 The Name
of a Cemetery
by Steve Paul Johnson
November 14, 2001
The name of a cemetery is too easily taken for granted.
When creating a cemetery transcription, transcribers are not doing the
"due diligence" to verify the actual name of the cemetery. This is particularly
the case with cemeteries in rural areas, or abandoned cemeteries.
The trouble occurs when someone uses a transcription to determine the
burial location of a relative or friend. If the correct name is not identified
on the transcription, it can lead people into an endless search.
It can also cause headaches in trying to identify one transcription from
another.
For example, St. Raymonds Cemetery in Bronx County, New York is a very
well known cemetery. But there are actually two of them, both located
close to each other. One is referred to as "Old St. Raymonds" and the
other is referred to as "New St. Raymonds". Sometimes, New St. Raymonds
is just referred to as "St. Raymonds".
When people submit transcriptions for "St. Raymonds Cemetery", we have
to ask for clarification as to which one they are referring to. If we
didn't put any effort into asking for clarification, can you imagine the
gross inaccuracies that would result? We'd end up with records for the
old cemetery published in the new cemetery, and vice-versa. People would
be misled to believe their ancestors were buried in one place, when in
fact they were buried somewhere else.
Even when two cemeteries have different names, the same problem can occur
if they are adjacent to each other. Long Island National Cemetery and
Pinelawn Cemetery are adjoining cemeteries in Farmingdale, New York. We
noticed people referring to the "National Cemetery in Farmingdale", when
in fact they are really talking about Pinelawn. People didn't realize
that there are two separate cemeteries there. They think the whole area
is the National Cemetery.
All throughout the United States, there are two or more cemeteries located
adjacent to each other, and are often not separated by a fence, or any
other noticeable borders. It's easy to understand why one could be mistaken,
but if you're going to create a cemetery transcription, you must take
the responsibility of knowing the subject.
Another source of confusion is old names and new names. During my own
genealogical research, I found references to a cemetery where my ancestors
were buried. I found these references in death certificates, which were
issued in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I didn't stop to think that
the cemetery may have changed names. I figured the cemetery carried the
same name back then as it did now. So, when I called the county courthouse
to lookup the plot numbers, they said there was no such cemetery by that
name. I didn't understand.
It wasn't until several months later that I discovered the cemetery was
now operating under a different name. If you find an old cemetery transcription,
or old death certificates, and you want to compile them to create a burial
listing, then you should be aware that the name of the cemetery may have
changed. It can save your intended readers some grief.
In my own cemetery adventures I find many that have no apparent names.
There is no sign indicating the name of the cemetery, nor is there any
name listed on maps, and nor do any of the locals know of a name. If you
can't find a name through any of the easy channels, contact the local
historical society. Historical societies are devoted to studying the history
of the local area.
I've sometimes found that the historical society will not know of a name.
At that point, I'll often coin a name after the town the cemetery served.
Thus for example, the cemetery in Ludlow, California, would be named,
"Ludlow Cemetery".
Some might argue that it is inappropriate to coin a name, because that
too would mislead people into thinking that that's the correct name. But
there could actually be many cemeteries within the confines of a county
that don't have names. In San Bernardino County, California, there are
perhaps as many as 50 cemeteries and burial sites throughout the Mojave
Desert that don't appear to have any official names. If they were all
identified as "cemetery" or "unnamed cemetery", it would be difficult
for people to identify which cemetery transcription they would need. If
the name of the town or area is tied to the cemetery name, it could at
least guide people to the right transcription.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is published by the United
States Geological Survey as an attempt to create a national index of geographic
features. It's common for people to refer to the GNIS as the official
source of names. After all, the federal government created it, so it must
be official, right?
Well, the problem is that many of the features identified in the GNIS
are out of date. Even though the GNIS is continuously revised, each feature
is not examined continuously. There are cemeteries that were first added
to the GNIS in the 1980's, and have never been reexamined since. So, while
the GNIS has a name for a cemetery, it does not mean that that name is
still current.
Furthermore, much of the names found in the GNIS were extracted from
the USGS 7.5 minute maps. Many of these maps were created in the 1960's
and 1970's. So, the names found in the GNIS come from sources as much
as 40 years old.
The bottom line is that the transcriber of a cemetery must take responsibility
in correctly identifying the cemetery. The people who will use that transcription
will assume the transcriber has extensive knowledge of the cemetery, and
will accept the transcription as evidence of fact.
Creating a cemetery transcription is more than capturing the tombstone
inscriptions, or copying the sexton records. It includes many elements,
and among them is the official name, including any other nicknames and
prior names.
- Steve Paul Johnson
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