Virginia, Fluvanna County Colbert Funeral Home Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
Funeral records are business documents and normally involve loose papers and/or bound volumes. These records generally include the death certificate or death certificate information and financial ledgers or papers showing the costs involved with arranging the funeral of the individual.

Most funeral homes came into existence in the early twentieth century.

Funeral records are generally a late nineteenth, early twentieth century record. Embalming within the United States was not a widely accepted practice until the Civil War and the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Most funerals prior to the early twentieth century were a family and friends event taking place at the decedent’s home with burial taking place within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of death. Funeral homes or parlors were not used and caskets were made by the local cabinet or furniture maker. Large cities are more likely to have earlier funeral home records. Most rural areas did not have funeral homes until the early twentieth century. Funeral directors are now responsible for initiating and filing the death certificate. Since the 1950s, many funeral homes have merged with other firms or gone out of business. Funeral records are generally recorded in the locality where the person resided or is buried. They were not used by the general population until local regulations required embalming and the use of a funeral home became a generally accepted practice.

Funeral records are generally recorded in the locality where the person resided or is buried. They were not used by the general population until local regulations required embalming and the use of a funeral home became a generally accepted practice.

The name of the decedent, death date, and death place are quite reliable. Burial information will be reliable unless the body was transported to another locality. Other information provided will only be as reliable as the informant’s knowledge or memory.

For a list of records by dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Citation for This Collection
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Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Funeral records include death certificates, ledgers, and miscellaneous loose papers. Genealogical facts in entries are:




 * Name of deceased
 * Death date and place of deceased
 * Burial date and place of deceased
 * Birth date and place of deceased
 * Name of informant
 * Residence of deceased
 * Names of family members such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Copy of obituary or notes used to prepare obituary and/or a list of newspapers where obituary was placed

How to Use the Record
To search the collection, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the Date Range ⇒ Select the Record Type which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

Use funeral home records to identify useful information not found on the death certificate. The records may contain a list of the surviving immediate relatives, sometimes the names of grandchildren, in-laws, and other relatives. The record could provide residences for the listed relatives. A copy of the obituary or notes used to prepare the obituary may be in the record, along with a record of newspapers where the obituary was placed. Records may also contain information regarding former residences, education, church affiliation, military service, memberships in clubs, lodges, and other organizations. The records may include details of the grave location or type of marker. Notes regarding the funeral services, such as the officiating minister, pallbearers, and music may also be included. Information may also include life insurance information where additional genealogical information could be obtained.

Related Websites

 * Virginia Genealogy Archives
 * Virginia State Cemetery Records
 * Online Virginia Cemetery Records
 * Virginia Cemeteries at Cemetery Junction
 * Virginia Cemetery Records

Related Wiki Articles

 * Fluvanna County, Virginia
 * Fluvanna County, Virginia Genealogy
 * Virginia
 * Virginia Cemeteries

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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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 Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Virginia, Fluvanna County Colbert Funeral Home Records, 1929-1976," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 3 May 2012), 1929-1934 &gt; Funeral Records &gt; Image 3 of 153, Mrs. Mary A. Holberton, died January 14, 1929; citing Colbert Funeral Home, Gretna, Virginia.