Captain Alexander Henry buried Saltcoats Kirkyard

[MrLevity]

Today my wife and I took a trip to Saltcoats as a lot of her family were from the area.  Her Great Great Great Great Grandparents were Captain Alexander Henry 1774-1851 (sometimes recorded as Hendry) and his wife Rachael Martin 1789-1852 (sometimes recorded as Martine, her father was the local schoolmaster James Martin).  The Ayrshire Directory has them living at 55 Raise Street and we have found out a lot about the family although very little work seems to have been done on this specific branch of my wife's tree.

The reason we visited is because we know that Alexander and Rachael were buried in the Saltcoats Kirkyard which is now home of the Heritage Centre and we wanted to look around.  A while back I came across an eleven page document that lists the gravestones that were removed I believe in the 1970s or 80s, whilst others were moved to the surrounding wall area.  Alexander and Rachael's stone was removed as it was barely legible however the document states that removed stones were photographed prior to removal. 

My question for any knowledgeable locals/historians is where would I be able to see the photograph of their stone?

I would appreciate any help or indeed if anyone has been researching the same family then please do get in touch.

[q98]

Hi there. As Saltcoats born & bred I know precisely where you visited despite emigrating more than 50 years ago. As a boy (now 74), I recall many badly weathered headstones. Probably your best source of information is the following website:
http://www.threetowners.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=11

q98 (Jim)

[q98]

Helpful? The forenames Janet/Jessie are interchangeable in Scotland.

GLASGOW HERALD
19 DECEMBER 1845

MARRIAGE

At Saltcoats, on the 16th instant, by the Rev. Mr. Bryce, Mr. John Craig, merchant, Glasgow, to Jessie, daughter of Captain Hendry, Saltcoats.

GLASGOW HERALD
17 DECEMBER 1895

GOLDEN WEDDING

CRAIG – HENDRY: At Raise Street, Saltcoats, on the 16th December, 1845, by Rev. John Bryce, John Craig, merchant, Glasgow, to Janet, seventh daughter of Captain Alexander Hendry – Celebration at 268 Albert Road, Pollokshields.

[scotmum]

I wonder if they were removed before or after this was undertaken:

https://scottish-monumental-inscriptions.com/collections/ayrshire-area/products/saltcoates-churchyard-ayrshire

as they state

The burial grounds have had all visible headstones photographed and transcribed to help you locate that long lost ancestor. These burial grounds are also available on CD.

though I would think, more likely than not, before.

If the council were responsible for the removals and produced the 11 page document with mention of photos, they could be stuck in a folder somewhere in a long forgotten office filing cabinet. Not photos, but several years ago I had reason to believe certain burial records were in posession of a local council. Much to-ing and fro-ing, with plenty of denying on their part, eventually happened on a staff member who knew they had existed, but not current (at that time) whereabouts (staff leaving/retiring and knowledge lost). Anyhow, thankfully, my persistent questioning resulted in someone eventually discovering them.

[Ian Nelson]

Persistence of family names .... also my home town area ... possibly still alive so no details but Alex Henry of Saltcoats would now be about 78 - 81 as I knew him as a boy.  His family lived across the road from my wife's.  I vaguely remember he had an uncle living in Quay Street at the Saltpans next the harbour, now where the Aldi store sits.
I was also at school with a Hendry from Ardrossan, she is still alive and well.
Threetowners website has masses of local information.
I pass through the kirkyard, originally Ardrossan Parish Church ( the 3rd one ... 1st on Castle hill, Ardrossan and the 2nd at Stanley Road, Ardrossan ) and it is open with no protection for the remaining gravestoneswhich are seriously depleted.  The kirk building was briefly used as a proper local museum but on my last visit to locate the Woods Collection of Books donated to the Common Good Fund it had changed its function but I eventually discovered the Collection was not on display but in storage at Ardrossan Library and could only be seen by appointment.
Since the amalgamation of the 3 towns many of the Assets of the Common Good Funds and other material have been lost to public view.
The records of the Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald are searchable online and will have recorded many events regarding your ancestors - worth a look
cheers, Ian

[still_looking]

In Betty Willsher's notes there's reference to surveys in Cunninghame district by 'MCS Teams' with results being held by the public library at Ardrossan (see bottom of page)
https://canmore.org.uk/collection/2224773

This is possibly after the removals you refer to though its unclear as Betty recorded gravestones in the 80s and 90s, the document dates from 97. Might also be worth checking if the Scottish Genealogical Society published pre 1855 MIs for the area, other Ayrshire volumes they produced were published in the mid 1980s.

S_L

[MrLevity]

Thanks for all the replies, I had another look at the document I came across on familysearch and it says it was compiled by a Percival Boyd (1866-1955) if this is true then it is older than I thought, it seems to have been recorded on microfilm in 1972 so this would suggest that a first phase of clearing the stones started long before the more modern clearings.  The fact that this document exists gives me hope that the images also exist somewhere.

Jim (q98) I have browsed threetowners before and think I might post the topic there and see if we can turn anything up.  With regards to Janet and John Craig I have done quite a bit of research on them, sadly Janet died a few months after their Golden Wedding anniversary.  John Craig registered the death of my wife's 3xGreat Grandfather and paid for his burial in Sighthill Cemetery, Glasgow.  I took some pictures in the Kirkyard yesterday, it is nothing like how you would remember it, I can email you the images if you would like, just PM me your email.

Scotmum and still_looking- I have used the Scottish Monument Inscriptions site before, as you say they are more of a recent site, I think Betty Willsher's work is also too recent.  I will persist in pursuing the images for whatever source I think might have them.  I might have to visit Ardrossan Library and see what exactly they hold as I don't think the local authority will be much help.

Ian Nelson-  Like you say family names persist and I know there is a good possibility of family members still being in the area as they had very big families and what struck me was the low rate of infant mortality in comparison to other branches of our trees.  Most of the Henry children I have managed to track gravitated towards Glasgow but some returned to Saltcoats in later live and three of Alexander and Rachael's children are buried alongside them.  My wife actually works with a woman from Saltcoats and her surname is Henry so we are going to give her all our research to see if she is a distant relation.  With regards to the Heritage Centre/ Museum, it was closed on Thursday.  It seems it is closed more than it is open which was disappointing as I had hoped they would be able to help with my search.   I was really dismayed with the actual graveyard, it was more like a dog toilet.  I was actually clearing some branches and debris from a Henry family stone (distant cousins) and a man was letting his dog do its business on a stone down near the entrance at the post office.

I'll keep digging away and see what I can turn up.

Dean