ABOUT THE CEMETERIES

ABOUT THE INDEX

The Cornish Cemeteries project began with an effort to provide on-line access, in the form of one index, to the work of Suezan James (now Elliott).  During 1998-99 Suezan transcribed the details on headstones in a number of cemeteries in the West Penwith area of Cornwall.  An estimated 20,000 inscriptions were transcribed, although the number of deaths recorded is significantly higher when it is considered that there are often three or more individuals included on a single headstone. The index is not yet complete.

In May of 2000, Suezan began transcribing additional cemeteries and her current work is now being added as it progresses.  More recently, transcriptions from other cemeteries have been contributed by Rick Elliott, Keith Retallick, Harriet Cardinal and Geoff Holloway.  If you have records that you would like to contribute (whether they involve an entire cemetery or just a small number of records) please contact me.

The Format

I am gradually indexing the records by surname. Where more than one person is shown on the same headstone, each has been individually indexed and relationships, where stated, have been included under "OTHER".  The Cemetery from which the transcript was taken is included for each entry.

 

Approximate Years of Birth

Unless a birth date has been specifically stated, the "BORN (abt)" year has been calculated by subtracting the age at death from the year of death, where known, in an effort to make it easier for visitors to determine whether family connections exist. Please consider it approximate only.

 

Errors

Undoubtedly there will be some, either in the original transcriptions (no-one's perfect!) or in my reproduction of them.  Please use these records as a guide only and, where possible, consult primary sources.  Where there is some doubt about a particular detail a query or note has been added on rare occasions, I have otherwise avoided interpreting the transcriptions.

 

Maiden Names

Maiden names have been added under "OTHER", where they have been clearly stated, along with the names of parents, where known. The entry is indexed under the married name.

 

Contacts

Originally I included a list of contacts as a separate page.  Whilst the Contacts List is still available ,the effort invlolved in keeping the details up to date, has caused me to now include a contact email address in the index as an alternative. If a contact name and e-mail link has been added next to a name in the index you should feel free to make an inquiry through that channel.  Please contact me if you would like your e-mail address added next to a particular entry in the index so that others can contact you concerning your research or if your email address changes so that I can update the index.

 

More Information

With the exception of my own ancestors I have no additional information other than that included in the index and I am not able to undertake research concerning any of the records.  I do suggest, from experience, that you become familiar with and consider the Parishes in Cornwall that are within a short distance, say 10 kilometre radius, of the Parish in which you have an interest.  The Cornish people in most instaces do not appear to have moved very far within the county - if they stayed there - and broadening your research horizons to that extent can often be worthwhile.

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A few tips:

• The search engine will locate references where the name you enter appears other than in the surname field.

• Try all possible spelling variations.

• Unusual given names can be helpful if the surname is unknown.

• Place names, occupations, military references etc. can often be found in the "OTHER" field.