How to locate the cemeteries of your ancestors? The best tips
Are you looking for the rest place for your ancestors? Discover effective methods and online resources to locate their burials, whether recent or old.
A few days ago we shared an article to help you find The death of a missing person before or after 1945. To complete this article, today we will focus on cemeteries.
Finding the burial location of your ancestors can enrich your genealogy and connect more to your family history. Whether death is recent or old, several resources and methods can help you in this quest.
How to find the cemetery in which a person was buried?
If it is a “recent” death
There are several solutions to try to find the cemetery in question. Obviously, the recent the death, the easier it will be.
Today it is possible to know thanks to the death opinions published in the paper press or on the Internet.
Then, you can also consult the civil status registers and in particular the INSEE site concerning deaths after 1970. This list will indicate the date and place of death of the person. You can then get closer to the town hall of the death location to try to know which cemetery or colombarium the deceased rests. The town hall responsible for the cemetery will tell you where exactly the deceased (aisle and burial) is located.
There are also websites that listen to cemeteries. Most of them have a search engine to facilitate your research:
or an older death
There are no other documents (which can specify the burial place) than acts of burial under the Old Regime.
At the time, there could be a large and a small cemetery in the same town. The big one was for adults or larger children and the little one was intended for children who have not yet had their communion.
To go further, you can consult these few resources:
• Find a war burial or a monument to the dead
• Look (and find) your ancestors in the cemetery
How to locate the location of a grave in a cemetery?
Once you have found the right cemetery, you will have to find the location of your ancestor's tomb. Several possible solutions:
• Inquire with the town hall of the place of death by giving the name and surname of the deceased.
• Ask a cemetery agent. In addition to the maintenance of the cemetery, he is also in charge of guiding families.
• Request to consult the register of burials at the town hall where the cemetery is located.
Please note, there may be “holes” in the monitoring of burials in the registers.
💡 Le saviez-vous ?
You can ask the town hall services to which a dealership belongs. You will have to find the dealership number (registered on the grave). The town halls have the list of owners and the duration of concessions.
To find out more, you can read the article Who is in the grave? From the Blog Genealanille.
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