Cemetery Registration Indexes

With the rise of the two very large online cemetery indexes, FindAGrave.com and BillionGraves.com, it may be easy to forget that there are many other extensive lists of grave sites. Even if you are familiar with these two large cemetery indexes, you may not be familiar with Interment.net. This free website has records from thousands of cemeteries across the world. In addition to the very large websites, cemetery indexes or listings are found in many other websites online, in books and in records kept by active cemeteries around the world.

Cemetery indexes can be very focuses and topical. For example, the Unites States Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration maintains an online Nationwide Gravesite Locator. With this website, you can search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker. Further information about veteran burials can be found with the website maintained by the Arlington National Cemetery. Veterans buried in other countries may be located on the American Battle Monuments Commission website. Another veteran related website in the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War grave database. Ancestry.com has several collections of burial records including a U.S. Military Burial Register.

Because of similar names, to use any of these websites to find an ancestor's grave, you may need to do some research about the ancestor that will differentiate him or her from others with the same or similar name. Some of the details that help in this process are the same records that will help you extend your family lines.

There are a number of other valuable lists online including the following:

• RootsWeb Cemetery Records, 
• The Tombstone Transcription Project
• Names in Stone Cemetery Maps
• A Very Grave Matter

and very many others. You can find more online cemetery indexes by searching for "cemetery index."

There are also a large number of books with detailed lists of cemeteries. Here is a representative sample. To find more, do a search for cemetery related terms on WorldCat.org. By the way, there are over 49,000 or so books listed.

Betancourt, Philip P, and Kōstēs Davaras. The Pseira Cemetery. Philadelphia: The Institute for Aegean Prehistory Academic Press, 2003.

Bonaventure Historical Society. Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia: Index, Sections A-H. Savannah, GA: The Society, 2000.

Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. Your Guide to Cemetery Research. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2002.

Cemetery Index, 1872-2003. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2003.

Chester County Historical Society (West Chester, Pa.). Cemetery Index. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah.

Closson, Bob, and Mary Closson. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Cemetery Surname Index. Apollo, PA (1935 Sampson Dr., Apollo 15613): Closson Press, 1988.

Cooktown Cemetery Index: 1877-1986. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1986.

DeBolt Cemetery (Arnett, Okla.). Cemetery Index and Plat. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1991.

Fairview Cemetery (Coffeyville, Kan.), and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genealogical Committee. Cemetery Records. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1958.

Huber, Norma, Ontario Genealogical Society, and Waterloo-Wellington Branch. Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo City: Master Index. Kitchener, Ont.: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1992.

Maine Old Cemetery Association, and Picton Press. “Picton’s Cemetery Inscriptions.” Picton Press, 2006.

Nichols, Joann H, and Vermont Historical Society. Index to Known Cemetery Listings in Vermont. Montpelier, Vt. (109 State St., Montpelier 05609-0901): Vermont Historical Society, 1995.

Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society. Ross Township & Winfield Township Cemeteries, Lake County, IN: Row by Row, Each Alphabetical, Ross Township Cemetery Index, Winfield Township Cemetery Index. Valparaiso, Indiana: Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society, 1995.

———. Ross Township & Winfield Township Cemeteries, Lake County, IN: Row by Row : Each Alphabetical : Ross Township Small Cemetery Index, Winfield Township Cemetery Index : Ross Township, Chester Cemetery, Holtzworth Cemetery, Merrillville Cemetery, St. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Sturdevant/Dennis Cemetery, Woodvale Cemetery : Winfield Township, Deer Creek Cemetery. Valparaiso, IN: Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society, 1995.

Oklahoma Home and Community Education. Roger Mills County Cemetery Index. [Place of publication not identified]: [Oklahoma Home and Community Education], 2007.

Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg--Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.

Zephyr Cemetery Association. Zephyr, Texas Cemetery: Index Key to Gravesite Locations. [Zephyr, Tex.?]: Zephyr Cemetery Association, 1988.

In each case, you should check to see whether or not a potentially helpful book has been digitized and is available online. Otherwise, you may need to check with your local library to see whether or not the book or books can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan.

If you want to get in your car or otherwise make arrangements to travel to a cemetery, you will likely have an interesting experience. In some cases, it is entirely necessary to do so. But before you do, I suggest you spend some time doing intensive online research. You may find that the information you are seeking is already available.