Hi. Has anyone have any experience in asking the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for information on who it was who paid for a burial plot in Old Cathedral Cemetery in 1896? The mystery is as follows: My gr grandfather Bartine (no one ever called him anything else) BATES lived with his daughter and son-in-law at the time of his death. (My grandparents). They were quite young when he died in 1896, and probably didn't own any cemetery lot or plot. And I'm quite sure Bartine didn't either (he never had more than two nickels to rub together). They all lived in the close vicinity of Old Cathedral Cemetery. When I obtained Bartine BATES death record from the city of Philadelphia, his name in flowing script was given as Bartine BATES. In what is obviously an afterthought, the letter "J" was squeezed in front of his name on the same line. Today I received an answer from the Archdiocese to my inquiry about who all is buried in the same plot with ----- Bartine Bates. The answer came back as "Joseph" BATES. Same date. That's the answer to the "J" Bartine was not baptised as a Catholic when he was born. My grandfather, however, was a Catholic. At my age, I'm quite sure that in 1896 the church wasn't about to bury Bartine in their cemetery unless he'd been baptised as a Catholic. So, how do I find out who paid for the lot where BARTINE BATES is buried, and how do I find out if he wasf baptised on his death bed. Or maybe his son-in-law bent the truth a little to get Bartine buried as close as possible with as little effort as possible. I'd like to be able to properly document that "Joseph" BATES and "J" Bartine BATES are the same fellow. Ruth in GA