A cemetery is an important part of a community. It serves as a place to remember loved ones and create a bond between families.
When visiting a cemetery, it’s a good idea to take your time and look around. You never know who else is buried nearby. It may also be helpful to bring a map of the grounds.
What is a cemetery?
A cemetery is an area of land where people are buried. It is typically not affiliated with a church and is usually located outside of the town or city center. The term comes from the Latin “coemeterium,” which is ultimately derived from Greek koimeterion (bedchamber).
Though many of us use the terms graveyard and cemetery interchangeably, the two have distinct differences. Graveyard is more likely to evoke images of old, churchyard burial grounds in the countryside that might have older tombstones arranged in a less-than-manicured fashion.
Cemeteries, on the other hand, came about when church-affiliated graveyards began to fill up and new places were needed for people to be buried. They are typically much larger and more organized than their predecessors, and they often include lawns for families to pay respects to loved ones. They also come with a range of specific types of memorialization, such as vaults and tombs. They might even have a chapel to hold funeral services.
How do I find a cemetery?
There is no one answer to this question as the availability of online resources varies widely depending on where you are looking. However, some useful techniques can be employed when trying to locate a grave. Obituaries, for example, can often name the cemetery, or at least provide a contact phone number to find out more.
Some state death certificates also name the cemetery, though this is more common for older certificates. Then there are a growing number of user-generated and commercial hubs for memorial inscriptions and cemetery records. The ancestry website Findmypast now has a large collection of church burial indexes including those from Hull and Oldham. It also links to the Billion Graves site, allowing users to search both websites at once.
If you have the person’s birth and death dates, these will help narrow down potential burial sites. And finally, it’s worth considering the type of burial you are after – some types of cemeteries only serve members of a specific group or community.
Where can I find a cemetery?
There are a few key points to remember when searching for a cemetery. Oftentimes, searching online will reveal the contact information for a cemetery’s management. Emailing or calling them is a great way to start and see if they have a record of the person that you are looking for.
Another option is to contact the funeral home if the deceased was recently laid to rest. Many times, the obituary will name the cemetery that is home to the grave. Additionally, some states have digitized death certificates that can be searched for at various sites.
Finally, some ancestry websites, such as FamilySearch, also include cemeteries as part of their search tools. However, it is always best to visit a cemetery in person to see if they have what you are seeking. Then, you can make an informed decision about what plot, grave, crypt or niche is best for you. It will also give you the opportunity to view the cemetery’s grounds and its overall look and feel.
How do I find a grave?
When searching for a cemetery, it’s important to gather as much information as possible. Look for full names, dates of birth and death and places of burial in family bibles or other primary historical records like church parish registers or census records. Local newspaper obituary archives may also reveal some of this information.
Online resources such as Find a Grave and BillionGraves provide maps of cemeteries that make it easier to locate relatives. These resources often include headstone photos and GPS coordinates. Many modern cemeteries also have their own websites and maps that are updated regularly.
Subscription family history website Findmypast also has a huge collection of cemetery records including transcribed memorial inscriptions. In addition to these records, it offers access to the UK index of the international BillionGraves website. These two sites are linked enabling searches on both at the same time.