England, Lancashire, Oldham Cemetery Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

England Lancashire

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains records from the city of Oldham for the years 1797-2004. The records come from multiple cemeteries, including Hollinwood, Failsworth, Royton, Crompton, Chadderton, Lees, and Greenacres.

Cemetery records are kept as a permanent record of who was buried and usually who purchased the burial plot. The information in these records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.

Now incorporated into the Greater Manchester metropolis, Oldham is a fairly recent English city. Prior to the period of this collection, it was a somewhat unimportant site, but it rose to prominence during the nineteenth century as a major industrial center. For a list of parishes historically belonging to this city, see the Oldham Parishes page.

Collection Content
This collection contains solely burial registers.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The following list indicates potential information provided in these records. It must be remembered that every record may not provide all of the listed information, as record-keeping practices varied greatly over time.

Cemetery Registers may include:


 * Name of deceased
 * Description of deceased
 * Age of deceased
 * Date and place where death occurred
 * Date and place of burial
 * Grave number

How Do I Search the Collection?
Before beginning a search in these records, it is best to know the full name of the individual in question, as well as an approximate time range for the desired record. When entered into the search engine on the Collection Page, this information provides the quickest, most reliable path to finding the correct person. Of course, other information can be substituted as necessary.

Search by Name by Visiting the Collection Page
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page to return a list of possible matches. Compare the individuals on the list with what is already known to find the correct family or person. This step may require examining multiple individuals before a match is located.

View Images in This Collection by Visiting the Browse Page
Images of the digitized records may be accessed by following this series of links: ⇒ Select Browse through images on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate Cemetery Name ⇒ Select the appropriate Record Type, Year Range to go to the images

Compare the information found on the images with what is already known determine if a particular record relates to the correct person. This process may require examining multiple records before the correct person is located.

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Make sure to fully transcribe and cite the record entry for future reference. See below for assistance in citing this collection. Save or print a copy of the image if possible.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the estimated age given in a marriage or burial record to calculate an approximate year of birth, if that is yet undetermined.
 * Use the information which has been discovered and locate the original parish record, if possible. See PARISH RECORD LINK for options.
 * If in the appropriate period, use the information which has been discovered to find the individual in other records. Particularly useful for research in nineteenth-century England are the England Census, Church Records and Civil Registration records.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which individual is correct. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to determine which candidate is the correct person. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names; transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record. Also remember that it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name. See Abbreviations Found in Genealogy Records for examples of common abbreviations. Note that some women reverted to their maiden name when their husband died, and therefore could be buried under their maiden name.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of possible candidates which can then be examined for matches.
 * Search the records of nearby parishes. While it was uncommon for an individual in this period to move more than about 20 miles from their place of birth, smaller relocations were not uncommon. For this particular collection, this step may require a more thorough search within the Manchester area. See the Manchester Parishes page to get started.

For additional help searching online collections see FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing sources correctly makes it easier to refer back to information that has already been discovered; proper citations are therefore indispensable to keeping track of genealogical research. Following established formulae in formatting citations also allows others to verify completed research by helping them find and examine records for themselves.

To be of use, citations must include information such as the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records, if available. The following examples demonstrate how to present this information for both this particular collection as well as individual images within the collection:

Collection Citation:

Image Citation: