Lack of burials

[SamiW]

I'm sure this topic has been covered before, if so, please point me in the right direction.
I have been tracing my husband's ancestors in rural Aberdeenshire, and have found all sorts of records of marriages and births, but very little in the way of deaths.  We actually made a trip to Scotland last summer, and I had a look around the graveyards in all the little villages that his ancestors lived in.  Nearly all the churches were originals - but no graves pertaining to our family! 
So my query - if they weren't buried in the local graveyards, where were they interred?  Back garden?  Fields?
Any help welcomed.
Best
Sami

[rosie99]

Hi

Perhaps they were buried in those graveyards but couldn't afford a headstone.

Rosie

[nort]

hi Sami
Rosie is correct,most people were not able to afford a gravestone but the parish records will still show their burial in the churchyard.If the parish records still exist you might have to search all the records of the parishes that were local to your ancestors.

Steve

[diggerman2]

Yes, i work in a Cemetery and i would say that out of all the people that come in asking for me to find a particular grave for them , around (at a guess) , 70-80% of them don't have a headstone on.
Quite an anticlimax considering a lot of these people come from all around the world

[Chris in 1066Land]

Hi Sami

Prior to the Cemeteries Clauses Act of 1847 and the Burial Acts of 1852 and 1853, most people were buried in church graveyards, many of which were already overcrowded and insanitary by the 17th century - hence local authorities were able to administer their own cemeteries through burial boards appointed by vestries.
Every parishioner has a right of burial within his parish, though the responsibility for finding a burial space lies with the executors of a deceased person and neither a parochial church council nor any local authority is under a legal obligation to provide burial space.

Is there a cemetery close to the habitat of your ancestors - maybe you should try their records, they do normally keep rather comprehensive ones

Chris in 1066

[Vasquez109]

Mostly, but here in Wales some of the non conformist records are an absolute shambles.

[SamiW]

Thanks all for the advice, but I looked through all the local records held in the Scotlands Records office in Edinburgh, and couldn't find entries for burials for any of them!  So even without stones, shouldn't there have been some sort of record?
Best
Sami

[lesleyhannah]

Re: Lack of burials
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 17 October 09 20:21 BST (UK) »   

~~~~~~~~
Yes, i work in a Cemetery and i would say that out of all the people that come in asking for me to find a particular grave for them , around (at a guess) , 70-80% of them don't have a headstone on.

Diggaman, what information can you give people whose relatives were buried without a headstone? Does the cemetery keep any record of the date of death, age, next of kin etc? Even that amount of information would make an enquiry worthwhile. Or do you just have a name?
I'm asking because like Sami my ancestors don't seem to have a headstone amongst the lot of them.
Lesley

[diggerman2]

Hi LesleyHannah -- I can only speak for the local authority that i work for , but it makes no difference whether there's a headstone or not.
If someone needs details of a grave , then all they need to supply is the name and (approx) date of death.
Our bereavement services staff then come up with a grave number , which in turn is taken to the Cemetery , and the staff will find that grave.
Normally , the BS staff will give details of everybody in said grave as well.
Hope this helps.