California, San Mateo County, Colma, Italian Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1899 to 2011.

This collection is comprised of index cards and the daily burial log book of the Italian Cemetery in Colma.

Note: This collection is only available to registered users of FamilySearch.

Cemeteries begin keeping records as soon as they are opened. The purchase of a burial plot is a land transaction and is recorded with a deed.

The daily burial log begins in 1934 and continues to the present.

Cemetery records are kept as a permanent record of who was buried and usually who purchased the burial plot.

The information in these records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
The following information is generally found in these records:


 * Name of deceased
 * Where buried
 * Age of deceased
 * Gender of deceased
 * Death date
 * Burial date
 * Relationship to owner of grave
 * Name of undertaker

How to Use the Record
Note: This collection is only available to registered users of FamilySearch.

To browse this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the “County” ⇒ Select the “Record Type, Date Range and Volume” which takes you to the images.

There are indexes available in these collections. The indexes are located in individual folders. Find your ancestors name in the index and look for the locator information (page, entry, certificate number, or book number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

Compare the information in the record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

To begin your search, you will need to know the person’s name and the approximate burial or death date. Once you have located your ancestor’s burial record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Burial records are often brief so it can be easy to confuse individuals. Compare what information is given with what you already know about your ancestor to make sure it is the correct person.

Next, look at the pieces of information given in the burial record for new information. Add any new information to your records of each family. You should also look for leads to other records about your ancestors.

For example:


 * Use the death date or year to calculate the birth date.
 * Use the birth date to search for birth records.
 * Use the birth date along with relative’s names to find the family in census records.
 * Use the locality and relative’s names to locate church and land records.
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral records, which often include the names and residences of other family members.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the deceased who may have been buried in the same cemetery or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person with a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby cemeteries.

Related Websites

 * Find a Grave
 * BillionGraves page for this cemetery. Has Google map showing this cemetery and possibly adjoining cemeteries in the same satellite view.  As of 10 December 2012 no images of headstones in this cemetery have been uploaded to the BillionGraves site.

Related Wiki Articles

 * San Mateo County, California
 * California
 * California Cemeteries

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: California, San Mateo County, Colma, Italian Cemetery Records, 1899-2011

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.