Final resting places for John and Christina Kerr, Wishaw Cambusnethan

[kerrmain]

Hi all, I am trying to find burials and monumental inscriptions for my Great, Great Grandparents who were John Kerr and Christina Kerr (nee Strain). I am unable to find a birth for John born approx 1816 to John Kerr and Mary Braidwood. He died at age 81 on 24th January 1897 at Wishaw, Cambusnethan, Lanarkshire. His wife Christina Kerr (maiden surname Strain) died on 3rd June 1922 also at Wishaw, and was 85 years old. Her parents were William Strain and Barbara Smith. 
Any assistance in finding there places of interment would be much appreciated 

[Lodger]

Hello Kerrmain,
I vowed back at the beginning of February that I would never become involved in another person's query unless it had a direct link to my own tree. However, on reading your post today I felt it would be churlish not to reply, hopefully you will not be as rude and insulting to me as the previous member was back on February 1st.

The family you are looking for are interred in the old burial ground at Cambusnethan village in Wishaw. It is the churchyard attached to what is now the ruined old parish church of Cambusnethan and this is all situated next to the municipal cemetery.

The written records for this part of the burial ground only begin in earnest from about 1875. From 1860 onwards, there are records of individual interments mixed in with the gravediggers day book from the municipal cemetery but these records are not complete. Prior to 1860 all the records were kept in the gravediggers head!
So, according to the written records (1875 +) there are only 2 interments in that plot. Namely -

JOHN KERR, aged 81 years. Interred in the centre plot - 27th January 1897.
CHRISTINA KERR, aged 85 years, interred in the centre plot - 6th June 1922.

No other burials recorded for that lair in the "Lair book" and according to that record, the lair was owned by John Kerr and C. Strain.
However, after a trawl through several books, I found the following four entries mixed in with pauper burials in the new (municipal) cemetery records.

MARY KERR, Wishaw, aged 5 years.
Parents - John Kerr & Christina Strain.
Interred in the old churchyard on 26th October 1866.

JOHN KERR, Wishaw, aged 11 years.
Parents - John Kerr & Christina Strain.
Interred in the old churchyard on 18th January 1871.

BARBARA KERR, Wishaw, aged 4 years.
Parents - John Kerr & Christina Strain.
Interred in the old churchyard on 20th February 1872.

CHRISTINA KERR, Wishaw, aged 8 years.
Parents - John Kerr & Christina Strain.
Interred in the old churchyard on 2nd April 1872.

(I would take a guess and say that these 4 children all died from Cholera, which was rife in this area at that time).

The icing on this particular cake is - There is a stone at this lair.

The inscription reads -
"Erected by John Kerr in memory of his three brothers, William who died 4th September 1835 aged 16 years. George who died 1st January 1839 aged 37 years and Thomas who died 2nd March 1839 aged 16 years. Also his mother Mary Braidwood who died 9th July 1854 aged 76 years".

Here is a not very good picture, I will try and go back over and take a better one, this was taken a few years ago but I think the stone should still be there.

[MonicaL]

I vowed back at the beginning of February that I would never become involved in another person's query unless it had a direct link to my own tree. However, on reading your post today I felt it would be churlish not to reply, hopefully you will not be as rude and insulting to me as the previous member was back on February 1st.

Awhh, Lodger  Is that why you haven't been posting. Please don't let one person put you off (there is always one and all of that  )

You have so much knowledge to share and are truly appreciated by many 

Monica

[Lodger]

Thanks Monica but I'll not be getting involved in very much on this board, the PM I received from one particular member was the last straw. I would very much have liked to have had my details removed from this site but it seems there is no way of doing that!

[MonicaL]

Sad to hear that 

Monica

[kerrmain]

Lodger,
Thank you so much for this information Not only have you found my Great Great Grandparents but also the final resting place of some of their children as well. There were actually 7 children in all and only 2 survived to adulthood, one of them being my Great Grandfather, William, who migrated to Australia and married my Great Grandmother Jessie Smellie in Sydney Australia back in 1889. 
I have a copy of the Cambusnethan Old Parish Churchyard Monumental Inscriptions booklet and none of this family is listed in it so wow! this is quite a discovery for me and it also ties in the Monumental Inscription (which is in the booklet) that John Kerr had erected for his brothers and mother Mary Braidwood. I have copies of the death registrations (from Scotlands People) for each of the children that you mentioned and there causes of death were shown as Suffocation of the lung, Fever and three of them from Scarlatina (scarlet fever maybe or would this have been Cholera as you suggested). So sad to think that you have 7 children and only 2 survived past the age of 11.  I have had many frustrations with researching my Scottish family ancestors, especially those from this area of Lanarkshire. Births, Deaths and marriages just seem non existant in records that I am able to view online from Australia so the information you have provided is invaluable to me. Once I start looking into the late 1700's I find I am no longer able to definitely confirm that the name I am looking at is actually the one that belongs on my family tree and I don't like to add a name to my tree unless I can see the definite link there.
It saddens me greatly to know that you have been treated poorly by someone on this forum when you obviously are trying to do your best to help them with their family tree, afterall we are all interested in the same objective which is to find out where we came from and what made us who we are and of course a love of history and research.  My apologies for waffling on...
You are the best 

[garngad]

Can I echo what MonicaL and kerrmain have said Lodger...... I to have found you a have a vast wealth of interesting knowledge and I keenly read your answers I have no connection to this post and sad to say nothing to help kerrmain but to hear you have to put up with abuse no matter what kind and that makes you want to stop inputting on this site is very sad as I can honestly say in reading a lot of your posts/answers how helpful you make this journey of joining the dots of the past easier good luck sir I hope you change your mind but if not please believe there is more praise for you than abuse way more.

[Lodger]

Thank you for your very kind words Garngad (Shouldn't we be calling you Roystonhill nowadays?  ) but I have made up my mind not to become involved with anything - or anyone - that doesn't directly concern my own posts. The "RootsChat Veteran" who was so rude hasn't signed-in for 2 months now but he has been a member for 11 years.

[DonM]

I shall miss your knowledge and wisdom Jim, you have a unique skillset which has benefited so many including myself over the years and for that I thank you.

Don