Cemetery Records

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term cemetery (from Greek: sleeping place) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are the place where the final ceremonies of death are observed. These ceremonies or rites differ according to cultural practice and religious belief.

While uncommon today, family (or private) cemeteries were a matter of practicality during the settlement of America. If a municipal or religious cemetery had not been established, settlers would seek out a small plot of land, often in wooded areas bordering their fields, to begin a family plot. Sometimes, several families would arrange to bury their dead together. While some of these sites later grew into true cemeteries, many were forgotten after a family moved away or died out. Today, it is not unheard of to discover groupings of tombstones, ranging from a few to a dozen or more, on undeveloped land.

Cemeteries in cities use valuable urban space, which could become a problem, especially in older cities. As historic cemeteries begin to reach their capacity for full burials, alternative memorialization, such as collective memorials for cremated individuals, is becoming more common. Different cultures have different attitudes to destruction of cemeteries and use of the land for construction. In some countries it is considered normal to destroy the graves, while in others the graves are traditionally respected for a century or more. In many cases, after a suitable period of time has elapsed, the headstones are removed and the now former cemetery is converted to a recreational park or construction site.

United States Cemetery Records

Index to our Cemetery Transcriptions

• Cemetery Transcriptions Database
• Historical Cemetery Records Search
• National Cemetery Database Search
• WPA Cemetery Database

Note: The above searches only covers the cemeteries that are transcribed at AccessGenealogy's website. After conducting your search at AccessGenealogy's historical cemeteries, National Cemeteries, WPA cemeteries, and our general transcription database, you should advance to our state-by-state listing of all cemetery transcriptions found online through the state links below.

The following are our US cemetery transcription listings listed by state. Browse these listings for particular cemeteries in each state that have interments found online.