Pennsylvania Cemetery Records Research Guide
If you have tried to use other types of records aside from Pennsylvania cemetery records for your genealogy chart, you may find it a bit of a challenge. That is because some vital records in some states are not considered public records. So, while you cannot access or use Pennsylvania adoption records, you should be able to find Pennsylvania cemetery records for your project. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
Here are a few things you should know about Pennsylvania cemetery records though:
- Your best bet may be finding Pennsylvania cemetery records from 1906 on. This is when the state began its statewide record keeping efforts.
- You can get a good deal of important information from these types of records. For instance from Pennsylvania cemetery records you should be able to get a person's name, when and where he or she was born and the name of at least his or her spouse, if the person was married.
- If you can obtain Pennsylvania death records, you may even be able to find out the names of the parents as well.
- Those who seek Pennsylvania cemetery records in person can usually find out more if they visit the final resting place in person. This is because you will find nearby plots of other family members so you can have additional information and clues to help learn more.
What Else You Should Know
Pennsylvania cemetery records may not be as efficient as things such as death records but can often have the same data. Death records often act as a primary source, which means the details have been documented and sometimes even confirmed by an eyewitness. Pennsylvania cemetery records are still useful because you can expect to find many of the same important details.
The trick is finding out which county in Pennsylvania your records may be in. You still may be able to find your Pennsylvania cemetery records without this information, but it may take a little more work. The idea is to start with as much as you can but also just learn to be patient with it. Eventually your Pennsylvania cemetery records or other vital records will help you complete the family tree puzzle you are working on.
Research In Pennsylvania Cemetery Records
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and Historical Society of Pennsylvania each have cemetery record collections. So do several other historical societies and local libraries across the state. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) collection of cemetery records can be found at the Pennsylvania State Library. There are also several funeral director records from Philadelphia available at both the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is also currently in the process of creating an index to the cemetery records that they have collected from around the commonwealth. Many records can also be found in Mechling Books, Closson Press, and similar publications.
Famous People Buried in Pennsylvania Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adams | 1st New Jersey Brigade Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
This monument, dedicated on June 30, 1888, stands in the area on Wiekert Hill where the 1st New Jersey Brigade (1st Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps) was stationed after arriving on the field on July 2, 1863, and during the third day of the Battle |
| Adams | 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
The 23rd Pennsylvania Monument is located on Culp's Hill, Slocum Avenue at The Gettysburg National Military Park. It is a tribute to all the men of the 23rd Pennsylvania. |
| Adams | 4th United States Artillery, Battery K Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
This monument marks the area where Battery K, 4th United States Artillery, commanded by 1st Lieutenant Francis W. Seeley, was positioned when the Union III Corps was extended to Emmitsburg Road around 4PM on July 2, 1863. |
| Adams | 57th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
This memorial monument, dedicated on July 2, 1888, marks the line where the 57th Pennsylvania Infantry fought against the Confederate attacks on the Second day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 2, 1863). |
| Adams | 5th New Hampshire Infantry Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
This monument, dedicated in June 1886, marks the spot where brigade commander Colonel Edward Cross (of the 5th New Hampshire) was mortally wounded during the Second Day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 2,1863). |
| Adams | 84th New York Infantry Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
The 84th New York Volunteer Infantry (also called "the Red Legged Devils" because of the red pants of their uniforms), under the command of Colonel Edward B. Fowler, had a fine and courageous fighting record. |
| Adams | Confederate States Soldiers & Sailors Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
The Confederate States Soldiers & Sailors Monument at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, honoring those who served the Confederate military from the States of Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland. |
| Adams | Irish Brigade Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
Dedicated July 2, 1888. Members of the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York Infantry Regiments are honored by this Monument. They were migrates from Ireland who came to US, to escape political repression and the potato famine. |
| Adams | Pennsylvania Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park |
Dedicated on September 27, 1910, the Pennsylvania Monument was erected as a memorial to the Pennsylvania officers and enlisted men who fought at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. The largest among hundreds of monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park in Adams County, Pennsylvania, the monument is an imposing structure that stands 110 feet tall complete with a spiral staircase that leads to an observation deck. |
| Allegheny | Foster, Stephen 7/4/1826 - 1/13/1864 Allegheny Cemetery |
Composer. He was America's first great songwriter. |
| Allegheny | Gertsch, John Gary 9/29/1944 - 7/19/1969 Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery |
Viet Nam Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served in the United States Army during the war in Viet Nam as a Staff Sergeant in Company E, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. |
| Allegheny | Heinz, Henry John 10/11/1844 - 5/14/1919 Homewood Cemetery |
Henry John Heinz, Ketchup Magnate. At 8 years old he began peddling surplus home-grown vegetables to neighbors; by 1860 he was making three wagon deliveries of his vegetables a week to Pittsburgh grocers. |
| Allegheny | Oliver, Charles 1/13/1905 - 8/30/1920 Richland Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He was a Brevet Captain in the Union Army. |
