Funeral Records
What Funeral Records Are
Funeral records are private business records used to record the expenses of services provided for the burial of an individual. In the United States, funeral homes are now required to prepare and file the death certificate with the appropriate health office. Most funeral directors now also prepare the obituary notice.
Funeral records can include:
- Funeral Home records/mortuary records
- Funeral programs
- Loose papers and/or bound volumes
United States Funeral Records
Funeral records generally began in the United States in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century (1900's). Embalming within the United States was not a widely accepted practice until the Civil War and the death of President Abraham Lincoln.
Most funerals prior to the early twentieth century were a family and friends event taking place at the decedent’s home with burial taking place within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of death. Funeral homes or parlors were not used and caskets were made by the local cabinet or furniture maker.
Large cities are more likely to have earlier funeral home records. Most rural areas did not have funeral homes until the early twentieth century. Funeral directors are now responsible for initiating and filing the death certificate. Since the 1950s many funeral homes have merged with other firms or gone out of business.
Information in Funeral Records
The records may contain a list:
- surviving immediate relatives, sometimes the names of grandchildren, in-laws, and other relatives.
- Residences for surviving relatives.
- Obituary or notes used to prepare the obituary may be in the record, along with a record of newspapers where the obituary was placed.
- Deceased's former residences, education, church affiliation, military service, membership in clubs, lodges and other organizations.
- Grave location or type of marker.
- Information regarding the funeral services, such as the officiating minister, pallbearers, and music may also be included.
- Information may also include life insurance information where additional genealogical information could be obtained.
How to Find Funeral Records
Funeral Records by Location
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