Dorset Burials
Discover your English ancestors in this collection of Dorset burials. Find out where your ancestor is buried and your ancestor’s age at the time of death. Use these records to expand your family tree back to the centuries before civil registration. This collection is published in partnership with Dorset Family History Society and the Family History Federation.
Learn about these records
Each record contains the transcription of an original parish record. A small number of records will also provide you with an image. The information contained varies but you could be able to find out the following about your ancestor:
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Name
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Age
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Birth year
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Burial date
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Burial place
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County
Images
The records with images were provided by The National Archives and created by the College of Arms, the official heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth including Australia and New Zealand. The records will provide you with details found in the original parish register.
This collection has been created by indexes from the Dorset Family History and Family Search. The two indexes may result in some duplicated records for your ancestor. The records include burials from 1531 until 1995 across 342 parishes. For a full list of the parishes available view the Dorset burials parish list available in the useful links and resources section.
The county is known for its breath-taking beauty. It has recently been featured on the popular ITV series Broadchurch. The show premiered in 2013. The director, Chris Chibnall, was inspired by Dorset’s Jurassic Coast.
Once you have found your ancestor, try a newspaper search to discover if there is a bigger story to your ancestor’s death. You may be surprised by what you can find. In both of the following examples, the individuals died from an industrial accident.
Tragic accidents
Mary Jane Stickland
The Dorset burials includes the record of Mary Jane Stickland. The Dorset County Chronicle reported on 25 August 1859 that Mary Jane died at age 14 in a frightful accident. Her leg slipped into the aperture of a threshing machine. Mary Jane had been visiting her grandfather Mr Chaggey of Woodbury Hill and was helping the workers when she jumped upon the machine, in an instant her leg was crushed. The leg was amputated, but the girl died the next morning. She was the second female whose death was caused by the machine. A jury ordered that before the machine was to be used again, a proper guard should be placed on it.
Amos Samways
Amos Samways died at the age of 49 in September 1861. The Dorset County Chronicle reported that Amos died at the clay works of Hatherley and Company. While he was digging clay, the side of the pit slipped down and a large amount of the debris fell on him. He suffered both external and internal injuries. Amos lingered in pain for a period of ten days before he died. He left behind a wife and seven children.