Extended burial fields
The burial fields
Use this link to download the extended burial fields as a two-row CSV file — rows 5 and 6 of your spreadsheet.
Do not delete row 6, with the field names, before uploading your file: this is a change in practice.
The full list of burial fields now available follows: use as many or as few as you need, depending on the register.
Entering burial data
Here are the details of what should go in each burial field (that is, each spreadsheet column).
County (chapman_code)
Requirements:
- an entry in this field is mandatory and is the three-letter Chapman county code
- enter in upper case
Examples:
ABD, NTT, FLN, DUR
(Aberdeenshire, Nottinghamshire, Flintshire, and Durham, or County Durham)
Place (place_name)
Requirements:
- an entry in this field is mandatory
- enter the name of the town or village
- enter in lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Betws-y-Coed, Nottingham, Prestonkirk, Chorlton cum Hardy
Church (church_name)
Requirements:
- an entry in this field is mandatory
- enter in lower case with initial capitals
Examples:
St Ethelred, St Mary, Holy Trinity, Methodist, All Saints (North Street)
Guidance:
Enter the name of the church, parish or congregation Take care with this as larger towns may have more than one parish or church.
If a place has two churches with the same name, then use parentheses for the identifier part, as in the example.
Register type (register_type)
Requirements:
- an entry in this field is mandatory
- enter in upper case
- use one of the codes from the list of Register Codes
Examples:
AT, PR
Guidance:
This is a change in practice.
Register entry number (register_entry_number)
Requirements:
- enter the register number (or page and position), if there is one
Examples:
483, 25c
Guidance:
Usually found in burial registers after 1750. Enter the number without leading zeroes.
If only the page has a number, enter that number, plus a lower case letter to indicate position on page. If there are no numbers, leave blank.
Date of burial (burial_date)
Requirements:
- enter the burial date
- use the format dd Mon yyyy or dd Mon yyyy/y(0) if appropriate
Examples:
30 Sep 1853, 25 Jan 1742/3, 19 Feb 1689/90, 02 Jun 1545
Guidance:
If no burial date is shown in the register, or parts of the date are missing or illegible, see Dates in General guidance. If only a death date is given, put the year of death in this field.
See Dates in General guidance for further help.
Date of death (death_date)
Requirements:
- enter the date of death, or leave blank
- use the format dd Mon yyyy or dd Mon yyyy/y(0) if appropriate
Examples:
30 Sep 1853, 25 Jan 1742/3, 19 Feb 1689/90, 02 Jun 1545
Guidance:
If no death date is shown in the register, leave blank.
See Dates in General guidance for further help.
Forename(s) (burial_person_forename)
Requirements:
- enter the forename or names, as given
- use lower case with leading capitals
Examples:
Henry, Elizth, Raphe, Mary An
Guidance:
Transcribe the name as written, even if abbreviated or written in Latin or if it looks wrong. If a person has more than one forename, enter them all.
Be wary of apparent surnames that are really part of the forename. For example, the complete name Sarah Denman Neep would be entered as Sarah Denman in this field and NEEP in the surname field.
Any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, should be entered in the appropriate Title field: this is a change in practice.
Surname (burial_person_surname)
Requirements:
- enter the person’s surname as given
- use upper case for the whole surname
Examples:
OWEN, WARD, BAIRD, SMYTH
Guidance:
Enter the spelling exactly as given, even if it looks wrong.
Enter any any qualifier, such as Jr or Sr, in the appropriate Title field and not as a note. This is a change in practice.
Title (burial_person_title)
Requirements:
- enter any prefix or suffix to the name as written
Examples:
Mr, Mrs, Jr, Sr, Esq, Dr. Professor
Guidance:
If not stated, leave blank.
Age (person_age)
Requirements:
- enter the age as an integer (whole number)
- you may use d (days), w (weeks), m (months), h (hours), “infant” or “child”
- if required, use y (years)
Examples:
17, 21, 51, 2y5m, 3m, 3w, 3d, 2h, infant, child
Guidance:
If not stated, leave blank.
