Enrollment options

Course image American: Cemetery Records
Intermediate American Records
Course Summary:

Optional Print Course Material: American: Cemetary Records

*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.

This course will explore the history of cemeteries, the symbolism used, and the types of cemeteries. We will discuss the records created, how to locate a gravesite, and a summary of records published in books and online.


Contact Hours: 18
Grading Scale: 70% Tests/30% Assignments
Course Length: 8 weeks
Course Content

MODULE 1
DEATH, DYING & THE HISTORY OF CEMETERIES
Early History of Burials in the World
United States
Funeral Customs

MODULE 2
GRAVESTONES SPEAK
Introduction
Colonial America
New England
Ethnic Influences
18th, 19th & 20th Centuries

MODULE 3
TYPES OF CEMETERIES & THEIR RECORDS
Cemetery Types
Churchyard Burial Grounds
Potter’s Fields
State & National Cemeteries
Cemetery Records

MODULE 4
LOCATING A GRAVE
Introduction
Find A Grave
Interment.net
Billion Graves
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project

MODULE 5
CARING FOR GRAVESTONES & ABSTRACTING THEIR RECORDS
Preservation of Gravestones
Collecting the Data

MODULE 6
PUBLISHED & ONLINE SOURCES
Introduction
The Published Book
Books to Electronic Files
Online Sources
Miscellaneous Sources