Connecticut cemetery records can provide people with a lot of the information they need to create family trees. People do this for many reasons, but mostly because they want to leave a legacy for future generations, so they will know about their family history. Many documents are necessary to complete a family tree, including Connecticut cemetery records, and they can provide you with information that you may not be able to get any place else. For example, if you want to know how old a person was when they died, this is one of the best ways to find out. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
Other information contained in Connecticut cemetery records includes:
- Date of Death – When you are creating a family tree, you want your information to be as detailed and accurate as possible. You will need to include birth dates as well as dates of deaths, which you can find in Connecticut cemetery records.
- Location of Death – It may be that the person you are currently researching did not die in the same area where they were buried. You can get this information from Connecticut cemetery records.
- Cause of Death – This is a crucial piece of information for your research. Your Connecticut cemetery records may even hold the name of the attending physician at the time of death, which is just more interesting information for future generations to learn.
- Names of Immediate Family Members – Not only can Connecticut cemetery records provide information about the person you are currently researching, they can lead you to other names to research. You can usually find the names of the immediate family members of the deceased in Connecticut cemetery records.
Creating a detailed family tree doesn’t have to be a difficult job. When you have Connecticut cemetery records and other documents, you will have all of the information you need right at your fingertips, and you can get to work creating a family tree that future generations can continue to add to. Contact the various cemeteries to find out how you can get copies of Connecticut cemetery records to use for your research.
Research In Connecticut Cemetery Records
Most of the cemetery records for Connecticut have been centralized.
The Hale Collection, which included more than one million inscriptions from gravestones around the state, can be found at the Connecticut State Library. There were more than 2,000 cemeteries in the state that were part of the Hale Collection’s accumulation of inscriptions, even though some of the gravestones had been destroyed by the time the Hale Collection was compiled. The inscriptions for each town are contained in their own volumes. However, there is an index of them all available and it is organized in alphabetical order by town name. The FHL has microfilmed volumes for both the statewide indexes and the town indexes available.
Some of the cemeteries in the state of Connecticut were run privately, while others were run by churches or towns. Some were even created for specific families. Each cemetery’s administrators kept their own records, but death records weren’t required to include burial place until the 1900s. Several historical societies in Connecticut hold cemetery records that were not part of the Hale Collection. The Washington D.C. DAR Library and the Connecticut State Library each hold family, Bible and cemetery records as well.
Generally, from the late nineteenth century onward, “Burial Books” were kept by the town clerks. Those documents usually included the place of burial for anyone who passed away outside of the town limits.
Famous People Buried in Connecticut Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | Barnum, Phineas T. 7/5/1810 – 4/7/1891 Mountain Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Legendary 19th Century American showman and circus promoter. Best remembered for founding the first modern three-ring circus, which also would eventually became the biggest and most important circus in the world, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. |
| Fairfield | Borge (Rosenbaum), Victor (Borge) 1/3/1909 – 12/23/2000 Putnam Cemetery |
Pianist, Symphony Conductor, Composer, Comedian, Entertainer, Actor. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of Bernhard and Frederikke Rosenbaum he was named Børge. |
| Fairfield | Goodman, Benny (Benjamin David) 5/30/1909 – 6/13/1986 Long Ridge Union Cemetery |
Bandleader, Clarinetist, Composer. Famously known as “The King of Swing. |
| Fairfield | Radner, Gilda 6/28/1946 – 5/20/1989 Long Ridge Union Cemetery |
Actress, Comedienne. She gained wide fame in the mid-1970s as an original cast member of television’s hit comedy series, “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). |
| Fairfield | Travers, Mary 11/9/1936 – 9/16/2009 Umpawaug Cemetery |
VocaliSt. Along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, they formed the legendary folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. |
| Hartford | Colt, Samuel 7/19/1814 – 1/10/1862 Cedar Hill Cemetery |
Inventor, IndustrialiSt. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he was a weapons inventor and founder of Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company. |
