The Information You Can Dig Up From Cemetery Records
The act of burying loved ones and marking their final resting place is a practice that has been going on for thousands and thousands of years. Take the ancient pyramids for example, these are one of the best examples that still stand to this day to reminds us all of the glorification ancient Egyptians placed on the belief of life after death.
Another example is the underground burial site for early Christians known as the Roman catacombs, which are made up of alcoves where fully clothed bodies were placed and then sealed tightly with a slab on which the name of the deceased, a religious symbol and the date of death were inscribed.
Cemeteries all around the world are living history lessons full of things that we can learn about our ancestors and our family history. Cemetery records are filled with information about the deceased as well as the ones they left behind. Although cemetery records are not typically considered a main source for information, it is an excellent place to find places of birth, dates, and names of spouses, maiden names as well as the names of the deceased's parents. In addition, you should also be able to obtain information regarding any time served in the military, memberships in any fraternal organizations as well as any religious affiliations of the deceased.
Even if you already know the date of birth and date of death for your ancestors, you should still take the time to browse through the cemetery records. The main reason is that there is so much information available that you never know what you may find. You may discover gravestones near members of your family belonging to deceased relatives you of whom you were not already aware. In addition, cemetery records are the ideal place to find information on ancestors who died in childhood or infancy and may not have any other records elsewhere.
The first step to finding information about your ancestors through cemetery records is the most obvious. You need to have an idea of the particular cemetery in which your ancestors were laid to rest. You can find this information by searching obituaries as well as death records; both often contain this pertinent information. You should be able to find cemetery surveys listing your ancestors that have been published for public viewing. In addition, you could also ask living family members about the final resting place of many of your ancestors.
The Internet is quickly becoming the most popular way to search for the cemetery records of your long lost ancestors. A number of sites provide links directly to online cemetery records, or your favorite search engine should be adequate for finding a specific cemetery where you ancestors may be buried. In addition, you may be able to benefit from using special geographical place name searches to locate various cemeteries. Keep in mind that the information that you find on the Internet will vary greatly from one country to the next.
In addition, to researching cemetery records online, a lot can be learned from taking the time to visit the cemeteries in person.