New Hampshire Cemetery Records Research Guide
New Hampshire cemetery records could be the difference between having your genealogy records complete or not. Many people do not realize how valuable things such as New Hampshire cemetery records can be to completing certain family tree or genealogy related projects. Of course, it could be because many people are not yet aware of the data you can get from New Hampshire cemetery records. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
For one thing, you can get more than the date of death. New Hampshire cemetery records can lead you to the full name of a person including the maiden name as well as the date and place of death. You may also be able to find out about a person’s family including marriage and surviving children. Finally, New Hampshire cemetery records could also help you find out if a person belonged to any organizations or had any affiliations, such as the military for instance.
What to Expect
New Hampshire is a state with rich history, so if you are looking for older New Hampshire cemetery records you may be able to find them. In some searches, it was possible to find records starting at least as far back as 1913. Yet with a more extensive search you may be able to find dates that go back even further. Having an approximate date and county within the state are possibly the two most useful bits of data to start with.
Knowing a little about the people you are tracing, such as the religion they may have, followed can also help you find data, especially with New Hampshire cemetery records. This may help you track down which cemetery in the state a person ended up in. If you plan to actually travel to the cemetery and see the burial plot, you can also get information about those relatives buried around the person you were looking for.
Most people, however, simply track down things such as tombstone transcriptions when searching for New Hampshire cemetery records. While this may not give you the extra information going to the cemetery could, it is certainly easier. For your next genealogy project, consider trying New Hampshire cemetery records to see what exactly it can help you find out.
Research In New Hampshire Cemetery Records
Various repositories hold manuscripts of cemetery records, but many of them have not been published. The local DAR chapters have a large typescript collection of cemetery records, which they update each year. The New Hampshire Historical Society has those volumes on file, along with a constantly growing assortment of microfilmed cemetery inscriptions. The New Hampshire Historical Society also has a large collection of cemetery inscriptions, many of which have been indexed. Several of those inscriptions are from towns in the southeastern part of the state. Local historical societies and genealogical periodicals also publish cemetery inscriptions all the time.
Famous People Buried in New Hampshire Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Carroll | Rains, Claude 11/10/1889 – 5/30/1967 Red Hill Cemetery |
Actor. Born William Claude Rains in London, England, the son of British stage actor Frederick Rains, he made his stage debut at the age of eleven, and learned the technical end of the business working first as a page, then working up to stage manager. |
| Merrimack | McAuliffe, Christa (Sharon) 9/2/1948 – 1/28/1986 Blossom Hill Cemetery |
Astronaut, Educator. She was a teacher, and was slated to be the first civilian in space, assigned to fly about the ill-fated space shuttle “USS Challenger”. |
New Hampshire Cemeteries
| Cemetery Name | Cemetery City |
|---|---|
| Ambleside Cemetery | Barrington |
| Chester Village Cemetery | Chester |
| Blossom Hill Cemetery | Concord |
| Old North Cemetery | Concord |
| Old Burying Ground | Jaffrey Center |
| Plains Cemetery | Kingston |
| Merrill Cemetery | Manchester |
| Pine Grove Cemetery | Manchester |
| Valley Cemetery | Manchester |
| Matthew Thornton Cemetery | Merrimack |
| Old Burying Ground / Elm Street Cemetery | Milford |
| Gilson Road Cemetery | Nashua |
| Old North Burial Ground | Portsmouth |
| Beebe Family Cemetery | Star Island |
| Lower Warner Cemetery | Warner |
| Old Burying Ground | Washington |
| Eagle Pond Cemetery | Wilmot |
| Laurel Hill Cemetery | Wilton |
New Hampshire Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- Colonial Gravestone Inscriptions in the State of New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association (rootsweb.ancestry.com)
- New Hampshire Cemeteries (freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com) Featuring a collection of Central New Hampshire Gravestone Photos
- A Very Grave Matter (gravematter.com)
- Find a Grave – New Hampshire Cemeteries (findagrave.com)
- The New Hampshire Political Graveyard (politicalgraveyard.com)
- New Hampshire Cemetery Books (amazon.com)
