Canadian Headstones - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada

What is in the Collection?
The collection includes a name index of headstone inscriptions, courtesy of CanadianHeadstones.com, which is a family history database of records and images from Canada's cemeteries. Take a look at their website for more information about how their Canada headstone project works.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Cemetery Records may contain the following information:


 * First and Last Name of the Deceased
 * Birth Date of the Deceased
 * Death Date of the Deceased
 * First and Last Name of Spouse
 * Birth Date of the Spouse
 * Death Date of the Spouse

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of death.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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 compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s headstone information, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Cemetery records should give you the name and place of the cemetery where the ancestor was buried. This is very important, as it can lead you to other useful record types. Pay special attention to where he or she was buried. Take note if he or she was buried in a church cemetery vs. a city cemetery.
 * Search for the actual death certificate or death register for your ancestor. This may provide additional clues about them.
 * Search additional county and country records for your ancestor.
 * Take note of where the ancestor was buried. You will need to know the province and town as it will be key to finding other records that correspond with your ancestor.
 * If your ancestor died in a time and place where death records were kept, search for your ancestor record of death, like can be done with Prince Edward Island Death Cards.
 * If your ancestor was buried in a churchyard cemetery, take note of the church denomination. It is possible that there could be a corresponding burial record that goes with the headstone. For example, if your ancestor was from Manitoba and was buried in the church cemetery, he or she may also be found in Manitoba Church Records.
 * Take special note of the date on the gravestone. If you know the place and the date, you may be able to search for probate records, like can be done here in the Saskatchewan Probate Files.

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

 * Often times, the inscription on a gravestone does not stand the test of time. The etchings may have become illegible by weather. This is especially the case with older gravestones. This means that your ancestor may have had a gravestone at one time, and it was unable to be recorded due to illegibility.
 * Try a different cemetery website that covers other parts of Canada. One example is Find A Grave or Billion Graves.
 * Consider that your ancestor may have migrated to a different country. It may be useful to try searching cemetery records of neighboring US states.

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. Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):