If Cemeteries Could Talk
Learn about the records and surprise gems one might find at a cemetery, what they might contain, and if records are not available at a cemetery, where else might one look.
Cemetery Management:
Most times, depending on the size and age of the cemetery, it is a volunteer working on site a few days a week depending on how many volunteers they have. Some have an office with a permanent employee (city cemeteries), and with luck, you’ll find them actually in the office and not out on the grounds. And, crazy nuts, ONE organization may own more than one cemetery, i.e. Fairmount owns Riverside, or in Hartford, Connecticut one organization owns five!
If traveling from out of town, it is best to call ahead (if they have a phone number at all) and find out what days they are open and would they be available at the time of your arrival (would they make an appointment with you). Some cemeteries, once an appointment is made, may MAY have items pulled out for your review by time you get there.
Some cemeteries now have an email address, reach out that way – providing information you seek; to include, requesting their hours of operation, as they may be too busy to answer the phone…. some will respond with the answers and sometimes provide more information that you may not have thought of.
By the way: When calling or visiting a cemetery, don’t just ask about the ‘one’, ask if there are any others with the same surname buried there and where – be sure to take pictures of documents if they can’t make a copy for you and take pictures of headstones, all the sides, top and bottom, close ups of icons, and the pictures either etched or placed on the stone or monument. Don’t forget to take a family group shot as well.
And note: There are various types of cemeteries, such as, Pioneer Cemeteries with or without water rights. If the cemetery looks to be old and unkept, think about how (and its intent) it was established and looked at the time of its inception before the town, city or new century encroached on their surroundings before thinking badly of the cemetery and its grounds keepers and owners – the cemetery may have been intended to be just that, a Pioneer Cemetery.
.
Part A:
Records you might find at the cemetery
-
Burial Records (Book/Ledger)
-
Sexton Records
-
Index Cards or Automated Index Listings
-
Cremation Records
-
Historical Information - of the cemetery itself and on some of their more prominent occupants
-
Financial Records
1 - Burial Records – What kind of information might I find in this record?
Name, age, sex, color, interment date, location of burial
Remarks, such as:
Cause of death (especially for a certain type of disease such as smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid, tuberculosis), next of kin, if from another town or state, if relocated from another lot, or cemetery, or sent to another state or cemetery.
2 - Sexton Records – So, where is the deceased buried and what might I expect to find?
Name of occupant; interment date; burial Location by block, plot, section; if section is shared with someone else, and if a marker
exists.
Ask if they by chance have a copy of a ‘Burial Permit’1. (if required at the time of the ancestor’s death), if not check, check the local library to see if they have microfilmed or online copies of newspapers making such an announcement – it will take up a small space in the newspaper, about ½ inch by about 1-1/2 inch in size, so scan the paper slowly.
Ask if there are any transport ‘Disposition of Remains’ documents on file – these permits “document the movement of the deceased form the church or funeral home to the cemetery”2., to include transportation from one state to another.
Ask about ‘Opening and Closing’ orders. Other than for opening and closing a grave, “These orders may be issued when a body is exhumed or moved to another graveyard.”.3.
Check local libraries for newspapers that may have posted these permits, dispositions, and or opening/closing orders.
Note: Compare the spelling of the occupant’s name, you might find them spelled differently on each record you view. I.E. Stephen, Steven, Steve or Rodrigues, Rodriques, Rodriquez. And, sometimes the first and middle names have traded places.
3 - Index Cards or Automated Index Listings
Name, sex, age, color, interment date, mortuary, burial location, and if a marker exists. With luck, you might also find: birth date,
death date, next of kin, and remarks (usually a note as to a disease, sometimes if remains were relocated).
Note: Again, compare the spelling of the occupant’s name, you might find them spelled differently on each record you view.
4 - Cremation Records (ask if a crematory is or ever was on site – if not, where did the cremation take place)
Name, age, sex, color, cremation date, cremation number, if the ashes were buried on site or handed over to the requesting relative
or shipped off to another town, state, or country.
Ask if they maintain a separate set of books or records of just cremations.
5 - Historical Information
Cemeteries may have a history of their inception, growth, ownership, ownership exchange(s); i.e. Fairmount took ownership of Riverside in 1900, and, perhaps even their closure – think City Cemetery, Colorado. And some cemeteries have their history posted on Wikipedia when searching for a particular cemetery; check out other sites that may appear on the search page – you never know what more you’ll find.
Some cemeteries have occupants who were once prominent in their community and therefore history gathered. Some of the history comes in the forms of booklets and pamphlets on site at the cemetery, such as the various self-guided walking tour booklets. Some come in the way of pamphlets, provided by either cemetery volunteers, or historical societies in the area. Some of these booklets and books may also be found at a local city, county, or state library. And some of their history can be found on Wikipedia in the Notable Burials section when searching for a particular cemetery.
Cemetery Tours – many are offered at various times of the year or via group request. These tours provide history on the cemetery as
well as the prominent (and sometimes the more colorful) occupants of the cemetery.
6 - Financial Records – really
Name, age, mortuary, cost, who requested the burial or cremation, how related, if the deceased was from out of town, charity (as
in free burial), etc. One never knows what they might find in these records. Financial records are usually at the main office, but it never hurts to ask if the records are on site.
