As with other parish church records, burial entry
details differ in details of the deceased, so great care should be taken..
Below are a few examples of those variations. Some providing occupation,
marital status, age, relationships, origin, financial status, and the use
of Mr. denoting status within the community.
Much of what we find in the entries to Burials in the
parish church record, depends on the dedication and local knowledge of
parishoners, held by the parish clerk or vicar of that time. The clarity
of entries also depends upon the use of the Quill pen, some writing with
such artistic flair that a small "r" or even "s" could be misinterpreted
as a looped "l".
The entries below are just examples of the different
formats in which you might find some of the entries of burials listed.
So great care should be taken in interpretating not only the handwriting
but how the information is given. Age and deterioration of the original
parchment books at the time they were microfilmed should also be taken
into consideration as water and mildew marks sometimes obliterate names
and dates. Check the burial date of the previous and next entry rather
than try to guess what the entry says.
Baptisms and burials are sometimes mixed on the same pages
and great care should be taken to double check that the entry is either
one. Bap. (Baptisms) and Bur. (Burial) abbreviations
have also been used in entries I have seen.
Edward Durrant. Yeoman,
Oct 3 1720
1768 Oct 17 Mary Welton spinster
1809 Buried Mary Durrant aged
78 years
FRANCIS Robert, bur. 5 Mar
1737 Kessingland son of Robert FRANCIS, Miller
KILLACH Mary , bur. 8 Feb
1728 child, buried Kessingland, a child from Gisleham
COLYEAR Thomas bur. 21 Nov
1812 aged 73 Kessingland pauper from Shipmeadow House of Correction
CROWFOOT John Mr., 3 May 1812
aged 59, Kessingland
Where a person was known to be in the House of Correction
(Workhouse) and died there, then check for burials within neighbouring
parishes, if not found in the parish of the workhouse.
If a person was known to live in a particular place most
of his/her married life, but was not born there, and a burial is not found,
then consider that he/she may have been buried in a purchased plot of the
parish churchyard, from where they originated.
People who died during War years, but are not found locally,
may appear in the Commonwealth War Graves Database.
To learn more about the History of Parish records and
what this means to your research please read