Author Topic: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial  (Read 825 times)

Offline BSmith2268

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Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« on: Tuesday 20 September 22 17:33 BST (UK) »
Hi,

My x3 great grandmother, Arabella Davies died aged 54 on the 4th May 1900 at her home in Strawberry Place, Morriston near Swansea.
She appears on the burial register for the parish of Dursley on the 9th May 1900.
She was originally from Dursley and moved to Morriston for work in the 1860s, and married my x3 great grandfather John Davies in 1866.

I found it quite odd that she was buried in her hometown as it would've been quite a journey back then, and I'm assuming it would've cost a lot of money. Her husband was a colliery pitman and they had eight children, therefore I was surprised that they could've afforded it.
Both her parents and infant brother are buried in Dursley.

My question is:
How common was it to be sent back to your hometown for burial and how would they have transported the body?

Thanking you in advance.
See attached below the record of her burial:

Smith- Neath, Glamorgan/ Witney, Oxfordshire
Roberts- Llandow/ St Donats, Glamorgan
Hopkins- Tonmawr, Glamorgan/ Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Emanuel- Briton Ferry, Glamorgan
Broom- Neath, Glamorgan/ Oare, Somerset, Ilfracombe, Devon

Madden- Aberavon, Glamorgan/ Cork, IRELAND
Price- Tonmawr, Glamorgan/ Brecknockshire
Davies- Morriston, Glamorgan/ Gower, Glamorgan
Price- Fochriw, Glamorgan
Parker- Neath, Glamorgan
Waters- Aberavon, Glam, Cork, IRELAND
Gleeson- Limerick, IRELAND
Watkins- Breconshire

Offline PaulineJ

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 20 September 22 20:11 BST (UK) »
It would have been pretty easy to transport by train.
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Online Spelk

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 20 September 22 23:44 BST (UK) »
Yes there was a branch line from Coaley Junction to a station at the bottom of Long Street. I understand it was there in 1877 and, until the mid 1960s school children would take the train to school over the river.
Since she had several children of working age the cost of transporting the coffin would not have been a big issue.

Offline Erato

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 20 September 22 23:48 BST (UK) »
Wiltshire:  Banks, Taylor
Somerset:  Duddridge, Richards, Barnard, Pillinger
Gloucestershire:  Barnard, Marsh, Crossman
Bristol:  Banks, Duddridge, Barnard
Down:  Ennis, McGee
Wicklow:  Chapman, Pepper
Wigtownshire:  Logan, Conning
Wisconsin:  Ennis, Chapman, Logan, Ware
Maine:  Ware, Mitchell, Tarr, Davis


Offline garstonite

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 21 September 22 07:49 BST (UK) »
By using freebmd I see she was born Arabella Yewen - do you have her parents names ? could she have gone in to a family grave ?  love the name btw - Arabella Yewen
2 brothers in Dursley 1675 - Richard and Joseph Yewen - I wonder if the Yewen family fought in the Civil War in Gloucestershire area 1642-1651  ?   intriguing
....................
1575 the Yewen family are in Highworth ,Wiltshire - 30 miles from Dursley
just looked it up on surname database -  derived from the Scottish name Ewan

Last name: Yewen


This interesting and unusual surname is a patronymic of Ewan, which is of Scottish origin



Read more: https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Yewen#ixzz7fVKqC48q
oakes,liverpool..neston..backford..poulton cum spittal(bebington)middlewich,cheshire......   sacht,helgoland  .......merrick,herefordshire adams,shropshire...tipping..ellis..  jones,garston,liverpool..hartley.dunham massey..barker. salford

Offline bbart

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 21 September 22 08:44 BST (UK) »
could she have gone in to a family grave ? 

I was thinking along those lines as well.
If I am looking at the right parents:

Arabella was married 10 Nov 1866 in Wales.
Less than a month later, her mom (Annie) died, and was buried 03 Dec 1866, same place as Arabella was buried.
Within 6 months, father (William) was buried there 29 May 1867.

That's a lot of loss for a young person.  Perhaps her wishes were to be buried with/near her parents.

