Husbands and wives in separate graveyards?

[AdamsHodgetts]

The further I go back in my family tree (1700-1800s) I'm seeing my ancestors being buried in separate places, the men seemed to have been buried at Brierley Hill and their wives buried at Oldswinford or Kingswinford. 

Is this common or is it because I've not yet found a record for one of the spouses being buried at the same place as their deceased spouse?

[goldie61]

I don't think you can assume that husbands and wives are going to be buried in the same graveyard.
I can think of lots of my own families where this has not been the case.
It could depend on any number of circumstances why they may have been buried at different places.

[ciderdrinker]

Hi
You are entitled to be buried in the parish you are living in at the time of your death. If you own a family plot elsewhere then you can be buried elsewhere wherever you own a plot but if you don't own a grave then it is down to the Vicar.
And this especially comes into play if your ancestor was poor ,had just been nursed in the Workhouse and was parish relief.The Parish is going to have to pay for your funeral and grave.They are not likely to be keen to pay extra to transport the coffin to another graveyard in a different parish.
It may depend how pushy your grieving relatives are and how willing they are to contribute to the cost.
If one of the couple died quite early on and was buried by their grieving spouse ,with all the family around and the other lived into their 80s  with most of the family gone ,poor Old MR Smith may be buried at the nearest parish church or cemetery.
My Great Grandmother is buried at the local parish church Christ Church Burntwood in the 1890s. She is in pride of place  ,in the family plot, with a space for her husband next to her. Her husband died 40 years latter ,poor and with most of his children gone to the town and was buried at the new Cemetery St Anne's.

If life is tough then the family may have more important things to worry about .

Ciderdrinker

[AdamsHodgetts]

Thanks for explaining as I had thought if one spouse was buried then a space would automatically be reserved for his/her spouse/children if they had not remarried/married or chose to be buried elsewhere as I thought the grave would have already been paid for, from the first burial regarding number of burial plots at the same gravestone as that was the case with my Grandad, Nan and their unmarried son.

[OurAncestors]

Hi
Its absolutely down to the circumstances of the death and family and financial circumstances are very much a factor.
If the family were affluent enough to own the lease on a plot they would probably be able to put additional family members in but not without limits.
Purchased leases on plots also had time limits on them. So if husband and wife died many years apart the grave lease may have expired. Then they’re not allowed to add.
I have a lot of ancestors in one cemetery in unmarked graves in one cemetery but another died in the workhouse so is in the cemetery closest to the workhouse despite his wife and daughters being in the other only a few miles away.
The local authority keeps records of burials even of unmarked graves and they will let you know how to get the locations.
The more poverty stricken people tend to be in unmarked graves.