Tombstone & Cemetery RecordsTombstone & Cemetery Records
Cemetery Records are an important source of information. They can provide the approximate dates of birth and death of the decedent, the name of the individual who purchased the burial plot, and the date of the purchase, as well as the names of those buried in adjacent graves, who may also be members of the same family.
The following bibliography is an overview of published sources on this topic. For a complete list of our library holdings related to cemeteries, please search the Library catalog. The following list is not comprehensive, and does not include all of the cemetery records in the Archives' collections, or of published material on this topic. For additional information on local cemeteries, you may want to contact the historical society in the area, many of which conduct surveys of these sites. Please note, cemeteries are private companies and therefore are not required to deposit their records with the state government.
Additional cemetery and interment records are available through Special Collections and Church Records. You can search for a specific church or cemetery by using the Archives search engine.
Tips for Visiting Private Cemeteries
When visiting an active cemetery, remember that a cemetery is a private company, and helping family historians may not be included in the staff's regular responsibilities. While the researcher usually wants to be directed to the location of an actual grave, he/she may also want to know what information is available in the office files (copies of correspondence, obituaries, plat diagrams, and other items).
We offer the following suggestions in order to obtain information:
- Try not to visit the cemetery in the morning, and try not to go on a Monday.
- Always ask if there is a fee involved.
- Take only a few names. Never take a long list.
- Try writing ahead to obtain your information.
- Follow-up with a Thank You Note
Learn about the Rootsweb Tombstone Project
Learn about the burial places of Maryland political figures
Learn which African American Cemeteries in Maryland are online
Bibliography by County
- "Allegany County Maryland Records 1801 - 1921, Volume IV: Lutheran Church, Family Bible and Cemeteries Records." comp. by Margaret Durst Cupler. Cresap Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Cumberland, MD, 1968. LIB 10-4-3
- Cedar Hill Cemetery, Brooklyn Park, Maryland; Gravestone Inscriptions, Volume 1; Interment Records, Volume 2. Edited by Audrey M. Bagby and Betty L. DeKeyser. Pasadena: the Anne Arundel County Genealogical Society, 1999.
- Cemetery Inscriptions of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Ed. by John Thomas Gurney, III. 2 vols. Pasadena: The Anne Arundel Genealogical Society, 1982, 1987. REF A-2-1
- Census of Deceased Personnel Buried on Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Comp. by The Eagle Scouts of Troop 379, Fort Meade, MD, 1979. LIB 2-4-3
- Tombstone Inscriptions of Southern Anne Arundel County. Comp. by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Marlborough Towne Chapter. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1971. REF A-2-1
- The Baltimore County Genealogical Society. Mt Olive Cemetery. Special Publication No. 6. Westminster: Family Line Publications: 1989 LIB 2-4-2
- The Baltimore County Genealogical Society. St. Mary's Cemetery. Special Publication No. 5. Westminster: Family Line Publications: 1985. LIB 2-4-2
- The Baltimore County Genealogical Society. Tombstone Inscriptions of Govans Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Westminster: Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1996 REF A-2-1
- The Baltimore County Historical Society. Eastern Baltimore County [Cemeteries]. Vol. 2. Westminster: Family Line Publications: 1986.
- The Baltimore County Historical Society. Northern Baltimore County. Vol. 1. Family Line Publications: 1985. LIB 2-4-2
- The Baltimore County Historical Society. Various Parts of Baltimore County [Cemeteries]. Vol. 4. Family Line Publications: 1986 LIB 2-4-2
- The Baltimore County Historical Society. Western Baltimore County [Cemeteries]. Vol. 3. Family Line Publications: 1986. LIB 2-4-2
- Brankowitz, Charmaine. Cemetery Inscriptions of the Gunpowder Neck, Edgewood Arsenal and Fort Hoyle, Maryland. N. pl.: Good Business Press,, 1991. LIB 2-4-2
- Brennan, Julie , comp. Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Baltimore: Archdiocese of Baltimore, D, 1987. LIB 2-4-2
- Wilson, Jane B. Very Quiet Baltimoreans: A Guide to the Historic Cemeteries and Burial Sites of Baltimore. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishing, Co., 1991. LIB 11-1-1
- Zimmerman, Elaine Obbink. Records of St. Paul's Cemetery 1855-1946 Located at Druid Hill Park Baltimore City, Maryland. Westminster: Family Line Publications, [1992]. LIB 2-4-4
- Zimmerman, Elaine Obbink, and Kenneth Zimmerman. Interment Records 1883-1929 Lorraine Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, Woodlawn, Maryland. Westminster: Family Line Publications, 1996. REF A-2-1
- Old Graveyards, Calvert County, Maryland. Comp. by Jerry O'Brien and others. Calvert County Genealogy Newsletter, Sunderland, MD, 1986.
