Guest Book

Thank you for the photograph of a friends great grandfathers grave. I am working on his family tree and this has helped identities some family members with different surnames. We are very thankfull for the help you have given us. Lorraine

Today we visited the Cemetey with little hope of finding my g g grandparents grave and even less of finding a gravestone. So often visits to churchyards and cemeteries have been dissapointing. what a stroke of luck to find Karen and Jean from the Transcription Project working cleaning and recording graves. they were so helpful and very quickly found the correct spot which did have a gravestone! It was wonderful to make that connection with my past.

The work being done by this team is amazing both in the physical work involved and the work going into the transciribing and recording of the stones which would otherwise be lost for ever. thank you to everyone who is working so hard to return this cemetery to a peacful and lovely place. Andrea

I am so thrilled to receive the photograph of my g-g-grandfather's grave. The inscription solves a couple of mysteries ... and, delightfully, creates one more. Thank you so much. From Ottawa

Many thanks Denise for responding so quickly to my request for information about the grave of my GG Grandparents. I really didn't know what to expect, but you not only found me the information I wanted but also provided a gravestone picture as well. What a great service and thanks to all the MGCTP team for their work in keeping the cemetery in good order. At a time when graveyards generally are at risk of neglect, I think you're doing a fantastic job. My thanks to you all. Don

Thank you so much for locating my Great GrandMothers Grave stone.

For many years my family has wondered where it was situated in the Cemetery.

Thank you also for sending me a photo of it too.

Keep up the good work

Rosalind Yates and the Roberts Family

The best gift I've received this year is from the friendly, dedicated and hard-working members of the Manchester General Cemetery Transcription Project.

I visited the cemetery about five years ago and spent many hours going up and down each row trying to find the marker for my great-great grandmother and grandfather. I was very careful around the tombstones and stayed away from the ones that looked like they were about to topple over. It was so sad to see so many covered in grass that they couldn't be read. And so many were toppled over. Even though I couldn't find the stone I sat for a period of time in a spot of sun and just tried to "connect" with my past. Although I left that day disappointed I enjoyed my time in the cemetery.

Just about a month ago I decided on a whim to do a google search on the Cemetery . To my absolute delight and surprise I discovered the Transcription Project. And within less than a day of posting a request I received a photograph of the Taylor tombstone and a map indicating where it's located in the cemetery. Now when I go back for a visit over the pond I'll know exactly where to go - and I can't wait!

With all my heart I thank this marvelous team. Bravo and cheers!

Diane Taylor
Canada

Thank you for the help and photos given to Linda regarding Robert and Franacis Naylors Grave. Great Great Grand Parnets)
Best Regards
Kelvin Naylor

Thanks for finding and sending me pictures of the grave of my great great great grand parents and some of their family. The photo showed a name that the Manchester Burials online didn't have (or hadn't linked to the grave) so that was an added bonus. Thanks to all those involved in the project.

Thank you so much to everyone involved in this project. My family and I are delighted that you have re-erected the gravestone of my great grandfather. Thanks to the inscription we can now read, we know that he had a daughter who died young and was buried with him and his wife. Until now we did not know of her existence. It is wonderful that she, her parents and her aunt now have a lasting memorial. I hope the MGC team get lots of support to carry on this work as it is much appreciated.

Thank you. I am so pleased to receive the photograph of my great grandfather’s gravestone and the details of its position in the cemetery and so quickly too. I had heard of the poor condition of the cemetery and was delighted to read of this worthwhile project. Many thanks to all the volunteers involved.

I just wanted to add my thanks to all those responsible for working on the project. I have just received an image of my Great-Great Grandmother's headstone and it has been invaluable in tracing other members of the family and bringing their story to light. I would never have been able to visit the cemetery myself due to my personal circumstances so I cannot stress enough how grateful I am and how much it means that in what we often see as impersonal times, people can be dedicated to work such as this. Long may you continue. Many, many thanks. Gail

Very many thanks Denise for your speedy response to my request and the picture & location of Elizabeth Farrow's headstone. I have tried to find this grave and even though I was looking in the correct area, I didn't find it. Firstly it was covered over and the name I was looking for was the last name on the headstone, (records do not show the others in the grave). As I live 250 miles away, my visits are infrequent. Well done team for your initiative, hard work and friendly approach. An interesting link in this site is to the 80000 pictures of "old Manchester".

Thank you very much for the photograph of my grandparents' and great-grandparents' gravestone.
The stone and the inscription is in good condition - probably because it had been face down.
Thanks also to the council workers who lifted and reinstalled the stone.

