New Jersey Cemetery Records Research Guide
Finding out details needed for family trees and other ancestry projects can be made much easier if you use New Jersey cemetery records.
In fact, many people who do genealogy charts rely on New Jersey cemetery records to help get the job done. When it comes to looking for details like this, you can rely on private, public, national and even hard to find cemeteries.
New Jersey Cemetery and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. Â For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
In fact, the state of New Jersey has three national cemeteries:
- Beverly National Cemetery
- Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery
- Finn’s Point National Cemetery
Any of these or the other numerous cemeteries in the state can help with your New Jersey cemetery records search. The data you retrieve could very easily be the link between hitting a roadblock and finding all the missing data you need.
About These Types of Records
New Jersey cemetery records can be a valuable source of information, yet many people do not even realize this until they use them.
For example, you may be able to find out from New Jersey cemetery records data such as:
- a full legal and maiden name of a person
- the deceased’s original place of birth if different from where the person died
- names of a spouse, children or other useful family member details
Keep in mind while there are certain ways to occasionally find New Jersey cemetery records free of charge, in most cases there is a fee involved.
However, this can be quite well worth the fee because you could get such valuable data, data you do not already have or could not obtain any other way.
New Jersey cemetery records can be easier to track if the person was affiliated with an organization or a member of the military. You may also have better luck with New Jersey cemetery records if you know the county where the person lived or the church he or she attended. Obviously the more information you start your search with, generally the better the results may be.
However, it is possible to track down the New Jersey cemetery records for someone even if you have little to start with.
Research In New Jersey Cemetery Records
The Genealogical Society of New Jersey has been working on transcribing grave markers across the state. Rutgers University holds the largest collection of those transcriptions.
A “master index” is also available for certain cemeteries and lists those buried according to surname. The society has published (1994-2002) cemetery locators for three counties.
Those counties are Monmouth, Mercer, and Morris. It has also published many grave transcriptions in the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, which it produces.
The New Jersey chapters of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) have also amassed a large collection of records from the state’s cemeteries.
Copies of those collections can be found at Rutgers University, as well as at the New Jersey State Library.
The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, New Jersey Historical Society, New York Public Library and Gloucester County Historical Society all have large collections of information on New Jersey cemeteries.
Some cemetery inscriptions from the state have also been published in “The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record” and in other books and collections.
Famous People Buried in New Jersey Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bergen | Vandross, Luther 4/20/1951 – 7/1/2005 George Washington Memorial Park |
Singer. He became famous for his soulful, romantic ballads and his many collaborations with such stars as Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. |
| Camden | Robertson, William 6/21/1821 – 8/10/1888 Old Camden Cemetery |
Civil War Union Army Officer. He served during the Civil War as Colonel and commander of the 24th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. |
| Camden | Whitman, Walt 5/31/1819 – 3/26/1892 Harleigh Cemetery |
Poet. Considered one of America’s foremost men of letters, Whitman was born on Long Island, NY. |
| Essex | Edison, Thomas Alva 2/11/1847 – 10/18/1931 Edison National Historic Site |
Inventor. He was born in Milan, Ohio. |
| Essex | Graham, Andrew J. 1830 – 5/21/1894 Rosedale Cemetery |
Author. He developed the shorthand system known as “Graham’s Shorthand”. |
| Mercer | Cleveland, Grover (Stephen) 3/18/1837 – 6/24/1908 Princeton Cemetery |
22nd and 24th United States President, New York Governor. A Democrat, he was first elected President in 1884, defeated in 1888, and reelected in 1892, becoming the only United States President to serve two non-consecutive terms. |
| Mercer | Kanka, Megan 12/7/1986 – 7/29/1994 Saint Mary’s Cemetery |
Murder Victim. She was murdered by a neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas and it was later discovered that he had been released from prison after having served time for child molestation. |
| Mercer | Mercer, Hugh 1725 – 1/12/1777 Princeton Battlefield Site |
Revolutionary War Continental Brigadier General. Studied medicine in Scotland. |
| Middlesex | Beamer, Todd Morgan 11/24/1968 – 9/11/2001 Brainerd Cemetery |
September 11th United Flight 93 Passenger. A high school athlete in baseball, basketball and soccer, he attended Fresno State University and Wheaton College. |
| Middlesex | Johnson II. , Robert Wood 3/7/1905 – 5/21/1905 Elmwood Cemetery |
Businessman, pharmaceutical magnate, philanthropiSt. Son of Johnson & Johnson founder Robert Wood Johnson and his second wife, Evangeline Armstrong. |
| Monmouth | Lombardi, Vince (Vincent) T. 6/11/1913 – 9/3/1970 Mount Olivet Cemetery |
Hall of Fame Professional Football Coach. Legendary for his discipline, his approach to football fundamentals, and his facility with words and inspirational quips. |
| Ocean | Hindenburg Disaster Memorial – Naval Air Warfare Center |
On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-fueled dirigible exploded as it was circling the central New Jersey plains. The memorial, which rests at the exact site of the explosion, was dedicated in 1987 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the disaster. Hangar Number One, where the giant airship was kept between flights, has been declared a National Historic Site and still remains on the edge of the landing area within sight of the memorial. |
| Union | Houston, Whitney Elizabeth 8/9/1963 – 2/11/2012 Fairview Cemetery |
Recording Artist, Actress, Entertainer. Regarded as one of the finest female vocalists of her generation, she began her musical career singing as a member of the New Hope Baptist Church junior gospel choir. |
| Union | Moore, Dudley (Dudley Stuart John) 4/19/1935 – 3/27/2002 Hillside Cemetery |
Actor, Comedian. He is most remembered for his roles in the films “10” and “Arthur. |
New Jersey Cemeteries
| Cemetery Name | Cemetery City |
|---|---|
| Harleigh Cemetery | Camden |
| Rosedale Cemetery | Linden |
| Rosehill Cemetery and Crematory | Linden |
| Mt. Pleasant Cemetery | Newark |
| Cedar Lawn Cemetery | Paterson |
| Princeton Cemetery | Princeton |
| Riverview Cemetery | Trenton |
New Jersey Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988Â (familysearch.org)
- New Jersey, Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971
- Web: New Jersey, Find A Grave Index, 1664-2011
- Inscriptions, cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, New Jersey
- Find a Grave – New Jersey Cemeteries (findagrave.com)
- The New Jersey Political Graveyard (politicalgraveyard.com)
- New Jersey Cemetery Books (amazon.com)
