March 31, 2015

Using Cemetery Records to Uncover Unknown Ancestors

Using Cemetery Records to Uncover Unknown Ancestors

Cemetery records, when they exist and you can find them, can reveal a lot about your family history that you never knew. The person who originally purchased a cemetery plot or plots, the trail of ownership of the plot from the original purchaser to the present, and the people buried in the plots (including where they were placed relative to other people in the same plot) can reveal a lot about your ancestors and their lives and relationships with one another.
You may even discover ancestors who were previously unknown to you through this type of research if you can track down the burial records for a particular cemetery. Remember, there are often unmarked graves in cemetery plots, and you may have no idea anyone is there, much less who they are, until you find the written burial records for that plot. If you’ve been looking for the burial place of a particular ancestor and haven’t been able to find it, it could be that it is unmarked, and the burial records of a cemetery will finally reveal its location to you...