Search the Site
It may seem a little odd, but a visit to the burial ground of an ancestor can make you feel more closely connected to them. However, tracking down the specific plot, or lair as they were referred to in Scotland, depends on the period of time when the deaths occurred.
Up to the mid-19th century it was the normal practice for people to be interred in the Parish Kirk burial ground - although this was only rarely marked with anything as grand as a headstone. The Scottish Association of Family History Societies (SAFHS) is currently co-ordinating a major project to develop a National Burial Index, relating to pre-1855 records. This will eventually be available on CD ROM. Although this will help to confirm that burials took place in parish burial grounds, it will not, unfortunately, indicate the location of the lair.
If your ancestor was wealthy enough, their grave may have been marked by an inscribed headstone. Over the years, family history societies and other volunteer groups have painstakingly transcribed and indexed such inscriptions - and these are nearly always held in the relevant local history libraries or family history research centres.
By the mid-19th Century, many parish burial grounds had become seriously overcrowded, especially those in urban areas, and this led to the creation of both private and municipal cemeteries. If you know the place and date of death, you should be able to discover the location of a lair, although not all cemeteries and records have survived.
The concept of cremation started to gain popularity in the late 1940s and has increased ever since. Ashes may be taken away by the family, scattered in the garden of remembrance or buried either in the crematorium or in a family plot.
The Leisure and Arts Department of Dundee City Council is custodian of the records of three nineteenth century Dundee burial grounds: Eastern Necropolis, Western Necropolis/Balgay and Western Cemetery. All are still currently in use. You may find the page of information on other burial grounds in Dundee helpful.
Staff at Leisure and Arts can search these records on your behalf. However, certain details are necessary for a successful search i.e. name of deceased, date of death (obtainable from Dundee City Registrars), and maiden name if deceased is female. Where at all possible, postal or e-mail inquiries are preferable, particularly when searching for multiple entries. Please provide a postal address with large e-mail inquiries. The address for inquiries and details of search fees is as follows:
Leisure & Arts Department
Floor 13
Tayside House
28 Crichton Street
Dundee DD1 3RA
Tel: +44 1382 433089
Fax: +44 1382 433211
E-mail: burials@dundeecity.gov.uk
Records for burial grounds in Angus (excluding Dundee) are currently in the care of Angus Council Recreation Services. Three area offices are involved and each has its own jurisdiction. The Arbroath Office covers Arbroath, Carnoustie, Monifieth and Sidlaw areas. The Forfar Office covers Forfar, Kirriemuir and the Glens, and Montrose covers the Montrose and Brechin areas. You can contact Angus Burial Grounds by email at:
Arbroath/Carnoustie/
Monifieth/Sidlaw areas - MilneA2@angus.gov.uk
Forfar/Kirriemuir & Glens - DavidsonA2@angus.gov.uk
Montrose/Brechin - SmithA2@angus.gov.uk
For lists of the burial grounds and contact information see www.angus.gov.uk/services/view_service_detail.cfm?serviceid=1186.
| Interment (records held include) | Proprietor (lists of who is intered in each lair) |
|---|---|
|
Name of deceased |
Date of interment |
|
Date of interment |
Name of deceased |
|
Address |
Age |
|
Place of birth |
Laor |
|
Date of death |
Depth |
|
Age |
Proprietor Name |
|
Sex |
Proprietor Address |
|
Cause of death |
Occupation |
|
Spouse |
Section & Lair No |
|
Mothers name |
Title Deed No |
|
Fathers name |
Cost |
|
Marital status |
|
|
Proprietor |
|
|
Location of grave - Section & Lair No |
|
|
Relationship to Lair |
|
|
Depth |
|
|
Cost paid |
Maps of cemetries, Ground Sales Books - when lair's were sold, who to and how much etc and some images may also be available.