British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

This week we look at the last words that remember our ancestors by examining epitaphs in burial grounds.  The grave of In Loving Memory of Alice Freestone in Alby (St Ethelbert) Churchyard, Norfolk. Her epitaph describes her as, "A Dear Wife and Mother" and "Worthy of Remembrance". According to the Oxford Dictionary , epitaphs are, "words that are written or said about a dead person, especially words on a gravestone." The Deceased Online website includes photographs of graves and memorials, as well as digital scans of cremation and burial registers.  Photographs, such as those from our Norfolk Collection , can give you an insight into the character of the deceased. They also provide us with essential genealogical information, such as the names of relatives. Among our records are some fascinating memorials and epitaphs. The Londonist website wrote an interesting post on  Brompton Cemetery , whose burial registers you can search in our database . The hea...

In honour of Valentine's Day, this week's blog looks at some of the most romantic stories and headstones in the Deceased Online collections marking the everlasting love of couples reunited after death. While Valentine's Day is a fun celebration of love and romance for some, for others it can be a harsh reminder of loneliness or the loss of a loved one. Like birthdays, anniversaries and religious festivals, Valentine's Day triggers thoughts and memories of happy times with someone who is no longer here. An illustration of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne by Stephen Alonzo Schoff, taken from Nathaniel Hawthorne and HIs Wife: A Biography by Julian Hawthorne, p. 39 (Google books)  When I visit graveyards, however, I am often struck by how much love continues after death. This may be the love of a parent, child, spouse, lover, sibling or friend. In some cases, a spouse's body may be removed from a grave or cemetery and relocated elsewhere in order to join the...

The Deceased Online team had a great time at Who Do You Think You Are? Live last week. One of the many interesting visitors to our stand at the show has inspired us to look further into the signs and symbols we often see on memorials and headstones. Richard and the team enjoy showing visitors how to use the Deceased Online database at WDYTYA? Live 2016 Once again, everyone at Deceased Online would like to thank the organizers of Who Do You Think You Are? Live , the Society of Genealogists , and all of those who dropped by at our stand 288 at Birmingham's NEC on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. WDYTYA? Live remains the biggest family history show in the world (with over 13,000 visitors this year) and we were delighted to see many new and long-term Deceased Online users. Richard, Jamie and the team also enjoyed linking up with their friends in the many family history societies and other companies who attended. It was great to meet so many who love our website which we've ...

Deceased Online has upgraded the advance search facility specifically for Memorial/Monumental Inscriptions. Below I look in detail at the new changes and how you can better use the database to find your ancestors. The team at Deceased Online has been working hard to improve the Deceased Online search page . You should find searches (simple and advanced) of Monumental Inscriptions (MIs) present more accurate results, making it easier to find your ancestor. At present, the largest collection is that of Scottish MIs (SMIs) , and features around 300,000 individual names in over 200 cemeteries and kirkyards across Scotland. For those with English ancestors, look out for further additions coming soon of more than 100,000 MIs, many of which are from England. There are two major improvements in the new upgrade:- (i) Easier and more accurate searches of Monumental Inscriptions (MIs) (ii) Searching with Inscriptions/Headstone Collections. I look at them both in detail here and illust...

Inspired by user feedback, this week’s post looks at the best ways to use the database Thank you very much to all those who have emailed, tweeted and written on our Facebook page. We really appreciate your comments and would like to respond with some useful tips on getting the best from the Deceased Online website . Burial records provide an essential resource for family historians. Unfortunately, even when you have details of an ancestor’s death from a death certificate or obituary, finding where he or she is buried can prove difficult. Sometimes, when your ancestor has a common name, the burial record can provide the details you need to identify him or her in the General Register Office index or in the ScotlandsPeople records. The Deceased Online database holds a variety of burial and cremation records, including images of registers, maps of cemeteries with grave locations and some photographs of memorials and headstones. The records also enable you to discover who sh...