Some are civic, while others are connected to a church or other place of worship. In most secular cemeteries, the sexton, or cemetery caretaker, keeps the records of the burials in his or her office. A religious leader will do the same for cemeteries adjoining churches. Older records, however, are often housed in larger church or civic repositories. The family didn't even know where he was buried.
Experts tell what to look for in cemeteries and discuss the kinds of records kept there.
A British preservation society shares their methods of preserving information found on deteriorating tombstones. Don't forget to include the date of death and any surviving family members, if they are known. By now, you've had a chance to see many different kinds of records. As you continue gathering information, you'll need to keep track of every place and record you've searched. Even if you think you've written down every scrap of information found in a record, chances are, at some future time, you'll want to refer back to it.