A murder in a 17th-century Suffolk inn, a village devastated by plague and centuries of memorial inscriptions are among the fascinating discoveries in a new collection of burial records released by TheGenealogist.
The collection brings together historic burial registers and monumental inscriptions from churches, churchyards and cemeteries, offering family historians an opportunity to discover more about the lives and deaths of their ancestors.
One particularly striking entry comes from St James, Bury St Edmunds. On 7th April 1670, the parish register recorded the burial of Loyed Johnson, noting that he had been "murdered at the signe of the pickrell".
In Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, the registers reveal the devastating impact of the Great Plague. During 1665, the parish recorded 126 burials, most attributed to the epidemic, compared with the approximately 20 or fewer normally recorded in previous years.
Other additions include burial registers from St Paul's, Covent Garden, memorial inscriptions from Durham and Hereford Cathedrals, Devon churchyards and historic graves at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
For researchers, these records can provide far more than names and burial dates. Entries may reveal occupations, family relationships, causes of death and unexpected details about an ancestor's final days.
The new collections are available to explore at TheGenealogist.co.uk.
