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

United States California San Mateo County

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes cemetery records from 1899 to 2011.

The daily burial log begins in 1934 and continues to the present. Cemeteries began keeping records as soon as they were opened. The purchase of a burial plot was considered a land transaction and was recorded as a deed. The information in these records are typically reliable.

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

Image Visibility
This collection is only available to registered users of FamilySearch and is comprised of index cards and the daily burial log book of the Italian Cemetery in Colma.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records usually contain:


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

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know at least some of the following:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The death date of your ancestor.
 * The age of your ancestor.
 * The names of any relatives listed on the cemetery record.

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 on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Pagethen: ⇒ Select the appropriate "County" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record Type, Date Range and Volume"

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.



What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
other records such as birth, census, and death records.
 * Use the death date or year to calculate the birth date.
 * Use the information in each record to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family member’s records to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of California, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the California Archives and Libraries.

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:

Image Citation