California Cemetery Transcriptions - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States California

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of abstracts from cemeteries for 1850-1960 in the following counties:

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Cemetery abstracts usually include the following information:


 * Name of Cemetery
 * Location (Town, County, State)
 * Full name of deceased
 * Lot number
 * Age
 * Date of Death
 * Place of Death
 * Names of Parents, Husband or Wife
 * Other Important Facts
 * Place of Birth
 * Date of Birth

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate death date.
 * The approximate burial date.
 * The names of relatives and their relationships.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page:

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "County, Town" category ⇒ Select the "Cemetery" category which takes you to the images.

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?

 * Use the birth date or year to, find other records such as birth, census, and death records.
 * 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: