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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Midlothian => Topic started by: Flowerdoll on Monday 29 August 16 19:08 BST (UK)
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I have been planning our trip to Scotland and want to also do more searching on our genealogy.
I know that a lot of connections to my ancestors lead me to St. Mary's RC Church also listed as St. Mary's Chapel Broughton St. I have contacted the church in hopes that they might have any records but they do not.
Can anyone tell me which graveyards/burial grounds that would be associated with this church going back to the 1800? I have found a huge list of burial grounds that we could never have the time to search through. The families that we hope to find are McIver, Hillis and Finnigan
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Hi Flowerdoll,
I think this is a follow on from your earlier post in May about your planned visit to Scotland.
As said by others in reply your best place to start would be at Scotlands People where you can have a whole day of researching for £15 better booked in advance. They hold records of Catholic birth, deaths etc. You could start now online if you wished just go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk that should take you to the registration. Its very easy to do just put in your email and a password. It is a pay site but very reasonable and you can then print permissible records. Also the staff are very helpful.
Good Luck
Dorrie
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Yes, it is me again:-) I do plan to visit the Scotsland People building and book a day to research. I have found it very expensive to do the online searching because of so many wrong names coming up and using 5 credits every time to view each one. We only have 4 days booked in Edinburgh so I wanted to find as much info as I can before we arrive. We plan to visit St Mary's in Edinburgh. There is also mention of a marriage at St. Patrick's RC Church.
My question was more directed to finding the burial grounds for St. Mary's RC Church. Are there more than one burial grounds for Roman Catholic Churches? Here in my home town most families tend to all be buried in the same graveyard in family plots. I was thinking that since the ties from the 3 families are at St. Mary's it would be a good chance they might be buried there.
The info I have is that they were baptized in Cannongate Midlothian Edinburgh
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Some details here on RC archive holdings www.scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk/FamilyHistory/ParishRegisterholdings/tabid/82/Default.aspx
See also here www.scottishcatholicarchives.org.uk/Contact/tabid/61/Default.aspx - you can make further enquiries in advance of your visit.
Monica :)
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Thank you Monica, I have bookmarked these sites and will go through them tonight.
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Just some more info on the Churches you mentioned.
St. Patricks Catholic Church, Cowgate, Edinburgh.
Canongate Kirk, Canongate, Edinburgh.
If you " google " these churches you will find various sites which give a history and details.
Both are within walking distance of each other in the Old Town part of Edinburgh.
As far as I am aware the Catholic only Cemetery - Mount Vernon - did not open until 1895.
The Catholic Archives say that their online records are available to view at Scotlands People. Back to them again for viewing Scottish records. Perhaps you would like to contact them to confirm this.
Hope this helps you.
Dorrie
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Hi Flowerdoll,
yes the only burial site for R.Cs. is Mount Vernon all my family are in there, however I am sure they could use any one they wanted.
I know that about six or seven years ago some drunken louts from the local Pub set fire to the Mount Vernon Offices and in doing so they destryed all the burial records, but I am sure there were back up's.
What are the names you are looking at.
Regards.
Archie.
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Hi Archie, the families I am looking for are McIver, Hillis and Finnigan.
Brothers James and Patrick McIver show their children baptized at St Mary's Church. Patrick's wife Margaret was a Hillis, her father Hugh Hillis and mother Elizabeth Finnigan. Patrick and Margaret were married at St. Mary's March 3, 1869 and Margaret's siblings were baptized there. Hugh Hillis and Margaret Finnigan were married at St. Patrick's Church Feb. 3 1850
So following that info I think they might have lived and died in the area and are buried at Mount Vernon. I do not have any death dates for any of them so if Mount Vernon was built in 1895 then the parents must be buried somewhere else.
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Hi Flowerdoll
As Mountvernon is out the three I can think off are Old or New Calton are behind the Cannongate that would be the nearest one another one is Newington but these are not R.C., however, being R.C. would not prevent them being buried elsewhere, do you know exactly where they lived and died like an address.
Archie.
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On a 1871 census Patrick and his kids are listed as being born in St. Cuthberts and the census Edinburgh Midlothian. The last info I have on Patrick is a 1901 census listing him living in Edinburgh Midlothian with a new woman and 3 more kids. I lost track of Patrick's wife Margaret and one of their children died at 1 1/2 and the other 2 came to Nova Scotia as home children with Emma Sterling.