- Beneath These Stones, Cemeteries of Caroline County, Maryland. 3 vols. 1985. Available from the Upper Shore Genealogical Society. REF A-2-1
- The Carroll County Genealogical Society. Carroll County Cemeteries: Vol. 1. Southeast. Vol. 2. East-Central. vol. 3: Southwest. Vol. 4: Northeast. Westminster: The Society, REF A--2-1
- Northeast. Compiled by the Carroll County Genealogical Society, Westminster, MD. The society. 1995.
- Deer Park Methodist Cemetery. Comp. by Harold J. Robertson. Westminster: Family Line Publications, 1996. REF A-2-1
- Tombstone Records of Cecil County, Maryland vols. 1, 4. Copied by the Head of Elk Chapter, D.A.R., Elkton, MD, 1964. LIB 2-4-2
- Tombstone and Family Records of Cecil County, Maryland. vol. 1, 3. Copied by the Head of Elk Chapter, D.A.R., Elkton, MD, n.d. LIB 2-4-2
- Tombstone Records of Dorchester County, Maryland 1678 - 1964. comp. by Nellie M. Marshall. Dorchester County Historical Society, n.pl., 1965
- Cavey, Kathleen Tull-Burton. Tombstones and Beyond: Prospect U.M. Church Cemetery and Marvin Chapel Church Cemetery. Westminster: Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1995. REF A-2-1.
- Holdcraft Jacob Mehrling. Names in Stone: 75,000 Cemetery Inscriptions from Frederick County, Maryland. 2 vols. (1966) Repr.: Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. REF A-2-1.
- Holdcraft, Jacob Mehrling. The Monocacy Book Co., Redwood City, CA, 1972. REF A-2-1.
- Maryland's Garrett County Graves. Copied by the Youghiogheny Glades Chapter, D.A.R. Parsons [WV]: McClain Printing Company, 1987. REF A-2-1, 2-4-2
- Tombstone Records of Harford County. 2 vols. Copied by the Genealogical Records Committee, Governor William Paca Chapter, D.A.R. Bel Air, MD, [1964?] ; LIB 2-4-2
- Howard County Maryland Records. Comp. by the Howard County Genealogical Society. 8 vols. [includes cemetery, Bible, and manumission records. LIB 2-4-3
- Tombstone Inscriptions from a Few Cemeteries in Howard County, Maryland. Copied by The Colonel Thomas Dorsey Chapter, D.A.R. n.pub., n.pl., 1960 LIB 2-4-2
- Tombstone Records: Monocacy Cemetery, Beallesville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Bottony Cross Chapter, D.A.R., n.pl., 1960 LIB 2-4-2
- The Cemeteries of Hyattstown. By Dona Lou Cutler. Bowie: Heritage Books, 1999.
- “Some Damascus and Mt. Airy Cemeteries; Surnames,” MGSB 36 (2) 268-271. REF E-2-3
- Stones and Bones: Cemetery Records of Prince George's County, Maryland. Comp. by the Prince George's County Genealogical Society, Inc., Bowie MD, 1984. REF A-2-1
- The Cemetery Records of Queen Anne's County. 2 vols. Available from the Upper Shore Genealogical Society.
- Burials from Tombstones, Grave Markers, and Church Registers of St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1634-1994. comp. by Janet Tice et al. Leonardtown: St. Mary's County Historical Society, 1996. LIB 2-4-3
- Deaths and Burials in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Comp. by Leona Cryer. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1995. REF A-2-1
- Tombstones of Talbot County. 4 vols. 1989-1993. Available from the Upper Shore Genealogical Society. LIB 2-4-2
- Records of the Columbian Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C., vol. 2: 1901-1903; vol. 3: 1903-1904; vol. 4: 1904-1906. Vol. 5: 1906-1914; vol. 6: 1912-1931. Columbian Harmony Society, Washington, DC, 1994. LIB 6-4-4
- Rock Creek Cemetery, 1822 - 1906. 4 vols. The Columbian Harmony Society, Washington, D.C., 1992. LIB 6-4-4
- Rosemont Cemetery (formerly Moore's Cemetery) Washington, D.C. Comp. by Paul E. Sluby, Sr. Washington, D.C.: The Columbian Harmony Society, 1993. LIB 6-4-4
View a partial list of Washington, DC cemeteries
- Stotelmyer, Steven R. The Bivouacs of the Dead: The Story of those Who Died at Antietam and South Mountain. Baltimore, MD: Toomey Press, 1992. LIB 2-4-4
- Washington County, Maryland, Cemetery Records. ed. by Dale W. Murrow. 7 vols. Westminster: Family Line Publications.
- Graveyards and Gravestones of Wicomico. By John E. Jacob, Jr. Available from the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society. LIB 2-4-3
- Cemetery Records of Worcester County, Maryland. Comp. by Ruth T. Dryden. San Diego [CA]: The Author, 1988. REF A-2-1, LIB 2-4-2
Return to the Reference & Research page.
Jump to Series By ID