Guide to Cemetery Research in New York

Cemeteries can be rich sources of important and sometimes unexpected genealogical information. The most basic gravestone inscriptions may include the name and dates of birth and death of the deceased. Other stones are more detailed and may describe the deceased’s place of origin, family members, occupation, or even cause of death. The gravestone of a soldier or veteran may be inscribed with the name of the regiment in which he or she served. Furthermore, the context of the grave within the cemetery, and of the cemetery within the community, can provide additional clues to key features of a person’s life, such as family and kinship ties, religious affiliation, and residence.

Early American cemeteries tended to be located in the heart of town and served the entire community, or were established by individual families on their own rural properties. It was only in the nineteenth century that the idea of a "rural" or "garden" cemetery, located on the outskirts of settlement, emerged and became a popular alternative to the town or family cemetery; Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, founded in 1838, was one of the first rural cemeteries in the United States. Records and transcriptions of all kinds of cemeteries – from small family graveyards to sprawling rural cemeteries, religious and secular cemeteries, military cemeteries, and the graveyards of institutions  – have been made and can be found in physical repositories and online, including in the NYG&B's eLibrary.  This guide will give an overview of the NYG&B's collection of cemetery transcriptions and introduce other important resources for locating, accessing, and understanding records relating to cemeteries.

Before You Begin

Before your cemetery research can begin, you must identify the cemetery in which your ancestor was buried. This task may be as easy as accessing your ancestor’s government-issued death certificate, which will provide the name of the cemetery and the date of burial or cremation. Death certificates in New York State are kept by the town clerk of the municipality in which the death occurred and, after 1881, are also held at the New York State Department of Health. Death certificates in New York City are kept at the Municipal Archives in Manhattan.

If the death certificate does not exist or cannot be found, you may try looking at religious records, obituaries, estate files, family files, or the records of funeral homes for the name of the cemetery. Fulton History, a website that provides access to millions of digitized pages from historical newspapers in New York State, is an excellent source of obituaries and death announcements. Chronicling America, the digital newspaper collection of the Library of Congress, has newspapers from across the country.

If all else fails, you will have to try a more roundabout method of searching: identify the graveyards where your ancestor could have been buried, and then search each one, beginning with the one you judge to be most promising. To do this, you’ll have to make some assumptions, namely that your ancestor would most likely have been buried near the place he or she lived, or in the cemetery affiliated with the house of worship he or she attended, or where other family members were buried. City directories and local histories are helpful for identifying cemeteries and religious institutions in the area where your ancestor lived.

Special circumstances may have led to your ancestor being buried in a particular type of cemetery. A soldier or veteran may have been buried in a military cemetery, or if he or she died in combat, in a cemetery near his or her place of death. If your ancestor was issued a gravestone by the military, a record of the stone and the cemetery to which it was delivered may exist.

Prisoners and patients of psychiatric hospitals were often buried in the cemeteries of their respective institutions, sometimes in unmarked graves, or graves marked only by a number. Lastly, people who died without someone to fund their burial, stillborn infants, and unidentified dead were buried in Potter's Fields; their graves are unmarked, but records of the burials were kept.

If your ancestor’s gravestone is one of the millions that volunteers have documented on Find A Grave, then a simple search of his or her name will be sufficient to locate the cemetery. More information on Find A Grave is provided below.

A Note About Cemeteries in New York City

As was the custom at the time, cemeteries in early New York were located in the heart of the community. Some of New York's seventeenth- and eighteenth-century cemeteries can still be seen today, such as Trinity Cemetery on Wall Street, the St. Paul's Churchyard on Broadway, and the First Shearith Israel Graveyard on St. James Place. Many others, however, were moved to make way for development. Sometimes both stones and bodies were moved; in other cases, the stones were removed but the bodies were left in place. The Nagle Cemetery once occupied half a block in Inwood between 212th and 213th Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and may have contained as many as 2,000 graves, including those of Revolutionary War soldiers. In the 1920s, the bodies were disinterred and moved to Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Those researching family history in Manhattan should be aware that the cemeteries in which their ancestors were buried may no longer exist. There are several ways to get around this hurdle. One way is to find out whether a transcription of the cemetery was completed before it was removed; a second way is to find out where the grave markers were relocated and visit them in their current location. Either approach requires that the researcher investigate the history of the cemetery in question. For more advice on researching New York's itinerant cemeteries, see Carolee Inskeep's The Graveyard Shift: A Family Historian's Guide to New York City Cemeteries (full citation in "Published Sources," below).

Cemetery Resources in the NYG&B's Collections

The NYG&B has many cemetery resources, including collections of cemetery transcriptions, bibliographies, and guides to specific cemeteries and types of cemeteries. Many of these resources are available online through the eLibrary while others have been collected as Research Aids.