I got the names of Margaret's parents Hugh Hillis and Elizabeth(Finnigan) from her marriage record and that is all I have on them, the connection with St. Mary's with their children being baptized there and them being married at St. Patrick's Church.
Patrick's parents James and Susan (McClusky), both were born in Antrim Co. Ireland also have ties to St. Mary's with their children being baptized there so I am thinking they lived and died in the same area.
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Hi Flowerdoll
I realise a few months have passed since your original post, so you have probably been and gone on your Edinburgh trip.
I've been doing a bit of research on folk living in the Cowgate in Edinburgh who were often baptised and married either at their local church (St Patrick's) or the RC cathedral (St. Mary's) which was referred to simply as St Mary's Church, Broughton Street. It can be found at the junction of York Place and Broughton Street, but as has been mentioned neither church has a burial ground.
The death registrations c1860 seem to include a burial place so I'll just go through a few i have to see where RC folk buried their dead in 1850s, 1860s
[Just had 3 death regs with burial places]
1859 West Church burying grounds
1860 West Church yard
1860 New Calton burying ground
Gerry
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the RC cathedral (St. Mary's) which was referred to simply as St Mary's Church, Broughton Street.
According to 'The Buildings of Scotland' it was made into a Cathedral rather than a chapel or church in 1878.
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Gerry, we have not made the trip yet :) We are going in May 2017. Our hopes were to do the searching before we go since we do not have a lot of time to look while we are in Edinburgh. I realize they could be buried in anywhere but I though since they were RC looking at those burial grounds first would be a start.
No luck with Ancestry to find death certificates so that leaves us looking at Scotspeople when we get there. That should show where they were buried, again cutting into the time we have to find the right burial place.
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No luck with Ancestry to find death certificates
Don't waste your time. See http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=714261.0
SP .... That should show where they were buried, again cutting into the time we have to find the right burial place.
The burial place is only listed on death certificates until about 1860, so looking up later certificates will not help to find where anyone was buried.
Burial records for most cemeteries in Edinburgh are in the care of the City of Edinburgh Council. See http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20019/burials_and_cremations/316/burial_records. What the web site says is not exactly encouraging; I think you can be pretty certain that if you start trying to contact them after you arrive in Edinburgh you will not get the information in time.
You are obviously in touch with St Mary's Cathedral. Have you thought of asking them where they think members of their congregation would have been buried in the mid-19th century? That's a slightly different question from what you have already asked, and you might get a more useful answer.
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I am sure the church gets a great many requests about people looking for their ancestors. I understand them saying they do not know where people might be buried. Just because they are RC does not mean they are buried in an RC graveyard. I did read that when you do find a burial record you have to apply for more info so yes, not enough time for us to do that.
I think when we go to Scotspeople and do more searching it will fill in some blanks in my research and correct anything not right. At the very least we can find the streets where our ancestors might have lived, the church where they attended and see the beautiful city.
I had hoped by asking on a site such as this one I might hit on someone looking for the same family lines ;)
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At the very least we can find the streets where our ancestors might have lived, the church where they attended and see the beautiful city.
If I may, I will offer one piece of advice. Don't even think about trying to drive in Edinburgh. It is difficult to move around, and even more difficult (and very expensive) to park. Most of the places you have mentioned are within walking distance of one another, and there is an excellent bus service.
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;D No driving for us! We will be staying in Leith and taking public transport around the city.
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Good to hear this is an active thread.
I gather now that "West Church burial grounds" refers to the graveyard at St Cuthbert's (at the bottom of Lothian Road).
As a general query, how were the burial arrangements handled by poor RC folk in Edinburgh mid 19th century?
The people I'm researching were all illiterate and death was an all too frequent visitor on their households (round about the Cowgate). I'm guessing that there were unmarked sections of the graveyards at St Cuthbert's and Calton Hill for those who couldn't afford headstones etc and weren't in the Church of Scotland.
The St Cuthbert's website http://www.st-cuthberts.net/famhist.php#graves refers us to the Recorder of District Burial Grounds at Mortonhall Cremetorium who hold the chronological register of burials at St Cuthbert's from 1804 to the present day. It is just a diary, so you need to make an appointment armed with exact dates by the sound of it.
Gerry