Offline Lisa in California

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 21 September 22 09:57 BST (UK) »
My immediate family and I moved to California when I was young.  My dad worked for the airlines so flying “back home” (Ontario, Canada) was something we did with ease numerous times. I knew my father’s love for relatives and “home” never lessened. He was a proud Canadian and never tried to hide his accent nor did he give up his Canadian citizenship. He actually was once offered a better job with the airline but he had to become an American citizen first.  He refused the promotion.

When he became ill, I couldn’t bring myself to ask his final wishes.  When his time was drawing to a close, I knew I had waited too long to ask important questions.

We chose to have his remains transported “home” even though I had difficulty affording the cost. I think my father would have chosen to be interred in Canada, given the chance.  I’m fairly certain his sister was relieved to have her big brother, as she used to jokingly call him, interred with their relatives. The decision brought a lot of peace for me as he was finally back with family and not alone out west.

Perhaps your ancestors felt the need to return Arabella home far outweighed the cost. Perhaps Arabella truly wished to be with her parents and infant brother.  Maybe her husband and children were comforted with the fact that she was now at rest with her first family. Whatever the reason(s), it was very kind of them to either follow through with her wish, or to make the decision.
Ellison: Co. Wicklow/Canada       Fowley: Sligo/Canada       Furnival: Lancashire/Canada       Ibbotson: Sheffield/Canada       Lee/DeJongh: Lancashire & Cheshire       Mumford: Essex/Canada       Ovens: Ireland/Canada       Sarge: Yorkshire/Canada             Stuart: Sligo/Canada       Sullivan: Co. Clare/Canada      Vaus: Sussex/Surrey      Wakefield: Tuam or Ballinasloe, Ireland              (Surname: Originated/Place Last Lived)  (Canadians lived in Ontario)

Offline Erato

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 21 September 22 13:23 BST (UK) »
Several people in my family were shipped long distances back to Endeavor, Wisconsin for burial  -  my g-grandfather in 1906 [~1700 miles from Eugene, Oregon], his daughter in 1908 [~1700 miles from Riverside, California] and both of my grand parents in the 1960s [~1000 miles from Massachusetts].  Others were shipped shorter distances from locations closer to Endeavor.
Wiltshire:  Banks, Taylor
Somerset:  Duddridge, Richards, Barnard, Pillinger
Gloucestershire:  Barnard, Marsh, Crossman
Bristol:  Banks, Duddridge, Barnard
Down:  Ennis, McGee
Wicklow:  Chapman, Pepper
Wigtownshire:  Logan, Conning
Wisconsin:  Ennis, Chapman, Logan, Ware
Maine:  Ware, Mitchell, Tarr, Davis

Offline BSmith2268

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Re: Ancestor sent back to hometown for burial
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 22 September 22 00:12 BST (UK) »
Thank you all for your helpful replies. It's interesting to see how often families made the effort to have their deceased relatives sent back home. 

I have come to the same conclusion that the family thought it was the right thing to do, no matter the cost or distance.
By 1900, some of her daughters had moved away to work in service or were working in the tinworks back home and would be able to contribute to funeral/ transport costs. Two of her sons were working by then too, the youngest being my x2 great grandfather, John Davies. Arabella also had a sister living in Bristol who could've helped with the costs.

And yes, @bbart, you are correct with the names of her parents  :)

By 1902, her husband had remarried. I'm not sure when my x3 great grandfather died, but he was dead by the end of 1905, and another family was living in the family home by 1911.
Smith- Neath, Glamorgan/ Witney, Oxfordshire
Roberts- Llandow/ St Donats, Glamorgan
Hopkins- Tonmawr, Glamorgan/ Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Emanuel- Briton Ferry, Glamorgan
Broom- Neath, Glamorgan/ Oare, Somerset, Ilfracombe, Devon

Madden- Aberavon, Glamorgan/ Cork, IRELAND
Price- Tonmawr, Glamorgan/ Brecknockshire
Davies- Morriston, Glamorgan/ Gower, Glamorgan
Price- Fochriw, Glamorgan
Parker- Neath, Glamorgan
Waters- Aberavon, Glam, Cork, IRELAND
Gleeson- Limerick, IRELAND
Watkins- Breconshire