Replaced the index to burials 1815-1851 at Ryton Holy Cross with full details, so those 3,238 burials are now instantly available. An explosion of firedamp at Stargate Pit on 30 May 1826 took the lives of 38 men and boys, who were buried at Ryton over the following 3 days, including 10 named Robson.

Most of these burials are pretty terse, but a few have descriptions:

• 31 Mar 1816 Hannah Hunter, of Parson Birks, age: 101
• 1 Jun 1826 William Robson, of Woodside, age: 11, 1 of 38 killed Tuesday 30 May at Stargate pit by an explosion of fire-damp
• 21 Apr 1822 Andrew Penman, of Ryton, age: 82, many years sexton of this church
• 28 Sep 1826 Michael Romaine Callender, of Ryton, age: 32, died from taking laudanum – coronor`s verdict `lunacy`
• 15 Apr 1839 Charles George Fawcitt, of Elswick Terrace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, age: 1 year 6 months, twin

230 baptisms at Spring Garden Lane Presbyterian Chapel in Sunderland, covering 1800-1812. Parts of this register were in very bad condition, with the upper and lower corners of pages torn, faded, water-damaged, blotted, etcetera, thus rendering some of the information unreadable, so you’ll see entries like this:

• 30 Dec 1803 [illegible female] Garrick, of Sunderland, born 30 Nov 1803, daughter of William Garrick (mariner) & Jane Gordon (his wife)
  [Note: Given name is obliterated by fading.]

The good news is that most baptisms include the mother’s maiden surname and the child’s birthdate. For example:

• 28 Feb 1800 Anne Minto, of Monkwearmouth Shore, born 05 Feb 1800, daughter of William Minto (blacksmith) & Mary Little (his wife)
• 09 Jun 1811 Mary Higgs, born 02 May 1811, daughter of Moses Higgs (driver in the Royal Artillery) & Margaret Stewart (his wife)

Abodes mentioned include Bishopwearmouth, Monkwearmouth, Penshaw, Sunderland, and Washington parish.