Peterhead Old Chrchyard - Lairs Index list

[osprey28]

Hello again. I was fortunate to receive a site plan of the churchyard with all the lairs numbered and with family surname of those interred.  I would be happy to share that by PM is anyone wants it.

Unfortunately don't have burial records -which I believe were held by the church.  The Church in the Old Churchyard was closed in the 1890s and a new one built in King Street near to the Drill Hall (demolished in 1970s and the site is now a roundabout near the Aldi shop).  Would the new church possibly be the current Baptist Church at 54 King Street?

[Forfarian]

Unfortunately don't have burial records -which I believe were held by the church.

I'll eat my hat if the burial records of a historic Church of Scotland parish kirk have been handed on to a different denomination in a different building.

Have you definitely been told that Aberdeenshire Council don't hold them? (The burials department rather than the Archives)

Many of the Aberdeenshire burial records held by Aberdeenshire Council are available at DeceasedOnline.

According to DeceasedOnline https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch they have the burial records of Peterhead Old Kirk (St Peter's).

[osprey28]

Hi - Aberdeenshire Council (Landscapes & Burials Dept) are based in Banff - they definately don't have the burial records for that graveyard - it was them who provided the site plan with lairs etc marked.  Also their suggestion that the burial records would be held at the church.  I didn't know if st peters old kirk was CoS or one of the breakaway denominations.  Google told me that when the Old Kirk was closed they moved a new build near to the Drill Hall.  The CoS Building is a fair bit away from that - but thanks for advice and will try that too.

[osprey28]

Forfarian - that was sound advice.  I hadn't been on Deceased Online - so registered and paid to view.  Got confirmation that 12 of my ancestors are buried in lair A229.  Verified it all by cross referencing with other data I have.  That's a few brick walls in tatters now.

Thanks lots for your help.

[Forfarian]

Google told me that when the Old Kirk was closed they moved a new build near to the Drill Hall.

I think that in this case Google is talking arrant nonsense.

Peterhead Parish Kirk was built in 1803. See https://www.trove.scot/designation/LB39671 and https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=214738092 - this is not the 'Old Kirk' where the burial ground is, and which it replaced.

This kirk was closed in 2016*, and the congregation merged with that of Trinity Church, which was renamed Peterhead New Parish Kirk and is now the kirk in use. See https://www.peterheadnew.org/ which states, "Peterhead New Parish Church is located on the corner of Prince and St Peter Streets in Peterhead". This is the former Trinity Kirk.

Trinity Kirk was built in 1842 as the West Associate Church. See https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=214738097 and https://www.trove.scot/designation/LB39819 - so it is certainly not a 'new build'.

There were no such things as Drill Halls in 1842, let alone in 1803. They were mostly built in the second half of the 19th century. See https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/publications/publication/?publicationId=b276b5fa-b4f2-41b2-9d0f-a75c00f54148

*2016 is two decades after the creation of the present Aberdeenshire Council, and four decades after its previous incarnations, which included Banff and Buchan District Council, which replaced Peterhead Town Council. I'd expect that the old burial records were in the care of the latter long before the closure of the kirk which in 1803 replaced the older kirk in the burial ground.

[osprey28]

Well done Forarian great history there.  I have the details I need - thanks for your help.

[Doreen Peacock]

Fantastic investigations on this one. Well Done everyone involved. What an improvement from the old snail mail, and waiting for any responses.

ONCE AGAIN. I AM MOST IMPRESSED by the skill and tenacity of the super sleuths attached to RootsChat.Com and their generosity of time given to the Searchers. You are worth your weight in Gold.  No price can be attached to the satisfaction given... of locating the missing links or finding lost contacts.

[osprey28]

Hi Doreen - I fully agree - great help from everyone here has helped me enormously in my research.  Especially recently searching on location in an area I had never been before. Fantastic help from all involved supported me in breaking down a brick wall that’s been haunting me for over 20 years.

Thanks to you all