Ancestry adds Edinburgh, Scotland, Mortcloth Records for St Cuthbert Burial Grounds, 1780-1854

Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has added a new Scottish collection:

Edinburgh, Scotland, Mortcloth Records for St Cuthbert Burial Grounds, 1780-1854
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63248/
Source: "Provided in association with The City of Edinburgh Council"

General collection information

This collection contains mortcloth records dated between 1780 and 1854 for St Cuthbert’s Parish and Burial Ground in Edinburgh, Scotland. A mortcloth was a ceremonial cloth that people would rent and drape over a coffin at a funeral. The records are in the form of registers arranged chronologically.

Records in the collection may include the following information:

• Name
• Age
• Death date
• Burial date
• Purchase date
• Name of spouse
• Names of parents

The information in these records can help you learn more about your ancestor’s life and burial. Mortcloth rental records can be used as a substitute for death records, and these records may be especially useful because they predate the start of civil registration of deaths in Scotland in 1855. Though it’s important to keep in mind that the date of payment may not be the exact date of death.

By browsing the record image you may be able to learn more about your ancestor’s burial or their family’s financial status. Some records include the quadrant and section of the burial location, diseases the person may have had, and the amount paid by the family. You may also be able to use the information from this collection to find more records for your ancestor in Scotland, like birth records, censuses, or electoral rolls.
 

For further details, please visit the link.

Chris 

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