Your Guide to Researching Cemetery & Funeral Home Records Can you visit the cemetery? If not, can you find a transcription that has been published? Is it published in alphabetical order? (People weren't buried in alphabetical order!) Can you find the record on the web? With a picture? Do you understand everything about the cemetery record you found? Sure you didn't overlook details that might be helpful?

 

Read some guides to researching cemetery records:

• FamilySearch Wiki: United States Cemetery Records (links to information for each state at the bottom)
  • You can find similar articles for other countries
  • scroll down to find a link to a state; it will cover cemetery records for that state.
• Ancestry.com Wiki: The Source: cemetery records (in the section covering vital records)
• Identify which cemetery
  • Locating Your Ancestor's Final Resting Place (Ancestry Learning Center)
  • Neill. Finding the Stone.
• Working with cemetery records and tombstones.
  • Zimmerman. Tombstone Meanings
  • Cemeteries and Cemetery Symbols
  • Locating Cemeteries and Cemetery records
• Ancestors TV Show Lesson 2: Cemetery Records (a video)

There is even a whole book on the topic:

• DeBartolo. Your Guide to Cemetery Research. ( Find in a library ) (review of book)

Locating a Cemetery -- what cemeteries exist, where are they?

• See what information is available on US Gen Web -- the site for the counties often, but not always, contain a listing of all cemeteries in the count.
• Write or visit the web page of the local genealogy society
• For more information, see Kimberly Powell's About.com page How to Locate a Cemetery
• For currently maintained cemeteries, search funeral.net's cemetery search
• Consult one of these reference books:
  • Cemeteries of the U.S. (out of print) (Find in a Library)
  • United States Cemetery Address Book (out of print) (Find in a Library

Published Transcriptions

Transcripts may be of tombstone readings, sexton's records, a combination of the two; it may also include information from other records.

• See what has been published for the state or area -- use OCLC WorldCat and type in the name of the locality and the word cemeteries, e.g. Lapeer Cemeteries. If the locality name is too common, e.g. Washington, add the state. So your search might be Cemeteries Washington Ohio
• D.A.R. -- use the GRC Search which serves as an online index to their thousands of volumes.
• In periodicals-- use PERSI (at Ancestry.com or Heritage Quest)
• What's in the LDS Library catalog in Salt Lake City -- use the place search, then topic cemeteries. Be sure to search the town, city, or village (view related places) as well as the county!
• What is in a local library? Let's look at Lapeer Michigan.
• USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project
• See what is on the US GenWeb state/county pages -- transcriptions and lookups
• Write the local society

Cemetery Records Online

• Billion Graves -- the newest online compilation of cemetery records; a billion graves is what they aim for, not what is there, but it is worth checking. It gives gps coordinates as well as images. You can contribute, as well as use. You can also request lookups (you must first register).
• FindAGrave -- one of the best online compilations; huge and growing. Often records are accompanied by images of the monument. You can contribute, as well as use.
• Interment.net
• Cemetery Junction
• African American Cemeteries Online
• Obituary Central's Cemetery Search
• The Political Graveyard
• Blogs
  • BillionGraves Blog
  • Keep up with the Graveyard Rabbits by reading their journal entries, finding relevant blogs, or even becoming one!
  • a listing of blogs that include material about cemeteries

Visiting the Cemetery

• Planning For A Trip to the Cemetery (Ancestry Learning Center)
• Swisher. Cemetery Reading Tips

Graveyard Associatons

• New Hampshire old Graveyard Association; see Master Burial Site Index
• Connecticut Gravestone Network
• Association for Gravestone Studies has a listing external resource sources. that might help you find some helpful sites.
• Saving Cemeteries

Funeral Homes

• U.S. Funerals Online
• Funeral.Net
• Directory of Funeral Homes

More Links

Cyndi's list topic: Cemeteries & Funeral Homes

Links to Resources on Cemetery History and Preservation

 

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Page last updated October 25, 2016