If the family had not purchased the grave it remained under the control of the cemetery authority. So, they could fill up one grave before digging another. In one of the cemetery records of my family it gives the depth at which the coffin was buried - in one case 12 feet leaving plenty of room for more ..... Ruth Sent from my iPhone > On 14 Sep 2014, at 04:02, Dianne Hughes via <eng-liverpool@rootsweb.com> wrote: > > Afternoon, > I've found the same thing with my Evans in Toxteth, I thought perhaps > they were paupers and they "just" buried them in any spare spot they had. > Dianne Hues >> Hello Listers, >> >> While rechecking burial details on some ancestors buried in Toxteth cemetery, I realized I could type in a grave # and up came the names of whoever is buried in that particular grave. What shocked me is that in both the graves I have ancestors buried in, there is an entire family (in one case) and 4 separate individuals (in the other) buried with them! >> >> There is absolutely no connection between the others and our family, plus the others are not mentioned on the tombstones or have their own tombstone. >> >> Was it common to "sell " space or give space in burial plots to unconnected families or individuals? >> >> Sandra >> >> >> >> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ >> >> Admin Message - List guidelines: >> http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections/AdminMessage.htm >> >> The list admin can be contacted at >> Eng-Liverpool-admin@rootsweb.com >> >> Buy or sell family research items on the GEN-MAT-UKI mailing list. No fees! >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LIVERPOOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ > > Admin Message - List guidelines: > http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections/AdminMessage.htm > > The list admin can be contacted at > Eng-Liverpool-admin@rootsweb.com > > Buy or sell family research items on the GEN-MAT-UKI mailing list. No fees! > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LIVERPOOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

It can be interesting investigating extra burials in a grave, sometimes you find a distant connection particularly with babies, infants or even young people because the family probably had not yet got a grave to use so some relative allowed them to use their one. Graves seem to be often leased for a fixed term, I came across one in my family where the last burial was back in the 19th century then someone else was buried there much later though I think they were still related so perhaps the family still owned the grave. I found these conditions on one website though it seems to suggest in the past graves were sold in perpetuity in some areas. When you buy a grave in the cemetery, you do not buy the land. The land remains the property of South Tyneside Council. Instead, you buy the exclusive right to bury in that piece of land, effectively making it a private family grave. Up until the mid 1970s we sold these burial rights in perpetuity. However, we now only sell them for a fixed 50 year term. At the end of this term, it is the family's responsibility to renew their rights if they so wish. Should the rights not be renewed the cemetery staff can lawfully remove any memorial after giving a set period of notice for you to remove the memorial yourself. If there is sufficient depth left in the grave, we also have the right to bury someone else there. I would think that they are similar elsewhere. Martin Briscoe Fort William martin@mbriscoe.me.uk -----Original Message----- From: eng-liverpool-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-liverpool-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Ruth via Sent: 14 September 2014 08:15 To: Dianne Hughes; eng-liverpool@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ENG-LIV] Strangers in a grave? If the family had not purchased the grave it remained under the control of the cemetery authority. So, they could fill up one grave before digging another. In one of the cemetery records of my family it gives the depth at which the coffin was buried - in one case 12 feet leaving plenty of room for more ..... Ruth