There is a lot of information for my family history and I shall come and visit again.
Thanks again.

I would like to say a big "Thank You" for the response I was given to an enquiry I made about graves in the Cemetery. I was delighted at the information, including images of headstones, and the speed that it was given. The efforts of all on the Project is very much appreciated. Knowing that our relatives last resting places are being so cared for is great comfort, I am sure, for all those like me who are unable to do it ourselves.

The website has also enabled me to understand more about the Cemetery. My greatest regards to you all. Kathleen

Many thanks for your prompt reply. As I live in Australia, I didn't know where to look for the grave. Even though the area is under a playing field, I now know where Sarah is. Thanks so much for your help, much appreciated. Keep up with the good work. Mary

just like to say what an amazing thing all you people are doing .i visited the cemetery in april 2012 and was so upset by the condition of the cemetery .that i came home to write to the council or someone was not sure who to contact when i came across your website was so frilled by the work people was doing to transcript the graves and all the work that had allready been done ive been in touch with denise who kindy sent me a picture of the grave i had been looking for think you are all amazing thankyou so much vicky

Hi Alan,
Thanks for getting in touch. We have received your enquiry now via our contact page and will do our best to help you locate the graves you are looking for. We will reply in more detail directly.
Kind regards,
MGCTP Team

Dear Project team.,

Please could you advise me if you have any transcriptions for my family names of "Maxted" and "Pitman"

My paternal Gt. Grandafther was Edwin Maxted and His wife was (Ann (e) nee Edge.

William and Mary Pitman are my G.Granparents on the other side, all live 1880-1930 in tha Cheetham, Collyhurst area

Regards

Alan Maxted

Thank you so much for replying to my email so promptly. Unfortunately the grave wasn't that of my Grandfather William Jones, so I will have to keep searching ,but you have enabled me to rule it out very quickly!

Thank you for finding the grave of my Great Great Grandad James Driver, his wife and their three children. It is sad that there is not a stone but with your detailed instructions we should now be able to find the place where they are in the cemetery - we wouldn't have had a chance without your help. I visited the graveyard the other day and was saddened to see that some of the stones were nearly completely covered in grass. Your project is a fantastic idea and with time all of these stones will be unearthed for other people to come and try to find their ancestors. I will definately try to come and pay a visit on one of your Sundays! Thank you for helping to preserve such an important historical place.

Thankyou so much for locating my family gravestone so quickly and providing not only a photograph but also very clear directions to its location.

Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your message. I can't see anything for Morgan Barlow however there are several James Barlows buried in Manchester General as well as the other Manchester City Council run cemeteries. I have also checked www.freebmd.org.uk for any Morgan Barlow deaths in England and Wales and there aren't any. If you have a look at our Links page you will see a link to the Manchester City Council Online Burials website and from there you will be able to see the burials in the name of James Barlow. There is also a link to Rootschat which is an excellent online family history forum. There are many helpful people on there with a great deal of accumulated knowledge. They love problem solving so it might be worth doing a posting on the Lancashire board to see if they can track down your Manchester Barlows.
MGCTP Team

I was wondering how far you have gotten in your project to transcribe the cemetery. Specifically I am wondering if you have come across any Barlow graves. My mothers maiden name is Barlow and the family came to the United States in the late 1840's. My 3rd Great-Grandfather, Edwin Barlow, was born in Manchester and so were five of his children and his first wife. I have little information about Edwin's family from before he moved his immediate family to the United States. The little information I have says that Edwin had a brother that may have stayed in England, his name was Morgan. I also have information that Edwin's father's name was James. Have you come across a James or Morgan Barlow?

Having found, via the Manchester Council's web site, that there were ancestors buried in Harpurhey, I paid the cemetery a visit two years ago. Mine was one of the graves with a headstone lying flat and although the thought occurred to me, I did not think it prudent to start digging! I'm delighted that this project is being undertaken, no matter how long it takes, and hope that 'my' grave is no deeper than 6 inches otherwise I will never know what the headstone says. I live in the Midlands otherwise I would there to help.

Thank You for finding and photographing a Grave I have been looking to find for a while.
It is an excellent project you are carrying out and I look forward to seeing it fully on line.
Your help has been exceptional. Thanks again Michael

I have recently found this website through a family history mag and been in touch with them regarding my past kin who are buried in the cemetery.Their replys to my queries have almost been as fast as CONCORDE.I cannot say enough praise for their help to me,they have really surpassed themselves.The work they are doing for us family historians is fantastic and there is not enough praise i can give to them.Their work they do for us is so rewarding,keep up with your excellent project you are doing a great job.You have my most heartfelt gratitude for your help you have given to me,God bless you all.

