Bob said >Were death/burial records maintained in Tarves Parish or might this be one record that may have been missed if they were kept? The keeping of death records (pre 1855) is few and far between in Scottish churches. Hence the value of MIs, Lair records and Mort Cloth (hire) records. Aberdeen & North East Scotland FHS's Index of MIs - www.anesfhs.org.uk/databank/miindex/miindex.php - lists stone #121 in their booklet AA186 (Kirkyard of Tarves) which includes Alexander Wallace died 20 Mar 1840. Regards Les Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

On 07/03/2014 22:20, [email protected] wrote: >> Were death/burial records maintained in Tarves Parish or might this be one record that may have been missed if they were kept? > The keeping of death records (pre 1855) is few and far between in Scottish churches. Hence the value of MIs, Lair records and Mort Cloth (hire) records. With the possible exception of large urban burial grounds, systematic lair records are also uncommon before the end of the 19th century - the gravedigger knew where everyone's burial ground was. And where there are Mortcloth records, these are in effect included with the OPR "death" records. Many parishes simply did not keep any sort of record of who died, and Tarves was one such. In the present case, the individual concerned does seem to have had a marked grave, so the full text of the MI may be useful. Gavin Bell

On 03/07/2014 04:49 PM, Gavin Bell wrote: > On 07/03/2014 22:20, [email protected] wrote: >>> Were death/burial records maintained in Tarves Parish or might this be one record that may have been missed if they were kept? >> The keeping of death records (pre 1855) is few and far between in Scottish churches. Hence the value of MIs, Lair records and Mort Cloth (hire) records. > With the possible exception of large urban burial grounds, systematic > lair records are also uncommon before the end of the 19th century - the > gravedigger knew where everyone's burial ground was. And where there are > Mortcloth records, these are in effect included with the OPR "death" > records. > > Many parishes simply did not keep any sort of record of who died, and > Tarves was one such. In the present case, the individual concerned does > seem to have had a marked grave, so the full text of the MI may be useful. > > > Gavin Bell Thank you all for your quick response to my query. Some years ago after learning that it was Aberdeen "we" came from, and shortly after learning that the ANES office had a booklet with inscriptions, that booklet was purchased. Since then we have had occasion to visit Tarves and get a picture of the monument with three generations of that family named. Where Alexander Wallace was born and who his parents were may forever be lost to discovery, although the year of his birth appears to have been 1772 based on the year of his death (1840) and notation that he was in the 68th year of his age. Regards, Bob Wallace Fort Worth, Texas