Washington Cemeteries

United States Washington Cemeteries
See United States Cemeteries for more detail.

Cemetery records often include birth, marriage, and death information and clues to military service, religion, membership in an organization, and more.

Online

The following have significant cemetery listings for Washington State.

Sites may be incomplete. They may not list all cemeteries in a county and may not include all burials in a cemetery.

• Web: Washington, Find A Grave Index, 1821-2012 (If the link does not work, go to ancestry.com ($), click Search, select Card Catalog, paste Title into search box, click Search)

• Findagrave.com home page. Often has tombstone images.
  • Search for names across all Washington cemeteries in Find A Grave.
  • Statewide list of cemeteries in Find A Grave. Search each cemetery for names.

• Interment.net
  • Lists of cemeteries in the counties.
  • Transcriptions viewable.

• Washington State Digital Archives collection.
  • Search: Select Record Series "Cemetery Directories," enter name, click Search.
    • Can narrow by county or to specific cemetery.
  • For a list of cemeteries they have for a county: Select the county and click the down arrow next to "Select a Title."

• Linkpendium scours the Internet for resources.
  • Links to cemetery databases on other sites.
  • Many cemeteries individually searchable.

• USGenWeb Tombstone Project - Washington
  • List of cemeteries by county.
  • Transcriptions viewable for several cemeteries.

• I Dream of Genealogy (Free)
  • Lists of cemeteries by county.
  • All are linked to viewable transcriptions.

• Washington Cemetery Records (Free) at Washington Genealogy. Easy to navigate.
  • Lists of cemeteries by county.
  • Some links to viewable transcriptions.

• D'Addezio.com Washington Cemeteries
  • Lists of cemeteries or search by the name of the cemetery. Cannot narrow by county.
  • Transcriptions viewable.

• BillionGraves.com
  • Searchable at state or county level, images of tombstones.
  • Lists of cemeteries by county, with # of entries in Billion Graves site.

• KindredTrails.com Washington Cemeteries
  • Links to other sites, searches of sponsored sites.

• Washington State Cemetery Association
  • Database has been transferred to FindAGrave (listed above)

See also Cyndi's List links to databases on other sites.

Published Transcriptions

Many tombstones have been damaged over time by weathering, excavation, vandalism, and so on. As a result, earlier transcriptions may be more accurate and more complete.

Fortunately, early transcriptions may be found in periodicals. Individuals and societies also published cemetery indexes in book form.

• Find transcripts of cemetery records for Washington in the FamilySearch Library Catalog. Most are filed at the county or state level.
  • For counties, simply add a comma to the search box and slide down to select the county.
    • Or do a Place Name search for "Washington, [county]."
  • For towns, select the county, add a comma, and select the town.

• A valuable published collection of tombstone inscriptions covering parts of 12 counties is Cemetery Records of Washington, Six Volumes. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society, 1957-60.) Family History Library films 824254 item 4 to 824255-56; book 979.7 V3p.
  • v. 1. Lewis and Benton counties -- v. 2. King, Klickitat, and Pierce counties -- v. 3. King, Klickitat, Pierce, Skamania, Snohomish and Thurston counties -- v. 4. King, Klickitat and Pierce counties -- v. 5. Island, Kitsap, Lewis and Pierce counties -- v. 6. Cowlitz, Pierce and Thurston counties.

See United States Cemeteries for further suggestions and information.

The Cemetery Records Gold Mine

Cemetery tombstones, or sexton's records, usually give death date, and age or birth date. Sometimes they give birth place. Spouse and children who died young are often buried nearby.

Use cemetery records to:

• Identify children who died young or who were not recorded in birth or death records.
• Establish family relationships and learn of family members.
• Find clues that lead you to other records about the person. For example:
  • Tombstones may have symbols or insignias indicating military service and social or religious affiliations.
  • There are also abbreviations that give clues when deciphered.

The Association of Gravestone Studies (AGS) has recommendations on the treatment and care of tombstones when needing to make inscriptions more visible.

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