Having seen the article in Family Tree magazine re your project, many thanks for your assistance and prompt reply to my efforts to locate the grave of my great great grandmother Hanna/Anna Morris from Belfast, buried in November 1857 in Harpurhay Cemetery. I visited the Cemetery two years ago and was sorry to see the vandalised state of the graves and headstones. Keep up your good efforts for the benefit of others!!

George

Having found several ancestors were buried in Manchester General Cemetery, I wished to find where the graves were located. The Project helped to identify that the graves were marked with gravestones and were able to provide photos from their database. One stone had been excavated prior to the photo being taken, and has been re-covered over again. I would never have found the grave on my own. Thanks to everyone in the Project and for responding very quickly to my query.

Keep up the good work!

Sadly I don't live in the area or I would come along & help with the recording etc.

Hopefully your project might take off in other parts of the country & around the world!

Hi from mary massive thanks in helping me track down my grandfathers grave.weve been looking for a while to locate his grave,and within a few days your team led me in the right direction.hope you know what it means to us to finally find him.keep up your wonderful work , your all amazing.bless.

OMG. What a massive project the MGCTP team has untaken Well Done to one and all. A Special thank's to Denise for all the email's . I spread the word about the website you are now famous in Australia. Can you let us know when the work start's again we would like to come down and help in some way.

SLOANE/HARDMAN/ROBERTS ..Thank you dosn't seem adequate to explain my feelings for you finding and photographing my G and GGmothers grave.
I have searched the graveyard a few times and was unable to find it. Many years ago the office at Philips Park could not tell me if there was a headstone or where the grave was, saying that the records had been destroyed.
I can now visit the grave and pay my respects.

I would just like to thank the team for helping me locate the gravestone of my Great, Great grandfather. On my first visit to the MGC I just didn’t know where to start but with the help of the team I was able to find the plot and get a great photo of the stone. It is clear from my visits that there is a lot of good hard work being put in by the team so a big thank you to you all!
By the way, the comment on the web-site about wildlife is spot on. Some very interesting species to be seen.
John Hughes

I met one of your team at the FH Fair on Saturday and just wanted to say congrats on the work so far and all the very best for your efforts in the future. Best regards, Mike Coyle

Many thanks for the great work in finding the gravestone of my ancestor Newland Gartside, and also as a bonus his brother Samuel Gartside and his wife Elizabeth.
Living in the USA makes it difficult to trace the burials of ancestors, so thank you TEAM for the great project work at Manchester General Cemetery!!!
Barry Collins

Hi Freda. Thank you for visiting our website and taking the time to comment on our Guestbook. As we have stated on our Home Page, it was never intended that this website would contain photographs of the graves at Manchester General Cemetery. In fact our agreement with Manchester City Council strictly prohibits this. The photographs are taken for transcription purposes only and will never be publically available. The typed transcriptions, once the project is complete, will be freely accessible via Manchester Archives. For those people who are unable to visit Manchester Archives, we are already offering a free-of-charge look up service via the website Contact Page. Burials at Manchester General Cemetery can be searched via Manchester City Council’s Online Burials website. We have already been contacted by many people, who have found burials on this website and have asked us to help locate the grave and provide a photograph. In the majority of cases we have ascertained whether there is a stone and provided a photograph within days of the enquiry, however, in some cases the grave is more difficult to find and the stone needs to be dug out and uncovered so sometimes the wait is longer. Finally, with regard to the timescale, Manchester General Cemetery is a huge municipal burial ground, not in the best condition, and contains many tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of burials and we are a small team of volunteers working in our free time a few hours a week actually in the Cemetery and then also spending many hours transcribing and indexing. This is massive project and we anticipate working well into 2012 and possibly beyond. MGCTP Team.

Good work carried out by all the volunteers, but when are these records going to be available for people to search through. When are all these photographs of the graves going to be put on this web site. I don't mean to sound as if i am having a go at you all, but 12 months on and very little on this web site? For people like my self who live abroad, been able to research on line for UK records/information & photo's is realistically the only way we will ever get to find our family history.

Just want to say a HUGE thank you to the MGCTP team whose great efforts in tracking down a family grave are massively appreciated, keep up the good work folks!
Matt

What a wonderfull bunch these Root chatters are., you cease to amaze me. You all deserve a big pat on the back. I wish I could have been there to help. Live in another country. Cant wait to be able to search the finished project. As I have connections to Manchester and a huge brickwall to knock down. Well done !!!!!!!!!

