Deaths in Blair Atholl parish

[Throth]

The early Blair Atholl Kirk Session minutes record when they had to assist poor people by paying for a coffin or 'dead clothes'. From January 1757 the deaths of more affluent people are recorded through payments for the use of the parish mortcloth at their funerals. The loaning out of the fine mortcloth was both popular and a useful source of income for the parish 'poor fund'. In 1760 the Kirk Session purchased a second mortcloth of a courser material which was made available to the less well-off for a smaller payment.

We have started to extract and catalogue these entries as they provide a rough date of death which may be useful.  Currently we are working on the 1760s.

Here is the link:

http://www.borenich.co.uk/Mortcloth.html

Throth (www.borenich.co.uk)