Note: If the cemetery does not currently maintain and house any records on site, ask who does and where are they are now, and, if you can have access to them if allowed to go to that repository. If records are not physically accessible, ask how you might go about requesting information and or copies of the records on hand.
Also Note: Visit the local city, county, or state library. You may find records that have been copied, digitized, and/or donated. Ask the librarian what they know about your cemetery of interest and what might they have on hand for that cemetery. Their heads are filled with the various informational records available. Some even have a resident worker proficient in genealogy and genealogical information available not only within the library, but through Historical and Genealogical Societies within the area. Also, more and more libraries have websites you can visit; information may be readily posted or sited as being available upon your visitation. For instance: The Denver Central Library has a few Mortuary Burial Records; Cemetery Burial Indexes, Newspapers with Obituaries, Funeral Announcements, and the occasional news article.
Part B:
If I know the state, but not the cemetery, how do I locate where my relative is buried?
Request a Death Certificate – Most Death Certificates will list the name of the burial location and or cremation site.
Otherwise:
www.findagrave.com – very very popular, over 250 million names and growing. One can also seek out the names of cemeteries within the city, county, state, or country.
https://www.interment.net/Default.htm
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States_Cemeteries
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog Click on keyword and then type something like ‘burial records colorado’
Web Search – Using a web browser such as Google, Edge, Yahoo
Type in something such as: Denver Cemeteries or Cemeteries of Denver
Type in something such as: Adam County Cemeteries or Cemeteries of Adam’s County
Type in something such as: Colorado Cemeteries or Cemeteries of Colorado (now that’s a long list). :-)
Web Search – Using a web browser such as Google, Edge, Yahoo
Type in a name such as: Vickie Smejkal
Type in a name such as: Burnham, Thomas
Type in a name such as: Thomas Burnham, Connecticut
For more current deaths type something like: Obit Wesley Grover or Obit Wesley Grover Pennsylvania
Try searching for a person using their ‘nickname’
In order to flush out an ancestor, you may have to call or write to the various cemeteries in the area you think your person is buried. Start with calling or writing the cemeteries closest to the cemetery you thought they may have been buried, otherwise, call or write cemeteries in the city or county in which they last resided.
Call or write to mortuaries in the city or county in which they last resided. Still not finding the ancestor, as a last resort, call or write the County Coroner’s Office, IF, you suspect your ancestor died of a heinous act, homeless, or too poor to be buried – in need of “Gratis’ burial. (Mortuaries should know where the body or cremains were sent for burial or handing over to a loved one, cremains that is).
Ask relatives where they think the person was buried (and last resided), you may be in for a surprise. I.E. one person looking for an ancestor in California learned of a living relative of that ancestor residing in Canada, and from that relative learned that he moved to Denver, Colorado and that was the last the relative heard of him. Turns out the ancestor did move to Denver and died shortly after arrival due to an ulcer. He was buried, at the time, in an unmarked grave at Riverside – he has a marker now.
Part C:
Other information that might assist me in my search of an ancestor or cemetery records
Web Search – Using a web browser such as Google, Edge, Yahoo
Type in the name of a city, county, or state – look for that city’s, county’s, or state’s government website, as some are starting
to post their Archival Index Listings (for births, marriages, deaths); Historical Listings; and yes, Genealogical Listings and
Libraries. Also, type the city, county, or state name and the words: vital statistics. I.E. Denver Colorado Vital Statistics
Web Search – Using a web browser such as Google, Edge, Yahoo
Type in the name of the cemetery; such as: Center Cemetery, Hartford County (Some of the cemeteries will have posted an index list of their occupants, how related, birth to death dates, history of their cemetery, prominent occupants, pictures of unique headstones, genealogical societies and libraries in the area that can assist someone in their search, and more).
WPA records – The Work Progress Administration “created indexes of historical records including cemetery records.”4. Ask your local library if they have any of these books or search online, something like ‘wpa cemetery indexes Denver County Colorado’ and see what pops up. And visit the National Archives online at https://www.archives.gov/
Mortuary Records – Many may have been copied, digitized, and/or donated. Ask the librarian what they know about your mortuary of interest and what might they have on hand for that mortuary. Note: Some mortuaries may have changed hands and been absorbed by another.
Many libraries now have web sites, check out their holdings. See if they have a genealogical / historical department. Call the library to learn what they have online and how to access the types of records you seek, i.e. vital records, cemetery records, mortuary records, obits. (Some library sites are not easy to move around on, so calling to ask how one can will be key to a successful searching event.
Vickie Smejkal
Vickiesgenealogytoolbox.weebly.com
Footnotes 1-4: familytree MAGAZINE, September/October 2024 issue, Cemetery Records by Joy Neighbors, p.60
Trivia:
Coins on a Veterans headstone –
A penny means you visited. A nickel means you and the deceased veteran trained at boot camp together. A dime means you and the deceased veteran served together in some capacity. A quarter is very significant because it means that you were there when that veteran died.
https://dma.mt.gov/mvad/MVAD-Images/Coins-on-headstones-meaning.pdf
​