Cemetery Transcriptions

This list provides the titles and date of creation for forty collections of cemetery transcriptions from across New York State which are available in the NYG&B eLibrary. Among the collections is Josephine C. Frost’s Long Island Cemetery Transcriptions, Vols. 1-13.  Our eLibrary holds the only complete digital collection of these records available anywhere; it includes inscriptions for 129 cemeteries located in Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, with more than 16,000 inscriptions recorded, dating from 1652 to 1910. 

​Many transcriptions from cemeteries throughout New York State have been published in The Record throughout its nearly 150 year history; the full run of by The Record is available to members in the eLibrary. Some of these transcriptions are very extensive and may appear in installments in multiple issues of The Record. The index includes dozens of cemetery transcription collections published in The Record, along with author, volume and issue number, and page numbers.

Research Aid Articles

Several articles published in The New York Researcher provide information on researching cemeteries, including guides to specific cemeteries or types of cemeteries, bibliographies of cemetery inscriptions, and introductions to little-known cemetery resources. The following articles have been collected in the Research Aids area of the NYG&B website; the full run of The New York Researcher may be found in the eLibrary.   

Cemeteries by County

New York State Cemeteries

  • A Selection of Major Cemeteries in New York State. This table identifies the some of the larger cemeteries in New York State and describes the genealogical services and online features they offer (if any). It also gives each cemetery’s year of incorporation, number of burials, and link to its official website.
  • The African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan, in use from the 1690s to 1794, has no marked graves or burial records, but may be a useful resource to those who are researching enslaved or free black ancestors in New York. The website provides digitized versions of the reports from the 1991 excavation at the Burial Ground.

General Online Resources

Free Cemetery Databases

Volunteers across the country have documented millions of graves on free online cemetery databases. Many of these databases are searchable by the deceased's name or by cemetery, and many entries provide photographs of the graves. Some large cemeteries maintain their own databases; see "Major Cemeteries in New York" for more information.

  • Find A Grave is one of the largest and best online cemetery databases, with nearly 160 million entries from across the world. While its collections are strongest for the United States, it also represents significant numbers of graveyards in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and Oceania. Entries often include photographs, maps with GPS coordinates, and links to entries of the deceased's relatives. Some entries even include obituaries or short biographies of the deceased. Find A Grave may be searched by name, location, cemetery, and date.
  • Billion Graves can be searched by name or cemetery. Each entry consists of a photograph of the gravestone along with exact GPS coordinates of the grave. Website also includes a blog dedicated to cemetery research.
  • Interment.net represents thousands of cemetery records from across the world, categorized by country, region, state, and cemetery. Entries include the name, birth date, death date, and age at time of death of the deceased.
  • The New York Gravestone Photo Project contains photographs of gravestones from across New York State and is searchable by name, county, and cemetery.
  • The New York Tombstone Transcription Project consists of cemetery transcriptions and photographs of graves from across New York State contributed by volunteers and organized by county and cemetery. It is a part of the USGenWeb Tombstone Project, which documents cemeteries throughout the country.
  • The NYGenWeb Cemetery Directory contains guides to the cemeteries in each county in New York, with select transcriptions, bibliographies of published transcriptions, and links to relevant websites.
  • The Nationwide Gravesite Locator, a website maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs, is a premier online resource for more recent burial records of veterans.
  • Names in Stone contains cemetery transcriptions that can be searched by name or by cemetery. The website also provides the visitor with the ability to view a grave on a unique interactive map.

Other Websites with Cemetery Records

  • The Internet Archive is a free digital library that includes digitized versions of many published collections of cemetery transcriptions, as well as local histories and directories that may be of use to researchers trying to locate cemeteries.
  • FamilySearch.org is a free genealogical database that provides access to millions of records, including cemetery transcriptions, burial registers, and death indexes, including the Social Security Death Index. The website also includes the online catalog of the Family History Library (see below).
  • Ancestry.com is available by subscription only. Its genealogical collections include cemetery records and transcriptions, as well as other records that may be useful in locating your ancestor in a cemetery, such as obituaries and death notices and death indexes, including the Social Security Death Index.
  • American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, contains transcribed records from several New York cemeteries. A helpful article by Marian Henry contains a bibliography of New York State record transcriptions by Gertrude A. Barber (including cemetery transcriptions), from 21 upstate counties. Many online resources are limited to members. The NEHGS has also featured cemetery transcriptions in its quarterly publication, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, which is accessible online to members.
  • JewishGen is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage that provides several free online databases, including the JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry. Jewish burial records and cemetery information are submitted to the Registry by volunteers and managed by members of the JewishGen staff. The Registry can be searched by name and geographical region. It may be necessary to create a free account with JewishGen in order to view the records.