If the age is given as say, “less than an hour”, put 0 (zero) here and “less than an hour old” in the Notes field.
Abode (burial_person_abode)
Requirements:
- enter the abode or address of the deceased as given
- use lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Ruardean
High St
23, High St
Napoleon Sq., Cinderhill
Guidance:
This is usually given in burial registers from 1813. If not given, leave blank.
Cause of death (cause_of_death)
Requirements:
- enter the cause of death as written
- use lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Plague, Dropsy, Cancer
Burial location (burial_location_information)
Requirements:
- enter the location of the grave, including the plot number
- use lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Church plot in north east corner
Cemetery plot A9
Place of death (place_of_death)
Requirements:
- enter any information given about where the person died
- use lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Home
Road to Coventry
Midsomer Norton
Worthy Inn
Bishop Farm
River Stour
Memorial (memorial_information)
Requirements:
- any memorial information that is available
- use lower case with initial capitals as appropriate
Examples:
Rest in peace
Relationship (relationship)
Requirements:
- enter relationship of the deceased to the relative as given
Examples:
son of, dau of, wife of, widow of, relict of
Guidance:
Abbreviate “daughter” to “dau”. Note that “relict” means “surviving widow of”, the same thing as “widow of”.
Male relative’s forename(s) (male_relative_forename)
Requirements:
- enter the forename(s) of the male relative as given
- use lower case with initial capitals
Examples:
Alexander, James Edward John, Jared, Robt
Guidance:
See forename(s) for other details of how to enter forenames.
Male relative’s surname (relative_surname)
Requirements:
- enter the surname of the male relative as given
- use upper case for the whole surname
Examples:
OWEN, WARD, BAIRD, SMYTH
Guidance:
Be aware that the relative may not have the same surname as the person who was buried.
Male relative’s title (male_relative_title)
Requirements:
- enter any prefix or suffix to the name of the male as written
Examples:
Jr, Sr, Esq, Dr. Professor
Guidance:
If not stated, leave blank.
Female relative’s forename(s) (female_relative_forename)
Requirements:
- enter the forename(s) of the female relative as given
- use lower case with initial capitals
Examples:
Betty, Frances Mary, Eline, Margret
Guidance:
See forename(s) for other details of how to enter forenames.
Female relative’s surname (female_relative_surname)
Requirements:
- enter the surname of the female relative as given
- use upper case for the whole surname
Examples:
OWEN, WARD, BAIRD, SMYTH
Guidance:
Be aware that the relative may not have the same surname as the person who was buried.
Female relative’s title (female_relative_title)
Requirements:
- enter as written
Examples:
Mrs, Widow, Lady
Guidance:
If not stated, leave blank.
Notes (notes)
Requirements:
- enter any other information as written in the register
Example:
Age: yrs 18th
Guidance:
Use for any other information given in the register that does not belong in another field.
Do not include the details of the officiating minister unless there are compelling reasons to do so (that is, something about the minister looks like a clue for a researcher).
Transcriber’s notes (notes_from_transcriber)
Requirements:
- use this field to record any observations about the entry from your point of view
Examples:
A very faint document
Part of record is missing
An ink blob in the person's surname
Guidance:
Do not use to record information that is in the register.
Film (film)
Requirements:
- enter the name of the film or fiche
- for use only with an old allocation from the image server or from a source outside of FreeREG
Guidance:
If you are transcribing from an old allocation from the image server of a film or fiche use the name of the film or fiche.
Do not use if transcribing from an image from the Image server using the new Assignment system.
Film number (film_number)
Requirements:
- enter the number of the image
- for use only with an old allocation from the image server or from a source outside of FreeREG
Guidance:
Do not use if transcribing from an image from the Image server using the new Assignment system. See the Image file name field for more details.
Image file name (image_file_name)
Requirements:
- enter the name of the image file in your Assignment
Guidance:
Use this if transcribing from an image from the Image server using the new Assignment system.