New York Cemeteries

United States New York Cemeteries

Clinton County NY - Peru cemetery.JPG

Many New York cemetery records have been transcribed and published. The Daughters of the American Revolution collection of Cemetery, Church, and Town records contains transcriptions of hundreds of New York cemetery records. This collection and the name indexes to it are described in New York Genealogy.

Other important collections include:

• New York State Cemetery Records, 23 Volumes. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society, 1940–69; Family History Library book 974.7 V3n; films 844624–31). Includes inscriptions from many cemeteries, usually alphabetical. Later volumes are indexed.
• The graveyard shift: a family historian's guide to New York City cemeteries by Carolee Inskeep.
• The Holland Society of New York's Cemetery and Geographical Files are transcriptions of tombstone inscriptions from Dutch Reformed Church graveyards and family plots (Family History Library films 1019527–29).

Many large cemeteries also have extensive sexton's records. The sexton may have recorded additional information, such as place of birth and death. Some records, such as the card index to the Albany Rural Cemetery, are on microfilm at the Family History Library. Many inner-city cemeteries have been moved to suburban areas, sometimes making it hard to locate the actual tombstone. Paupers may have been buried in special places, such as Potter's Field on Hart Island in the Bronx.

Many cemetery records have appeared in periodicals such as Tree Talks and The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (see New York Periodicals). Revolutionary War veterans' cemetery records are discussed in United States Military Records.

A county-by-county list of cemetery record transcripts available at the Family History Library is:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Family History Library. Index to United States Cemeteries. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (Family History Library films 1206468–94.) Films 1206481–82 include New York.

The Family History Library Catalog Locality Search lists more of these records under:

NEW YORK - CEMETERIES

NEW YORK, [COUNTY] - CEMETERIES

NEW YORK, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - CEMETERIES

Online

The following have significant cemetery listings for New York State:

• Findagrave.com Search for names Enter at least a last name then click Search. Can narrow by first names or dates.
  • This site frequently has tombstone images
  • List of cemeteries in their database.
    • 1) Select the state, 2) pick a county, and 3) click Search. (There are too many cemeteries for a statewide list.)
      • Tip: To switch to a different county, click Cemetery Lookup under Actions at the left.
    • When you have a list, click on the number below Interments for a cemetery to access names. Click Records arrow to scroll through to the end.

• New York, Find A Grave Index, 1660-2012 results for Bruce Chalfin at Ancestry.com (Free/$)

• New Horizons Genealogy An extensive collection of New York cemetery records arranged by location.
• Interment.net cemetery-by-cemetery, alphabetical grave transcripts. Often incomplete lists.
• The Cemetery Site mostly older published cemetery survey transcripts. No sources cited.
• New York Gravestones 43,000+ gravestone photos by surname, or by county.
• NYGenWeb Cemeteries cemetery locations, and grave transcripts. Arranged by county. May have several lists per county. Most names indexed in a county search engine on a separate page.
• Family History Library Catalog describes items in the FHL collection in Salt Lake City. Most microfilms and microfiche can be ordered at thousands of Family History Centers worldwide.
• WorldCat has a billion catalog records in 57,000 libraries worldwide.
• Tombstone Transcription Project (NYGenWeb) register of cemeteries for transcribing.
• Catholic Diocesan Cemeteries directory for Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties.
• Billion Graves gravestone photos by name, surname, or cemetery, with GPS location. Can also filter or search by state, county, or even a specific cemetery if it has been photographed to any extent. Example: Acacia Park Cemetery, North Tonawanda
• Names in Stone search for graves alphabetically, or by cemetery; see grave photos and surrounding burials together on a map; flag records of interest to receive e-mail update notices.
• Ancestry ($) large collection of NY cemetery transcriptions; Ancestry cataloguers place these records under birth, marriage, and death collections for each county.
• New York Ancestors ($) large collection of NY cemetery transcriptions from NEHGS Manuscript Collections.
• New York Cemetery Records an aggregation of other sites; tells which before clicking.
• D'Addezio an aggregation of other NY cemetery sites; tells which after clicking.

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