This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: GordonPertJohnson Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.britisles.scotland.general/22337.1.2.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: No. Each OPR had its own peculiarity in what was recorded and how it was recorded. Many parishes have no death or burial record at all; Others have a note of deaths, e.g. "killed by the bursting of a gun" for one I noted; Others have no formal register of deaths, but have a record of burials and fees paid; others have no record, but the church accounts may have record of charges made for the hire of the church mortcloth. Note that sometimes the name given is the HIRER of the mortcloth, with the addition of "to John Smith" at the end, so that John Smith was the deceased. The date of the hiring will more or less be the death date. Some parishes have a combination:the name, date of death, and the charge for the mortcloth (and sometimes for the church bells to be rung). A few parishes also had extra mortcloths owned by local groups, e.g. fishermen, so that any fisher death got that mortcloth at a minimal fee. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.