Cemetery Records: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:01, 31 May 2024

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

Search by country:

Category:Cemeteries

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.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 Guide to locating cemetery records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
-{|
-|-
+==Online Resources==
-|
+'''International Collections'''<br>
-[[File:Tip Post it Pin.png|100px]]
+*[http://www.findagrave.com Find a Grave]
-|<span style="color:DarkViolet">
+*[http://www.interment.net Interment.net]
-|}
+*[http://www.billiongraves.com BillionGraves]
-<br>
+*[http://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=205c956b-25b3-47fe-9fb1-2c758098e5cb&st=2 Waymarking.com Worldwide Cemeteries]
+==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.
 <br>
+====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
-__TOC__
+'''Cemetery records may provide information such as: '''
-==What are cemetery records?==
+*the deceased’s name
-==What can you find in cemetery records?==
+*date and place of birth and death
-==How do you find cemetery records?==
+*age of the deceased at death
-{|
+*place of origin
-|-
+*names of other persons related to the deceased
-|
+*maiden surname
-[[File:Tip Post it Pin.png|100px]]
+*sometimes marriage information.
-|<span style="color:DarkViolet"> ''' Many cemetery records are online. You should consult the Wiki article on cemetery records for each country to understand how to find and search its cemetery records</span>
+*clues about military service, religion, occupation
-|}
+*place of residence at time of death
-----
+*membership in an organization.
-===Wiki Articles===
-===Sidebar Links to Wiki Articles===
+==Records by Location==
-{|
+Search by country:
-|-
+*[[:Category:Cemeteries]]
-|style="border:solid black 2px; padding:10px; vertical-align:top"|
-<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''See the links to cemetery records in the right sidebar in this typical Wiki main page.'''</span><center>
-[[File:Sidebar census.png|900px]]
-|}
-<br>
-===Online Genealogical Records Pages===
-On the main page for each U.S. State page and country page, a blue button leads to a listing of '''online record collections.'''
-{|
-|-
-|
-|style="border:solid black 2px; vertical-align:top; padding:10px"|
-<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''Look for the blue button on each state and country '''<br>'''main page to link to the Online Genealogy Records page.'''</span><center>
-[[File:OGS.png|400px]]
-|style="width:50px"|
-|style="border:solid black 2px; vertical-align:top; padding:10px"|
-<center> <span style="color:DarkViolet">'''A typical Online Genealogy Records page. '''
-[[[[File:Online ogr census.png|700px]]|700px]]
-|}
-<br>
-*'''Also, all the available Online Genealogy Records pages are linked at''' [[Online Genealogy Records by Location|'''Online Genealogy Records by Location.''']]
+[[Category:Cemeteries]]
-<br>
-<br>
-----
-----
-<br>
-===FamilySearch Catalog===
+==Research Strategies==
-*Census Records collected by FamilySearch, usually digitized and online, are listed in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog '''FamilySearch catalog'''.] Enter the name of the country in the "Place Field" and click "Search". A list of record categories will be provided. Select "Census".
-[[File:Census in catalog.png|600px]]
+===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.