Blogs and Websites Devoted to Cemeteries

  • The Association of Graveyard Rabbits is a community of bloggers dedicated to the study and documentation of cemeteries. Website includes a list of blogs maintained by members, arranged by their location; blogs detail individual cemeteries and gravestones, illustrated by photographs. The Association also publishes an online journal.
  • The New York City Cemetery Project, while not recently updated, provides excellent guides to many cemeteries in New York City, with histories, photographs, and maps.
  • Digital Cemetery Walk contains collections of photographs of headstones from cemeteries across the country, including several cemeteries from New York.
  • The Association for Gravestone Studies is dedicated to the history, documentation, and preservation of gravestones. Its website contains links to sites with information about cemeteries in different states and countries. The Association's archives, consisting of burial records, cemetery surveys and maps, and other material relating to gravestones, at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst.

Other Online Resources

  • Veterans WPA Cemetery Records were created from 1939-1940 by the Works Progress Administration as part of the Historical Records Survey. The records include cemetery maps (which identify the location of soldiers' and veterans' graves in a cemetery, along with an outline of the other graves), and cemetery cards (which provide information on each soldier/veteran and his or her service). The Veterans WPA Cemetery Records for Westchester County have been digitized and are available in the Westchester County Archives Digital Collection.
  • German Genealogy Group contains the New York City Death Index, a searchable online database of death records from the 1860s to the 1940s. The index is searchable by name, year, and county. Index entries include the deceased's name, age, exact date of death, county of death, and certificate number. Researchers can use this information to locate the record at the Municipal Archives, which will likely provide date and place of burial, along with other biographical details.
  • Forgotten New York documents historical sites in New York City and has a section dedicated to cemeteries, including cemeteries that no longer exist.

Off-Line Cemetery Resources

Many cemetery transcriptions and records are not available online. Burial records may be kept by the cemetery or by the institution with which the cemetery is affiliated (church, synagogue, prison, hospital, etc.). Some cemetery records may be found in local historical societies or archives. Cemetery transcriptions are widely available in published and unpublished form in libraries and historical societies.

Libraries

  • The Milstein Division of the New York Public Library holds many published and unpublished cemetery transcriptions, including transcriptions by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and by individuals such as Gertrude A. Barber. The Milstein Divison also holds many genealogical resources - including family histories, censuses, local histories, city directories, probate records, vital record indexes, and newspapers - that may prove helpful in identifying a cemetery, as well as access to online databases such as Ancestry.com and American Ancestors. The NYPL website includes research guides for genealogical researchers.
  • The Family History Library (FHL) holds many important collections of New York cemetery records in book form and on microfilm, including the Holland Society's collection of transcriptions from Dutch Reformed cemeteries, DAR cemetery transcriptions, indexes to veterans' graves, and records of abandoned cemeteries. These holdings may be searched via the FHL's catalog on FamilySearch.org; a search by location (New York, County name) and subject (cemeteries) will produce a list of cemetery holdings in that county. The Family History Library has branch locations (Family History Centers) around the world, where microfilms may be viewed; requests should be submitted in advance online or at a Family History Center.  See their website for exact locations.
  • The New York State Library and Archives in Albany holds many cemetery transcriptions by the DAR, Gertrude Barber, and others. Its collections are searchable via its online catalog, Excelsior.
  • The New York State Historical Association, located in Cooperstown, New York, holds many cemetery transcriptions in its research library, which is searchable via an online catalog, as well as many other genealogical resources.
  • The Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C., contains many cemetery transcriptions from throughout the United States. Its collections are searchable via its online catalog. The DAR Library may be accessed freely by members and, for a small fee, by non-members.

Historical Societies

  • The Central New York Genealogical Society has compiled Tree Talks, collections of genealogical materials organized by county that include many cemetery transcriptions. The CNYGS website includes a list of the counties covered and an index to select counties.
  • See the NYG&B county guides for information on local historical societies that may hold cemetery records.

Publishing Companies

  • Kinship Press, a publishing company dedicated to New York genealogy and history, has published cemetery transcriptions for seven New York counties, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area.
  • Hope Farm Press & Bookshop has also published many New York State cemetery transcriptions, and provides a list of titles by county on its website.

Published Guides

The following list is a selection of publications that may be helpful to those researching cemeteries in New York City and State, including research guides, record inventories, and indexes. For a bibliography of cemetery resources for each county, please see the county guides.

  • Inskeep, Carolee. The Graveyard Shift: A Guide to New York City Cemeteries. Orem, Utah: Ancestry, 2000.
  • The Fairchild Cemetery Manual: A Reliable Guide to the Cemeteries of Greater New York and Vicinity.Brooklyn, NY: Fairchild Sons, 1910.
  • New York State Cemeteries Name/Location Inventory, 1995-1997: Compiled by the Association of Municipal Historians of New York State, 3 vols. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1999.
  • New York State Cemetery Records: Compiled by Missionaries and Members of Eastern States Mission and Typed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Eastern States Mission, 1943-1968.
  • Revised Master Index to the New York State Daughters of the American Revolution Genealogical Records Volumes, 2 books. Prepared by the General Peter Gansevoort Chapter, Albany, NY. Zephyrhills, FL: Mrs. Jean D. Worden, 1998. [Includes cemetery transcriptions]