Wow, Its now been a year since the project started & still going strong, so glad people have benefitted from the information found & those that will benefit in the future with their search for ancestors. May even have some rellies in there myself (Salisbury's), will have to check that out soon.

Good luck to all in your research,

Spatts.

Many thanks to Denise , for helping find detailes of my Grandparents who are buied in Queens Park cemetery , I am hoping that there graves will be found , please keep up the work .

Congratulations and many thanks for the excellent work you are undertaking. As a consequence of your efforts there is an entry for my great grandfather the Reverend Thomas Grant in your Notable Burials section and, thanks to you, I now have a photo of his gravestone.
Keep up the good work. Kind regards, Colin Grant

I am most grateful for the time that has been put in on my behalf. My family lived in Turkey Lane (long since pulled down) and I remembering visiting the cemetery on the anniversary of my Grandmother's death. Thank you very much.

Many thanks to the team for taking on this massive project. Your hard work has led to the discovery and identification of one of the few gravestones that I've traced for my family, which would have remained undiscovered without the team's help. It's wonderful that you have all been prepared to spend so much of your own time to preserve this useful and vital family history information.

What a great idea.I have been looking for ages to try to find my grandparents John and Ellen (Helen? )who died 1940 and 1942 respectively.On completion of this project,I might get lucky!Good luck and thanks to all volunteers.

We visited the cemetery on Sunday 26th June, arriving just as the The Manchester General Cemetery Transcription Project team were packing up. After a chat about what we were searching for the team turned around and helped us to find what we were searching for. Unfortunately, when we found the grave there was no visible headstone. Karen and her team checked the grave and established that the headstone was in fact covered in a number of inches of soil. One week later the team had uncovered the headstone and sent us photographs - confirming that we had indeed found some 'lost' relatives. Many thanks for your efforts and keep up the good work!

I would just like to thank you very much for your cooperation in helping me trace my families graves. I was overwhelmed with the amount of assistance i received and I can't thank you enough, because it is very difficult to do when you live in Australia.
Thank you again Jean Heald

Absolutely incredible for we, down under, to receive really positive help from this programme. The data gained has found links that have assisted to reopen a line that had stagnated for some time. Thanks for the many who have and contiue to build up this site. Grateful thanks from a Kiwi.

Barrie Green.

This is a very worthwhile project that will help alot of people find that lost grave plots that have been missing for decades and hopefully the first of many projects in the Manchester area. Thanks to the kind people who have joined in on this project and helped me find several grave plots that I have been looking for years and I now have the head stones to go with my research, the next thing is to see them for myself. Thanks again.

On a very quick visit to the cemetery i had nevery been to before i found some of the team photographing and maping grave sites, i wondered what was going on. They were so helpful and explained the project and were very imformative.
They told me of this web site and took my email address to inform me of some questions we asked, now who would go this far today without getting paid.
Sadly i live on the south coast and cannot visit regular or help with the project but keep up with the good work.

Jon Graves Eastbourne

Many thanks to all the volunteers for your dedicated hours of work transcribing and photographing the graves in Manchester General cemetary. I am in Australia and so am entirely reliant on the work of others to gain this kind of information on my ancestors burials. thanks to you I have been given now the burial record of my 3 x great grandparents and am extremely grateful to you all! thanks again and best wishes!

The excellent work being carried out on The Manchester General Cemetery Transcription Project has led to the discovery of my gt gt grandparents grave and headstone having lain forgotten for all these years.
I thank you most sincerely for your efforts.
Well done.

A big THANK YOU to the volunteers of The Manchester General Cemetery Transcription Project without their help I would never have found my Great Great Grandparents headstone which was hidden under 3" of turf forgotten for over 90 years.
The volunteers are doing a fantastic job of conserving the cemetery for future generations of family historians by mapping and photographing the headstones.

I have just read about the project for this Cemetery in Who Do You Think You Are Magazine which I subscribe to. I lived quite a lot of my early life in Harpurhey and do not know this place. Where exactly is it? I was 28 when I left and worked at ICI Blackley for ten years. I actually lived at Moston Bnk House Church Lane Harpurhey.

Best wishes with your project.

Irene Winward

This looks a very good website and looks as though there a lot of dedication going on here good luck to all concerned with this project I am sure that your efforts will come to fruition and the local residents appreciate what you are doing here, maybe once you have finished here you could take a look at Southern Cemetary. Once again Good Luck to all of you.

Excellent, looking at this site makes me proud to be a member of the project, makes all the hard work everyone has put in worth while & looking forward to the site building up with more pictures & information, can't wait,

best regards

Spatts.