United States, Cemetery Abstracts - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What Is in the Collection?
This collection includes abstracts from cemeteries in the United States, compiled by various missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The collection also includes records from Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, New South Wales, and New Zealand.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
 Cemetery abstracts may contain the following information:
 * Name of the decedent
 * Birth date
 * Death date
 * Name of the cemetery
 * Location of the cemetery
 * Notes regarding insignias on the tombstone
 * Relationships

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know: Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page (Hyperlink to (Landing Page): Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination.
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate year of death.
 * The place were the death occurred.
 * The possible cemetery of burial.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "State" ⇒Select the appropriate "County and Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Cemetery" which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * Your ancestor could be buried in a cemetery outside of the area where he or she died.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the burial information to locate a birth record.
 * Use the burial information to locate a death record.
 * Use the burial information to search other records about your ancestor in the same locality.
 * Continue to search the cemetery abstracts identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been buried in the same cemetery, or surrounding cemeteries.
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

{{Tip|Don’t overlook the FamilySearch Library Catalog. You may find records listed in the catalog under: {{FHL|Cemeteries|keywords|disp}} For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interst, see the wiki article Cemeteries.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Record citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image citation: