Cemeteries (VA-NOTES)

Cemetery interment registers and gravestone inscriptions may often be sources of useful information for Virginia researchers. The state government does not have a long, uninterrupted, centralized file of birth and death records that are readily accessible to researchers. Wars, floods, and fires have destroyed the vital record of many of Virginia's counties. Oftentimes, information found in cemetery records and on gravestones cannot be found anywhere else. When looking for a specific cemetery in Virginia, you may wish to start with the following comprehensive resource.

Virginia Cemeteries: A Guide to Resources, edited by Anne M. Hogg, with Dennis A. Tosh (Charlottesville, 1986) contains descriptions and locations of hundreds of Virginia cemeteries, which are indexed both by cemetery name and by location. For cemeteries that were still being used or maintained when the editors were compiling the data, the name and address of the keeper is also included, although some of that information may now be obsolete.

It is also possible to search for specific cemeteries through your computer. Use your search engine to enter specific keywords.

Books abstracting the information on tombstones and/or registers are also useful resources. Check the Online Catalog of the Library of Virginia by going to the Library's home page.

An online series on Research in Virginia Documents. Prepared by Daphne Gentry, Publications and Education Services Division. Copyright by The Library of Virginia; this note may be reproduced in full if proper credit is given and no changes are made.