birthplace. Why on earth were the born "in the kirk"!?  No amount of googling has solved this for me.

Putting that aside, Forfarian, I commend your freezing cold walks in graveyards    I have done similar...and given up many times.  I'd love to visit Old Monkland some day to see if I can get any clues.  Maybe in the summer   

I know that the North East Scotland Family History Society has some incredible resources for all the Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire churchyards.  Books for each yard, every single stone accounted for.  I believe a lady went on a mission and did rubbings of the hard to read/older inscriptions and has produced this insanely amazing resource.  Unfortunately, none of my family hail from the 'Deen. Except us.  We're not in the books just yet 

I'm wondering if the Lanarkshire Family History Society has similar.  They do have a bunch of publications relating to the Monkland area.  However I am not sure how much information will be there.  Mortcloth dues have little information.  Death records, maybe a tad more.  I may buy the book and report back to you...

Take a look...  http://www.lanarkshirefhs.org.uk/mideath-pubs.html

[Forfarian]

So my family that I have got to - and sadly, I believe they will be my "end of line" - were born between 1714 and 1729. All eight of the children were written in the OPR as being born "in the kirk".
I've searched the Fasti database and there is no record of a Henry/HendryHendrie Reverend so I am stumped on that description of birthplace. Why on earth were the born "in the kirk"!?  No amount of googling has solved this for me.

I think that probably means that the baptism ceremony was held in the kirk. This was by no means the norm - many baptisms were carried out in the parents' home so unless a baptism record explicitly says so you cannot assume it was in the kirk building. (I know that I myself was baptised at home, on a Monday, as it happens, because the minister wrote a note on the back of my birth certificate saying so.)
 

I'm wondering if the Lanarkshire Family History Society has similar. 

I've been a member of that, and of the Glasgow and West of Scotland FHS, for many years.

LFHS has a booklet with inscriptions from Broomknoll, Wellwynd and Chapel Street in Airdrie, and it says specifically, "It does NOT include inscriptions from New Monkland Parish Church, which is at the village of Glenmavis, about two miles northwest of Airdrie".

GWSFHS has a CD of Clarkston kirkyard in New Monkland, but that only starts in 1838. No mention of Glenmavis.

[Skoosh]

"In the kirk!" sounds right FF.
 Apparently this Kipps was the administration centre for the Barony of Monklands & had ludgings for the monks as well as a chapel, Kippsbyre & the Palace & Eccles (church) farms are not far away! There was still something there as late as the mid 18th century & as the cradle of the Scottish Industrial Revolution barely one stone has been left upon another in the entire area. There was a road from Kipps to Newbattle, possibly via Caldercruix & Bathgate?  the monks having rights of free-passage from Alexander II. Monklands was lumped in with the parish of Cadder as a prebend of the Sub-dean of Glasgow Cathedral, an arrangement which ended at  the Reformation.

www.oldroadsofscotland.com/miscmonklands.htm

 The Monklands & Kirkintilloch Railway's, Kipps engine shed 1838 was the first in Scotland to build locomotives! taken over by the North British.  A Hugh Symington had a brickworks at Kipps also,

Skoosh.

[Andrew C.]

Not really relevant to your enquiry but the mention of the Shanks family and Shanks Farm reminded me of the company Shanks and McEwan who I thought of as a Coatbridge company I think they were based in Carnbroe. Am I right in thinking. I did a quick search to see where Shanks farm was I couldn’t find anything but there was lots of references to farmers called Shanks in Coatbridge.