Ancestry Magazine

Odd as it might sound to those not actively engaged in genealogical research, among the best places to begin discovering, exploring, and discerning the history of a community is in its cemeteries. As the death event in an ancestor’s life often generates a great number of records, so too focusing on that time period when you are exploring the history of an area through its graveyards can generate much historical information—and cemeteries are a good place to find new clues to your family’s history as well.

Discovering the Community’s Past
When conducting onsite research, you may find it beneficial to schedule some time to visit the community’s oldest cemetery in addition to those cemeteries you believe may contain your ancestors’ tombstones.

In exploring a community’s oldest cemeteries, you will often find commemorative stones or markers detailing casualties of battles fought in the vicinity from the earliest times of settlement as well as lists of soldiers from the community who gave their lives in other battles and wars in which our country engaged. These chiseled lists of the earliest soldiers can help benchmark the earliest established settlements in the area.

Similarly, you may find markers honoring public servants and groups of local officials. Monuments listing founding settlers and individuals important to the progress of the community may also be found in a town’s earliest cemeteries. The study of these monuments can shed some light on the reasons for the settlement and development of the area.

The oldest and largest cemeteries in a community may contain monuments to founding families and immigrant groups comprising some of the first settlers. These monuments can list not only the names and vital dates of the people who blazed the trail for future settlement but may also list details of their origin and clues regarding their reasons for settling in the area. Cemetery surveys of particular areas can be enlightening if you are trying to develop meaningful theories about immigration causes and migration paths. The historical details uncovered can be relevant to your research even if your ancestors are not listed on the monuments or special markers.

For example, Evergreen Mortuary, Cemetery and Memorial Park in Tucson, Arizona, contains a number of tombstones of Near-Eastern and Asian immigrants. A general survey of these stones shows many of the individuals who were born in the last part of the 1800s and died in the Tucson area in early- t o mid-1900s. What would have brought individuals and families from the Asian continent to the American southwest? With a quick look at the history of the area it is clear that these immigrants came to work in the mines or for the railroads.

With the knowledge that mining activities were taking place in the area, you can pursue a number of avenues for discovering all the records that might document the industry and the people involved. Search for mining company ledgers and records—everything from pay-books and time logs to accident reports and sales records. These records could evidence individuals working and living in the area. Local and state historical societies are good repositories to explore when seeking such records.

Mining as well as building railroads required the acquisition of land. The land records, including deeds and plat maps, for the Tucson, Arizona, area may provide some additional data about the people of the region, including those landowners who were not directly involved in either endeavor. Also, both mining and railroad industries were frequently written about in local and regional newspapers so you’ll want to explore newspapers for more than the names and vital events of ancestors.

Also in the Evergreen Cemetery are a number of Jewish tombstones. These can be readily identified by the star of David carved on the headstones as well as the Hebrew or Yiddish inscriptions above the English inscriptions. The possible presence of a Jewish community should lead you to directories for determining who the rabbis were and where the synagogues were located. This strategy should help you determine the existence of any records that might provide more details about Jewish citizens in the area.

It is critical to allow evidence of one event in a geographic area to lead to more sources of information. And it is in the cemetery that proof of many historical activities of a community are evidenced in remarkable ways. For instance, in infants’ sections of some older cemeteries it is possible to plot the occurrences of epidemics and other contagious diseases by noting the clusters of years when groups of young ones died.

Location, Location, Location
In surveying a specific plot, record all the names of those buried in the plot. The stones themselves may provide valuable information on the collateral lines related to an ancestor.

The Brackenridge family plot in the Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is an excellent example. It contains the following names on tombstones: Frances A., wife of Robert Brackenridge; Charles Starr Brackenridge; Robert Brackenridge; Helen McCarty, first wife of Robert Brackenridge; George Harrison Brackenridge; Mrs. James Crisfield Beeks, nee Sarah Jane Brackenridge; James Crisfield Beeks; and Frances Key Brackenridge Edgerton.

From these tombstones it is possible to develop the hypothesis that McCartys, Beeks, and Edgertons married into the family, and that Starr, Harrison, and Crisfield are middle names derived from maiden names of earlier family lines.

