Wednesfield resident Tracey Craig recently shared a lovely story with us—one that began with the deeds to her Victorian home, and led her to Wednesfield Burial Ground and the nearby resting places of the family who first lived there.

Tracey used Ancestry.com to research the family who built her house in 1900. She already knew their names from the property deeds, and through her research learned that they were poultry dealers by trade who had six children—but tragically, five of them died in childhood. Among those who died were triplets, none of whom survived more than 19 days.

“I’ve still got more searching to do,” Tracey says, “but I have found their graves just round the corner at Memory Lane.” 

The family details had been added to FindAGrave.com by local volunteer, Mike Rowledge, and this enabled Tracey to locate the grave in the old part of the burial ground.

As generations pass, many of the graves in the older part of the cemetery have been untended for some time. Talking about Samuel, the head of the household, she explained, “I went and cleared and tidied the grave and have planted some flowers almost 100 years after his death.”

She believes one son is buried with his aunt, next to his grandparents but now, she’s hoping to locate the graves of other the children who passed away; “The whole family are round there—parents, siblings, nieces and nephews—and I expect the children too. It’s just finding the right graves for the right people. Some have plot details and others don’t.”

Tracey’s research hasn’t stopped there. She also uncovered details of a mother and daughter who lived in her house on the 1939 Register, both of whom are also buried nearby at Wednesfield Burial Ground—yet another grave she hopes to visit soon!

Thank you to Tracey for sharing her story. We hope it’s inspires people to start researching their own family homes. 

(The name of the families researched has been withheld to maintain privacy).

Please email wednesfieldbg@gmail.com to share your story.