Comments

Thank you Pat.

Edith B. White's birthdate is 1898 approx. and yes, I believe that is her and thank you very much, I had just found the 1911 census. 

The town of Taunton is mentioned in some family papers also, as a place that Edith lived but I have no info. on that.

John Summers was born May 26, 1857 in Wigtown, Scotland and died in Weston-Super Mare.  He married Mary Collings about 1862.  John had a sister Mabel. He was a county court clerk (if you have any info. about that).

John's parents were Thomas Summers and Margaret Jackson and were married in Wigtown, Scotland but I have no other info. on them yet.

If anyone has info. on how daily life may have looked in the 1800s in your area, I would appreciate it.

Your query was discussed at this evening's meeting of the Society. Several suggestions were made -

• With the transfer of the Weston-super-Mare Library to the newly refurbished accommodation in the Town Hall due to take place very soon, the Local Studies Section of the Library, which contains the Weston Mercury and the Weston Gazette on film, is only open until this coming Friday (August 3rd) but those films should be available again in October.
• You might try accessing the 19th century newspapers for no charge at home using your library ticket - there is the Bristol Mercury included in this collection.
• You could also try this site - The British Newspaper Archive - but you would have to pay for any information you find. The same information can also be accessed through the genesreunited site.
• The other alternative is (as you suggested) a visit to the Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton.

What was the name of this ancestor and do you have the actual date of death?

You do not give an date of birth for Edith Bessie WHITE but is she the Edith WHITE who born in Chelsea in 1898 and appears on the 1911 census living with a Henry CAHILL in Norwood London, described as his niece?

Regarding John SUMMERS and Margaret JACKSON - can you give some approximate dates of birth for these?

Thank you all so much for your help, Ithink the next step will be for me to get her death certificate .

How would I go about getting the burial record?

Thanks again, really appreciated

Sandra Lee

I believe that what Kate has said is correct for nonconsecrated ground near churchyards which was used by the churches for those purposes.

However, in town cemeteries it is slightly different.  At the opening of  Weston Cemetery in 1856/7 the Bishop of Bath & Wales consecrated about half of the land for use for Church of England burials. The rest of the ground was left unconsecrated for Non-conformist burials and for Catholic burials when I understand the land is consecrated at the time of burial.  The vast majority of burials in the non-consecrated section were for non-conformists. The same would have applied for other cemeteries. The burial record may show the demonination of the minister who conducted the funeral.

Incidentally, there is no memorial on Emily's grave.

Hi Sandra,

Unconsecrated ground was used for the unbaptised, stillborns, suicides, non-Christian and sometimes paupers who would normally be put into a communal grave.

I don't know the circumstances of Emily's death but it was possible she was living alone and her baptism status was unknown.

Kate