I can help with all resources marked [YES], copyright permitting.

See also Monumental Inscriptions, Chapels and Quaker Records.

Some Strays & Extracts will be found at the end of this page.

Burials were required to be recorded from 1538 and were supposed to be entered into a register (book) from 1558. The book had blank leaves, so what was recorded varied a great deal depending upon the minister. At the least you should get the date and the name of the deceased. From a period starting in 1667 you may find reference to “Buried in Woollen”, a requirement of law to support the English wool industry.

From 1813, as a consequence of the Rose Act (1812), a standard printed form was used in Burial Registers. This should result in more and uniform information being available, but also accounts for why some transcripts end in 1812. The form had columns for "Name", "Abode", "When buried", "Age", and "By whom the Ceremony was performed."

Researchers may find the following list of Epidemics useful. They were extracted from the "Encyclopedia of Plague & Pestilence" by a correspondant on the Essex mailing list. I don't know how many reached Cornwall

1732–33, 1742–43 influenza
1751–1753 smallpox
1762, 1767, 1775–76, 1782, 1788–89 influenza
1796 smallpox
1803 influenza
1816–19 typhus, smallpox
1825–26 smallpox
1830 influenza
1832 cholera
1833, 1836–37 influenza
1837–38 typhus
1837–40 smallpox
1847–48 typhus, influenza
1848–49, 1853–54, 1865–66 cholera
1871–72 smallpox
1899–1902 typhoid (Boer War)
1901–02 smallpox
1918 influenza

Also the plague hit this part of Cornwall in 1647 as shown by these figures from the Madron burial register (thanks to Tom Hill on CORNISH-L 21 Mar 2003).

1646  -  32 burials
1647  -  170
1648  -  48
1649  -  19
1650  -  26
approx figures.

He says “There was also an outbreak of something in June 1578 which lasted for the rest of that year, being at its height in the summer months.”


A lot of the information below was obtained from [Wilcox 1999] but additional details and corrections have been obtained from direct sources and repository handlists. Thanks to Rodney Warmington for the update on CRO holdings (July 1999).

[YES]The CFHS have published 1813–37 burial indexes for all parishes in the district.

There is a [Off Site]Burials in Cornwall index compiled by Pam Drake of the [Off Site]CFS and published by Guy Etchells, 2001. It covers a lot of these parishes but it is not clear how comprehensive it is, what date ranges are covered or what sources were used. It is very useful in any case, well done! As it is a combined index, it is not separately listed below for each parish.

The [Off Site]National Burial Index (second edition 2004) published by the Federation of Family History Societies claim 100% coverage of Cornwall 1813–37. This information was obtained from the CFHS and the numbers for each parish are given below.

The majority of the transcripts shown below as “On this site” are or will be included in the combined [Off Site]database created by the Cornwall OPC scheme. This is not separatly listed below.

The layout of each entry below is:—

Type (source) Dates (media) Locations.

Call, Batch and Film numbers are shown when available. All LDS copies are on microfilm or fiche.


Strays & Extracts

This interesting item was found in the Paul burial register and posted to CORNISH-GEN-L by Diane Donohue on 1 Jan 2001

MARTHA BLEWETT 27 Nov 1792. Martha was buried. This aged person Martha 
Blewett on Monday 26 Nov 1792 between 9 and 10 o’clock in the forenoon as 
she was journeying on the road from Mousehole to Paul Church Town, was 
robbed of all her little property which she, by great industry and 
parsimony, saved together for the support of declining age and most 
inhumanely murdered—her throat being cut from ear to ear for which, 
William Trewavas,Jnr of Mousehole, a fisherman, a young man not exceeding 
the 26th year of his age, was on the Tuesday, the same evening that this 
unfortunate woman was buried, apprehended and, from a variety of 
depositions and corroborating circumstances, committed to the County Gaol 
as the person and supposed guilty of this atrocious and bloody deed.
The following is the inscription upon the cross erected in Mousehole Road 
near this place where the body of Martha Blewett was found. “Remember the 
Almighty the Great King of Kings and Lord of Lords hath in the table of his 
law commanded—‘Thou shalt do no murder’ ”.
William Trewavas was tried at Launceston for this murder and found guilty 
and suffered the punishment due to his offence on Monday 28 March 1793.

These strays were found in the Phillack burial register—Thanks to Suezan—23 Feb 2001

Ephriam YACKABERRY of St-Ives buried 16/12/1688
James RICHARDS of St-Ives buried 6/1/1801
John RICHARDS of St-Ives aged 2 buried 30/6/1815
Thomas RICHARDS of St-Ives aged 16 buried 17/8/1826
John WOOLCOCK of St-Ives aged 63 buried 26/1/1829

These strays were sent to me by Kathy Weigel on 20 Mar 2001.

William PARSON, illegitiamte son of Jane of Tewednacke & of ye reputed father,
    Oliver CORNOE of Lelant, bur. 18 Dec 1683 at Camborne
Ann CURNOW from Towednack, bur. 15 Jul 1795 at Gulval
John TREWHELLA of Trelion in St. Ives, age 54, bur. 10 Apr 1850 at Lelant
William GLASSON of Towednack, age 79, bur. 21 May 1851 at Lelant
Ann GLASSON of Chylasson, Towednack, age 78, bur. 16 Feb 1855 at Lelant
Jane GLASSON of Trelyon, St. Ives, age 64, bur. 8 Oct 1868 at Lelant
John GLASSON of Trelyon, St. Ives, age 69, bur. 8 Jan 1870 at Lelant
Elizabeth GLASSON of St. Ives, age 66, bur. 10 Jun 1873 at Lelant

From Stella Wright in the Paul register—18 Mar 2001

Entry No: 1325 Gran HICHENS, St Ives, 20/10/1861, aged 72

These were sent by Blanche Charles in May 2003 from the Newlyn East register.

Elizabeth CHENOWETH    St Just (probably in Penwith) 29 Apr 1817     23 yrs
455 Mary Ann KEIGWIN?  Gulval                        18 May 1839     67

These from the Kenwyn register sent by Carol Hughes 10 Jun 2003

Mary Clarke buried 21-03-1864 age 84 abode Penzance
Charles Frederick Ryder buried 07-05-1864 age 33 abode Bath House, Penzance
Martha Richards buried 22-03-1870 age 82 abode St Ives
Elizabeth Trewartha buried 30-03-1885 age 80 abode Penzance
Augusta Mary Mather buried 03-05-1889 age 44 abode Penzance

And one from Yorkshire—Holy Trinity, Hull, sent by Chris Watson 2 Dec 2003

Buried 1794 November 18 Stephen Collenso (of Penzance in Cornwall)

These from the Wendron register send by Paul Ganser 7 Jan 2004

TRESIDDER, John, 23 dec.1861, 2, Lelant
REED, Walter, 25 Oct.1838, 51, Ludgvan
MOYLE, William, 13 Feb.1851, 64, Penzance
CARNE, Nicholas, 30 Sep.1851, 57, Penzance