Not a Problem - just a query - OPR Deaths

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:17 am

I've often wondered why OPR deaths (burials) have always been low on the priority list at SP. I would find them of much more interest than the OPR images (as there is often no more data on an OPR than is in the index).

Is the missing death index related to the fact that the LDS do not index deaths? Did SP start with the LDS indexes, or did they do all the indexing themselves?

Trish

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:27 am

Bottom line? Death records weren't really kept in the Parish Records. Mort Cloth rentals were sometimes recorded. If you are searching in Fife, the local history society has compiled records from various sources and put them on a CD for purchase. Monumental Inscriptions are your best bet for pre-Statutory records.

Laura

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:30 am

Trish, I forgot to add that it might be worth your while to order in the OPR film at your local LDS Family History Centre and see if the parish clerk recorded anything about a death.

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:16 am

Hi Laura

Thanks for replying - I have looked at many films from the LDS - mainly for England & they all seem to have a section for burials. Were C of E records different to the Church of Scotland? I haven't thought about that before.

thanks

Trish

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 4:27 am

Perhaps it depends upon the parish?

Russell · Post by **Russell** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 3:11 am

Trish

It could depend on the Church Officer in post at the time whether any records were made in the Parochial Registers. A good Church Officer could add lots of extra information but many only put in the minimum they had to.

The reason deaths were not recorded is that only Christenings and Marriages were Sacraments which the Minister was qualified to conduct.
You may be lucky and find some OPR death entries.

I'll keep my fingers crossed (It might affect my keyboard accuracy though!

)

Russell

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 12:26 pm

Hi all
I do know that some parishes did keep death/burial registers - thinking off the top of my head of examples that I have seen, being the parishes of Dunfermline, Kettle in Fife, Canongate, and Leith North and South as far as I remember.

Of course this doesn't mean they covered the whole period you might be interested in (unforntunatley...) ! Some of the above are crystal clear to read and a joy to behold - one of the Canongate ones in NAS whcih covers approx. 1791-1796 which I have seen in the original, not on film, being a fine example. However, some are not in a good state, the Leith North one as far as I remember having been badly water damaged, with parts of it impossible to read which is almost more frustrating than there being no death records at all!!!

Best wishes
Lesley

DavidWW · Post by **DavidWW** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 1:24 pm

lbathgate wrote:Hi all
I do know that some parishes did keep death/burial registers - thinking off the top of my head of examples that I have seen, being the parishes of Dunfermline, Kettle in Fife, Canongate, and Leith North and South as far as I remember.

Aprrox 1/3rd of OPRs contain no death/mortcloth info. There might be some info in the kirk session records.

lbathgate wrote:Of course this doesn't mean they covered the whole period you might be interested in (unforntunatley...) ! Some of the above are crystal clear to read and a joy to behold - one of the Canongate ones in NAS whcih covers approx. 1791-1796 which I have seen in the original, not on film, being a fine example. However, some are not in a good state, the Leith North one as far as I remember having been badly water damaged, with parts of it impossible to read which is almost more frustrating than there being no death records at all!!!

And important to emphasise that, of the other 2/3rds, it's rare to find an OPR with death/mortcloth info over the full period for which baptism/birth and marriages/banns info is available in a particular OPR.

David

trish1 · Post by **trish1** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:59 am

Many thanks all for the replies - I'll keep hoping that those that do exist get indexed one day

Trish

ian beaton jack · Post by **ian beaton jack** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:13 pm

trish1 wrote:I've often wondered why OPR deaths (burials) have always been low on the priority list at SP. I would find them of much more interest than the OPR images (as there is often no more data on an OPR than is in the index).

Is the missing death index related to the fact that the LDS do not index deaths? Did SP start with the LDS indexes, or did they do all the indexing themselves?

Trish

on this subject,does anyone know if there are such things as burial records??? if so where can they be found??
ian jack

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Not a Problem - just a query - OPR Deaths

Not a Problem - just a query - OPR Deaths

Re: Not a Problem - just a query - OPR Deaths