| Hartford | Hepburn, Katharine 5/12/1907 – 6/29/2003 Cedar Hill Cemetery |
Actress, Hollywood legend. Born into an affluent yet unconventional family in Hartford, Connecticut, her parents, Dr. |
| Hartford | Morgan, John Pierpont ‘J.P. ‘ 4/17/1837 – 3/31/1913 Cedar Hill Cemetery |
Businessman. Considered a legendary figure in American Financial History, he is best known as founder of the banking house of “J. |
| Litchfield | Neal, Patricia 1/20/1926 – 8/8/2010 Abbey of Regina Laudis |
Actress. Striking, husky-voiced leading lady of stage and screen. |
| Litchfield | Widmark, Richard 12/26/1914 – 3/24/2008 Roxbury Center Cemetery |
Actor. He spent his early teenage years growing up in Illinois and throughout the Midwest before entering Lake Forest College in Illinois with the intent of pursuing a degree in law. |
| Middlesex | Carney, Art 11/4/1918 – 11/9/2003 Riverside Cemetery |
Actor, Comedian. He is most remembered for his role of city sewer worker ‘Ed Norton,’ in the long running television series, “The Honeymooners” (1951-1956), in which he played the foil to Jackie Gleason’s bus driver role of ‘Ralph Kramden. “ |
| Middlesex | Johnston Sr. , William James 8/15/1918 – 5/29/1990 State Veterans Cemetery |
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Private First Class, Machine Gunner, in the United States Army in Company G, 180th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division. |
| New Haven | Goodyear, Charles 12/29/1800 – 7/1/1860 Grove Street Cemetery |
Inventor. He invent the vulcanization process that made rubber the practical waterproof material we know today. |
| New Haven | Miller, Glenn (Alton G. ) 3/1/1904 – 12/15/1944 Grove Street Cemetery |
Jazz Bandleader, TromboniSt. Born Alton Glenn Miller in Clarinda, a small rural southwestern Iowa town, the family soon moved to Grant City, Missouri, where he went to grade school. |
| New Haven | Murphy, James T. 1/12/1905 – 1/11/1904 Saint Bernards Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Sergeant in the Union Army. |
| New Haven | Soderman, William Adolph 3/20/1912 – 10/20/1980 Oak Grove Cemetery |
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Private First Class, Bazooka Gunner, in the United States Army in Company K, 9th Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. |
| New Haven | Tucker, Allen 1/11/1905 – 2/22/1903 Evergreen Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Sergeant in the Union Army in Company F, 10th Connecticut Infantry. |
| New Haven | Webster, Noah 10/16/1758 – 5/28/1843 Grove Street Cemetery |
Dictionary Publisher. Thanks to him, the American and British versions of the English language became separate, unique languages. |
| New Haven | Whitney, Eli 12/8/1765 – 1/18/1825 Grove Street Cemetery |
Inventor. Eli Whitney was born on a farm in Westborough, Connecticut, spending most of his young life in his father’s tool shop. |
| New Haven | Winchester, Oliver Fisher 11/30/1810 – 12/11/1880 Evergreen Cemetery |
Businessman. He founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut, and facilitated the creating of the Winchester repeating rifle. |
| Tolland | Hale, Nathan 6/6/1755 – 9/22/1776 Nathan Hale Cemetery |
Revolutionary War Captain, Spy. Captured by British troops and executed 2 days later. |
| Tolland | Pitney, Gene 2/17/1940 – 4/5/2006 Center Cemetery |
Rock Musician. A native of Rockville, Connecticut, he is best remembered for his memorable recordings of such songs as, ‘A Town Without Pity,’ ‘Only Love Can Break A Heart,’ Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa,’ ‘It Hurts To Be In Love,’ and ‘I’m Gonna be Strong. |
Connecticut Cemeteries
| Cemetery Name | Cemetery City |
|---|---|
| Westford Hill Cemetery | Ashford |
| Mountain Grove Cemetery | Bridgeport |
| Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery | Burlington |
| Nathan Hale Cemetery | Coventry |
| Great Plain Cemetery | Danbury |
| Wooster Cemetery
[3]
|
Danbury |
| Union Cemetery | Easton |
| Oaklawn Cemetery | Fairfield |
| Old Burying Ground | Fairfield |
| Riverside Cemetery | Farmington |
| Green Cemetery | Glastonbury |
| Ancient Burying Ground | Hartford |
| Cedar Hill Cemetery | Hartford |
| South Burying Ground | Kensington |
| Mansfield Center Cemetery | Mansfield |
| Milford Cemetery | Milford |
| Stepney Cemetery | Monroe |
| Gunntown Cemetery | Naugatuck |
| Grove Street Cemetery | New Haven |
| Antientest Burial Ground | New London |
| All Saint’s Cemetery | North Haven |
| Almshouse Cemetery | Norwich |
| Cypress Cemetery | Old Saybrook |
| Bara-Hack Cemetery | Pomfret |
| Great Hill Cemetery | Seymour |
| Gregory’s Four Corners Burial Ground | Trumbull |
| Palisado Cemetery | Windsor |
| Woodstock Hill Cemetery | Woodstock |
Connecticut Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- Connecticut Tombstone Inscription Project (usgwtombstones.org)
- Connecticut Obituary Project (usgwarchives.net)
- Epodunk – Connecticut Cemeteries (epodunk.com)
- Find a Grave – Connecticut Cemeteries (findagrave.com)
- Web: Connecticut, Find A Grave Index, 1636-2011
- Connecticut Cemeteries at Internment.net (interment.net)
- The Connecticut Political Graveyard (politicalgraveyard.com)
- Connecticut Cemetery Books (amazon.com)