| Bucks | Buck, Pearl S. 6/26/1892 - 3/6/1973 Green Hills Farm Grounds |
Author, humanitarian, philanthropiSt. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938. |
| Butler | McGonagle, Wilson 1/11/1905 - 9/15/1912 Summit United Presbyterian Church Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Private in the Union Army in Company B, 30th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. |
| Cambria | Johnstown Flood Victims Gravesite - Grandview Cemetery |
A section called the 'Unknown Plot' contains the bodies of 777 flood victims who could not be identified. The State Flood Commission purchased the plot for burying the unknowns and bought markers for each grave and a monument that cost $6,500. It was dedicated on May 31, 1892, exactly three years after the flood. |
| Carbon | Albright, Charles 12/13/1830 - 9/28/1880 Mauch Chunk Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General, US Congressman. He commanded three different Pennsylvania infantry units during the Civil War. |
| Carbon | Thorpe (Wa-Tho-Huk), Jim 5/22/1888 - 3/28/1953 Jim Thorpe Memorial |
Indian Sports Athlete. Jim Thorpe was a Sac and Fox Indian, born in a cabin on the North Canadian River near Prague, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). |
| Chester | Croce, Jim 1/10/1943 - 9/20/1973 Haym Saloman Memorial Park |
Musician. He began his professional music career playing in bands while he was a student at Villanova University in 1964. |
| Chester | McKernan, Bernard 11/1817 - 3/15/1897 Black Rock Cemetery |
British Army Soldier. Last surviving member of the “Charge of the Light Brigade”, which was made famous by the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. |
| Dauphin | Hershey, Milton Snavely 9/13/1857 - 10/13/1945 Hershey Cemetery |
Chocolate Magnate. Milton left the 4th grade at age 13, he worked as an apprentice for a newspaper but was later fired. |
| Erie | Gridley, Charles Vernon 11/24/1844 - 6/5/1898 Lakeside Cemetery |
US Naval Officer. During the Spanish-American War he served as commander of Admiral George Dewey's flagship "USS Olympia". |
| Erie | Young, William 1835 - Erie Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He was born in New York. He entered the Union Navy at New York, New York. |
| Mifflin | Rankin, William 1/9/1905 - 2/2/1916 Saint Marks Cemetery |
Indian Campaigns Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He was a Farrier in the United States Army. |
| Northampton | Mansfield, Jayne 4/19/1933 - 6/29/1967 Fairview Cemetery |
Actress. Born Vera Jayne Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, her family moved to Dallas, Texas, after the death of her father to a heart attack and the remarriage of her mother. |
| Philadelphia | Barrymore (Blythe), John Sidney 2/15/1882 - 5/29/1942 Mount Vernon Cemetery |
Actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 18 in one of his father's productions, but he really wanted to be an artist. |
| Philadelphia | Franklin, Benjamin 1/17/1706 - 4/17/1790 Christ Church Burial Ground |
Declaration of Independence Signer, Continental Congressman, US Diplomat, Printer and Inventor. Published the "Pennsylvania Gazette" and "Poor Richard's Almanac". |
| Philadelphia | Frazier, Joe 'Smokin' Joe' 1/12/1944 - 11/7/2011 Ivy Hill Cemetery |
Hall of Fame Professional Boxer. Olympic Gold Medalist. |
| Philadelphia | Leppien, George Francis 1836 - 5/3/1863 Laurel Hill Cemetery |
Civil War Union Army Officer. Served in the Civil War as Captain and commander of the 1st Maine Light Artillery, Battery F. |
| Philadelphia | Patterson, Francis Engle 3/7/1821 - 11/22/1862 Laurel Hill Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brigadier General. Entered the US Army during the Mexican War as a 2d Lieutenant in the 1st United States Artillery, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant before the end of the war. |
| Philadelphia | Ross, Betsy (Elizabeth Griscom) 1/1/1752 - 1/30/1836 Betsy Ross House |
Revolutionary War Figure. Born Elizabeth Griscom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she has gained legendary status for her role as a seamstress in the creation of the Flag of the United States. |
| Philadelphia | Rush, Richard Henry 1/14/1825 - 10/17/1893 Laurel Hill Cemetery |
Civil War Union Army Officer. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1846 (26th out of 59), he served in the Mexican War as a Lieutenant in the 2nd United States Artillery. |
| Philadelphia | Souder, Emily Bliss 1814 - 12/22/1886 Woodlands Cemetery |
Civil War Figure, Author. Volunteer Civil War Nurse at the battle of Gettysburg. |
| Philadelphia | Thompson, William - 9/12/1872 Mount Moriah Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. Served in the Civil War in the Union Navy as a Signal Quartermaster on board the USS Mohican. He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery during action of the main squadron of ships against heavily defended Forts Beauregard and Walker on Hilton Head, South Carolina on November 7, 1861. |
| Schuylkill | Messerschmidt, Harold O. 4/6/1905 - 9/17/1944 Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery |
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Sergeant in the United States Army in Company L, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. |
| Somerset | Beamer, Todd Morgan 11/24/1968 - 9/11/2001 Flight 93 National Memorial |
September 11th United Flight 93 Passenger. A high school athlete in baseball, basketball and soccer, he attended Fresno State University and Wheaton College. |
| Somerset | Bingham, Mark K. 5/22/1970 - 9/11/2001 Flight 93 National Memorial |
United Flight 93 Passenger. He was a rugby player who helped his University of California at Berkeley team earn two national titles. |
| Union | McCormick, Harry Elwood "Moose" 2/28/1881 - 7/9/1962 Lewisburg Cemetery |
Major League Baseball Player. Outfielder for the New York Giants and then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1904. |
| Westmoreland | Gallagher, Thomas Foster 1/17/1822 - 11/4/1883 New Alexandria Union Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. A mercantile businessman in New Alexandria, Pennsylvania, he was prominent in the pre-War Militia of Pennsylvania, showing an unusual talent for handling troops, so that from Lieutenant he rapidly rose to the rank of General. |
| Westmoreland | Rogers, Fred 3/20/1928 - 2/27/2003 Unity Cemetery |
Educator, Television Show HoSt. He hosted the educational children's program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" from 1968 to 2000. |
Pennsylvania Cemeteries
Pennsylvania Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999
- Pennsylvania, Order Sons of Italy in America, Mortuary Fund Claims, 1917-1978
- Find a Grave - Pennsylvania Cemeteries
- The Pennsylvania Political Graveyard
- Pennsylvania Cemetery Books