Family Clues on the Tombstone
As your cemetery survey is narrowed from an overview of the graveyard to a study of specific family plots, try to glean all the data available from the stones. Most researchers record the name and vital date information found on a tombstone, but everything on the tombstone should be recorded. You’ll want the names and dates of birth and death as well as any symbols and additional phrases, regardless of the language it is written in.

For example, the tombstone of Antonio Romeo Di Andrea, located in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio, when translated from the Italian, shows that he was twenty-six years old when he died 30 August 1918 and that he was born at Capace, province of Palermo. It also states that the tombstone was erected by the Society of Italian [Brotherhood] of Mutual Aid. From the grave’s position in the cemetery, we can determine a likely Catholic parish from which he was buried—a parish where we can now search for other family members. We also know where in Italy he was born, and we know a society that may have more information about Antonio and his family.

While the majority of tombstones do not contain such detail, it is worthwhile to look for the name of the stone carver or monument company responsible for the tombstone. Even finding such information on the tombstone of an unrelated individual may provide some insight about the individual or company servicing the area. With that data, you can explore records of the stone carver. City directories covering the same town or area as the cemetery can provide a list of stone carvers and monument companies to explore.

Studying tombstone art and iconography can also yield important information. Depending on the time period, various regions of the country and particular ethnic groups mounted photographs in cases or frames to the front of the tombstone. There are also numerous symbols that represent occupations and interests. Equally numerous are the symbols that represent secret societies, fraternal organizations, religious orders and associations, and clubs. For example, the Raffaela Albanese mon ument in Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery has the organizational emblem of the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle chiseled in the bottom right corner.

Douglas Keister’s Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography (Gibbs Smith, 2004) is an excellent reference for abbreviations and symbols found on tombstones. Richly illustrated, and well-researched and written, one of the highlights of the work is the more than twenty pages devoted to the acronyms of societies, clubs, and organizations. The list is one of the most complete lists available in published form. In addition, many occupational symbols are shown as are the more unique symbols of various organizations.

Moving Beyond the Cemetery
Once you’ve identified the gravesite of an ancestor and noted the information recorded on the tombstone, it is worth your time to locate the actual business records of the cemetery.

Cemetery records may contain information about who purchased the burial plots of your ancestors, the name of the mortician or funeral home involved with the burial, the identity of the stone carver or monument company, whether the body was removed from a previous burial location, and, in some instances, who approved or signed to open the burial plot to receive remains if it was not the original purchaser.

The variety and inconsistency of cemetery business records may be frustrating to research. Be sure to check local funeral homes, public libraries, and local historical societies for assistance.

Finally, be aware of signs that your ancestor’s grave is regularly or recently visited. Fresh flowers, a new flag, a personal note tacked to the monument, a new commemorative marker or sign, even a repair to a damaged stone are signs that someone is paying special attention to your ancestor’s grave. If it looks as though someone (perhaps a family member) is visiting the grave, engage the sexton, groundskeeper, or even neighbors to determine if the individual’s identity can be ascertained. That unidentified family member may hold the key to unlocking much information about your ancestor.

If a cemetery association is making repairs from designated funds, find out what other records and resources the association might have to shed light on the past. If a local DAR chapter is putting out new flags twice a year, determine what historical records they may have compiled about veterans and others in the area. Perhaps they have read many of the tombstone inscriptions in the area. If a church group is taking on responsibility for upkeep of the cemetery, find out if there is a particular reason why.

Through USGenWeb projects, you may find many county-by-county lists of cemeteries across the United States. Using websites of libraries, genealogical societies, and historical organizations, you can locate cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions that have been indexed or abstracted. These organizations can be helpful in identifying cemetery associations and other similar entities.

The amount of historical and genealogical data that can be gleaned from a careful, investigative look at the cemeteries in your area of research is impressive. This is particularly true if you allow the clues and evidence discovered to lead you to other sources and data. Dig a little deeper and you may find that the stones really do speak.

Curt B. Witcher, ML S, FUGA, is the Historical Genealogy Department Manager at the Allen County Public Library and a former president of both the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society.