My grandparents in Lansing, MI used a burn barrel in their backyard (19th C
neighborhood) as did most all their neighbors, up until the mid-1960's.
The usual container was a 40 gal. steel barrel.  I don't recall what they
did with the ashes and stuff that didn't burn completely.

My current next-door-neighbor (20th C suburb in a rural area, Eagle MI)
still burns his trash, as do many farmers out here.  (We thought our
lawnmower shed was on fire the first time he burned).  He uses an old water
heater tank to burn in.  Dumps the ashes on the leaf pile and the stuff
that doesn't burn completely he dumps next to the tank.  Mostly bones and
metal bits.

Irene Henry