British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

As today, 26 August 2020, is International Dog Day we take a closer look at the canine connections in the Deceased Online database Monument to William French and the dog he rescued in St Pancras Cemetery, north London Pet & Family Lifestyle Expert, Animal Rescue Advocate, Conservationist, Dog Trainer and Author,  Colleen Paige began  International Dog Day in 2004. It is now  celebrated annually on  August 26th. In honour of the day, we wanted to celebrate the bravery and canine love of 50-year-old  William French  who drowned 13 July 1896 while rescuing a dog in Highgate Ponds on the east side of Hampstead Heath, now in the London borough of Camden.  The Referee newspaper of 19 July 1896 gave details of the inquest, held the previous Wednesday:  He had gone with some  companions to the ponds near Parliament Hill, Highgate, and had taken with him the dog of his employer. The dog, a Manchester terrier, after swimming a short distance, see...

  Remembering Women in our Database for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November has been declared the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the United Nations. Sadly, history contains many examples of violence against women, and our database is no exception. As the United Nations describes: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread,  persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today  r emains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma  and shame surrounding it. In general terms, it manifests itself in  physical, sexual and psychological forms. To further clarify, the  Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women   issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence  against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, ...

Today's taphophiles and family historians often enjoy the calm and greenery of urban cemeteries. But would today's cemetery users want to return to a Victorian policy that sought to convert burial grounds into public parks? The Hardy Tree in the grounds of St Pancras Old Church In the 1860s, the graves of the ancient pa rish churchyard of St Pancras were cleared. Among those who  helped clear and relocate burials from the old St Pancras Church graveyard to the new St Pancras and Islington Cemetery , was a y oung Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) .  A famous tree still stands in the old graveyard which bears his name.  Some of the church lands was taken by the Midland Railway. During this period, around 8,000 bodies were exhumed from their burial plots and some were relocated to the new cemetery in Finchley. Some headstones, like that of the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (1759-1797) were left standing and can still be seen in the churchyard today. ...

Recently, we asked on Facebook for your positive experiences in finding long-lost ancestors and relatives through the Deceased Online database. We have been overwhelmed with all the stories and memories you have sent us. Emails have arrived from the UK and beyond. We're not sure how many of you shouted, "Eureka!" when you found your missing ancestors, but we like to think of these discoveries as your Eureka Moments. This week, we highlight three of the stories we received. These Eureka Moments take us on a journey from Yorkshire to London, featuring a wartime fire, a lucky find in UK's largest cemetery and a great grandmother who had run off with the lodger!  Rebecca Walker (@Ancestreemakers on Twitter ) sent us this beautiful photograph [above] of her great grandmother, Revina (nee Kimber, b. 1870 in Yorkshire). In 1899, Revina married Joseph Westlake . They had a family and settled in Wealdstone, Harrow. Rebecca knew that Revina and her 36 year old ...