Cemetery Records
Guide to locating cemetery records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
Online Resources
International Collections
About the Records
Cemeteries are regarded as the location where people are buried after they die. They are often known by various terms such as graveyards, burying grounds, burial grounds, burial plots, 'churchyards', and several other terms. A cemetery may be operated by a municipality, or it may be operated by a church or religion, a funeral home or other private company, or a fraternal order.
Record Types and Content
Headstone Inscriptions
Information recorded on headstones (also known as tombstones or gravestones) may include multiple family members are buried in the same vault and the inscription will give information on all that are buried there. Often, this information has been transcribed, indexed, and published and is found online and in manuscripts and books in libraries and archives.
Published Headstone Inscriptions
Published transcriptions of cemeteries, when available, may include additional information. They often are more complete because tombstones can be lost over time or difficult to read because of weathering and aging of headstones.
Written Records
are information recorded by cemetery officials or caretakers, included in parish and cemetery records recorded by the civil authority. Written records include:
- Cemetery sextons' records
- Municipal cemetery records
- Church yard records
- Grave books
- Plot books
- Maps
Cemetery records may provide information such as:
- the deceased’s name
- date and place of birth and death
- age of the deceased at death
- place of origin
- names of other persons related to the deceased
- maiden surname
- sometimes marriage information.
- clues about military service, religion, occupation
- place of residence at time of death
- membership in an organization.
Records by Location
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Research Strategies
How to Find the Cemetery
- Not all cemetery tombstones have been transcribed and published online or in book form.
- Some cemeteries are located next to a church. If the church name is known, search there first.
- Individuals may die in another part of the country. but brought back to their home parish for burial.
- Burial places may be mentioned in church records, newspaper announcements, or family histories.
- Search directories for possible cemeteries.
- Search in atlases, gazetteers, or other maps listing cemeteries.
- Google Maps has a large number of English-speaking areas, coverage is incomplete in most other languages.
- Many cemeteries maintain a website which will often list operating hours, and some will post burial lists online for those sites.