796 burials at Hamsterley St. James in Auckland district, covering 1820-1856, to go with the recent addition of Hamsterley baptisms for the same period. Although no longer required after the end of 1812, many of these burials named a parent, spouse, or occupation, and some showed cause of death, for which we are grateful to the long-ago clerk.

Here are some of the more dramatic deaths:

• 15 May 1833 George Wright, of Southside, age: 39, killed by the accidental firing of a gun in his own possesion
• 17 Mar 1853 Jane Sewell, of South Side, age: 81, murdered by her son in a fit of derangement
• 4 Aug 1856 Mary Stephenson, of Crane Row, age: 17, died suddenly from diarrhea accelerated by fright

and here’s an interesting fellow:

• 25 Feb 1826 William Naylor, of Redmire, age: 67, Noted Highwayman & House Breaker

A dozen children died of scarlet fever between 1832 and 1840, eight people died of smallpox in the first few months of 1839, plus there was some typhus fever in 1828 and several drownings.