As a genealogist I've long identified with Haley Joel Osment's famous line in the film The Sixth Sense: "I see dead people". To non-genealogists, family historians can sometimes seem obsessed with death. Death comes to us all, in the end, and ultimately much of genealogy involves not seeing but researching dead people. Friends and family have come to accept that I can't pass a graveyard without wanting to pop in for a quick - or not so quick - look around.
Of course, most of our ancestors are dead, and as genealogists we want to know when they met their end. In Scotland there has been a legal requirement since 1855 to register all deaths, and statutory registers of death are excellent sources for family historians. In most cases, they record the name of the deceased, their spouse(s) if any, their parents, the cause of death and so on. Before 1855, however, the records are less helpful.
There are gravestones, tangible reminders of the existence of our ancestors. Many graveyards have been recorded by enthusiasts and their inscriptions published (usually referred to as Monumental Inscriptions or MIs). More recently, the rise of digital photography has made collections of photographs of gravestones popular. But not everybody could afford a gravestone, and not all gravestones survive in a legible condition.
A few years ago, Scotland's People made available the burials recorded in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs). These are a great resource, but they are far from complete. There are some OPR burials for around two-thirds of Church of Scotland parishes, but in some cases there are very few burials recorded - there are only two for Fearn in Angus, and only nine for Galston in Ayr.
So if there is no gravestone, and no OPR burial, does that mean we can't find out when our ancestor died? Not necessarily. There is another type of record that can help: mortcloth accounts.
A mortcloth (from the Latin mors meaning death) was a ceremonial cloth draped over a coffin (or a corpse if the family could not afford a coffin) at a funeral. Most families didn't have their own mortcloths - not unreasonable when you consider that any one person only needs it once! - instead hiring them for the occasion. In burghs, the individual trades might have their own mortcloths which were lent to members for the occasion. But in most cases, mortcloths were available to hire from the Kirk Sessions.
In many cases, the Kirk Sessions owned more than one mortcloth - smaller ones for children, or more elaborate ones for a higher fee. (Even in death, not everyone was equal.) The money raised from renting out the mortcloth was generally used for poor relief, and as a result, the Sessions often kept good records of payments received. While they may not necessarily contain a great amount of detail, mortcloth accounts may be the only way to identify when an ancestor died. (See for instance Aberlady accounts 1826-1846, Forgandenny minutes 1783-1836 and Dalmeny Accounts 1736-1779.) They should however be treated with a degree of caution, as the date recorded for payment may be some time after the death and funeral.
We've extracted some entries from Dalmeny [NRS Reference CH2/86/8 p. 294-295] below.
Of course, most of our ancestors are dead, and as genealogists we want to know when they met their end. In Scotland there has been a legal requirement since 1855 to register all deaths, and statutory registers of death are excellent sources for family historians. In most cases, they record the name of the deceased, their spouse(s) if any, their parents, the cause of death and so on. Before 1855, however, the records are less helpful.
There are gravestones, tangible reminders of the existence of our ancestors. Many graveyards have been recorded by enthusiasts and their inscriptions published (usually referred to as Monumental Inscriptions or MIs). More recently, the rise of digital photography has made collections of photographs of gravestones popular. But not everybody could afford a gravestone, and not all gravestones survive in a legible condition.
A few years ago, Scotland's People made available the burials recorded in the Old Parish Registers (OPRs). These are a great resource, but they are far from complete. There are some OPR burials for around two-thirds of Church of Scotland parishes, but in some cases there are very few burials recorded - there are only two for Fearn in Angus, and only nine for Galston in Ayr.
So if there is no gravestone, and no OPR burial, does that mean we can't find out when our ancestor died? Not necessarily. There is another type of record that can help: mortcloth accounts.
A mortcloth (from the Latin mors meaning death) was a ceremonial cloth draped over a coffin (or a corpse if the family could not afford a coffin) at a funeral. Most families didn't have their own mortcloths - not unreasonable when you consider that any one person only needs it once! - instead hiring them for the occasion. In burghs, the individual trades might have their own mortcloths which were lent to members for the occasion. But in most cases, mortcloths were available to hire from the Kirk Sessions.
In many cases, the Kirk Sessions owned more than one mortcloth - smaller ones for children, or more elaborate ones for a higher fee. (Even in death, not everyone was equal.) The money raised from renting out the mortcloth was generally used for poor relief, and as a result, the Sessions often kept good records of payments received. While they may not necessarily contain a great amount of detail, mortcloth accounts may be the only way to identify when an ancestor died. (See for instance Aberlady accounts 1826-1846, Forgandenny minutes 1783-1836 and Dalmeny Accounts 1736-1779.) They should however be treated with a degree of caution, as the date recorded for payment may be some time after the death and funeral.
We've extracted some entries from Dalmeny [NRS Reference CH2/86/8 p. 294-295] below.
| Aprill 15th 1751 | Thomas Ponton the best large cloath | £3 |
| 26th | Isabel Miller a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| May 1st | William Smith the best large cloath | £3 |
| 25th | James Livinston the best cloath | £3 |
| 26th | Mrs Borthwick the best large cloath | £4 16s |
| 27th | Hellen Anderson the best large cloath | £3 |
| 31st | Mrs Wilkie the best large cloath | £3 |
| August 24th | John Riddel the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| Septr 19th | Alexdr Ponton the best large cloath | £3 |
| Decr 28 | James Hamilton the best large cloath | £3 |
| Janry 20th 1752 | Anna Ramsy a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| 22d | Robert Lang the best large cloath | £3 |
| Febry 1st | Adam Mcauly the best large cloath | £3 |
| 11th | Helen Kay the best large cloath | £3 |
| 28th | William Broun the best large cloath | £3 |
| Idem | Janet Page the Sexton's large cloath | £2 |
| Aprill 15th | Christian Henderson a child the best little cloath | £2 8s |
| 26th | Anna Bunton the best large cloath | £3 |
| June 15th | Janet Thomson the best large cloath | £3 |
| August 15th | William Hill the best large cloath | £3 |
| Octr 9th | Isabel Lourie the best large cloath | £3 |
| Novr 16th | Alexander Mcauly the best large cloath | £3 |
| Decr 23d | Janet Bruce the second large cloath | £2 |
| 23d | Susan Ross the best large cloath | £3 |
| 23d | Walter Miller the best large cloath | £3 |
| January 22d 1753 | Agnes Parish the best large cloath | £3 |
| Febry 2d | Christian Riddell the best large cloath | £3 |
| 3d | Walter Ponton a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| 14th | Ninian Forrest the best large cloath | £3 |
| March 13th | Hugh Steuart the second little cloath | £1 |
| 15th | Alexander Mcally a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| 17th | Isabell Miller a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| April 3d | John Mure the second large cloath | £2 |
| 15th | a child of John Morrisons the second little cloath | £1 |
| 25th | George Ponton a child the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| May 7th | Walter Gogar the best large cloath & bigg Bell | £4 |
| Octr 15 | Gilbert Candlemass the best large cloath | £3 |
| Novr 21 | Marjory Prap the best large cloath | £3 |
| Decr 18 | William Anderson the best large cloath | £3 |
| March 30th | Jean Shade the best large cloath | £3 |
| Aprill 29 | a child of Thomas Anderson's the best little cloath | £1 16s |
| April 30th | James Forrest the best large cloath | £3 |
| June 11th | Isobel Collin the best little cloath | £1 16s |
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