Death in Context: Exploring Records, Burial Practices, and Memorial Landscapes in America (part 1)

Death is among the most thoroughly documented events in an ancestor’s life, yet the records and places associated with death reveal far more than a single date or event. This course examines two interconnected aspects of genealogical death research: documentary evidence and the history of American burial practices. Beginning with familiar sources such as death certificates, participants will move beyond their basic informational content to examine their historical development and standardization. Additional death-related records—including both familiar and lesser-used sources—will be explored to demonstrate how they contribute to a more complete understanding of an ancestor’s final years and the communities in which they lived.

The second half of the course turns to the historical development of American cemeteries and changing burial practices. Participants will examine the evolution of cemetery landscapes, including rural (garden) cemeteries, ethnic and religious burial grounds, memorial parks, and other specialized cemeteries, considering how social, cultural, religious, and economic influences shaped these spaces. The course concludes with an in-depth study of grave markers as historical artifacts, emphasizing methods for documenting, analyzing, and interpreting their materials, craftsmanship, iconography, inscriptions, and symbolism. Throughout the course, students will apply historical context, material culture, and social history to enrich their genealogical research. The course culminates in student presentations that synthesize the concepts explored, fostering collaborative discussion and a deeper understanding of death as both a historical event and a genealogical research subject.

**Please note: This course is Part 1 of a 2-part series. Part 1 focuses on records, cemeteries, and grave markers. Part 2 will explore the social history surrounding death including funerals, mourning, health, and cemeteries. For those who want to register for Part 2, you will need to have taken the previous version of Part 1 or this new updated version to prepare you for Part 2.

Monday, January 25

8:00am, Course Introductions

8:30-9:45am, History of Death Certificates

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

American death certificates are familiar documents for genealogists seeking to prove an ancestor’s death and burial. But what is their history and why do they contain the information they do? What are they missing? What information do they do tell us that is “hidden?” In this presentation we will explore the history of American death certificate and how they became standardized. We will explore the reason behind the keeping of death information and the international classification of disease. Finally, we will look at examples and how to better analyze these records. 

10:15-11:30am, The Paper Trail of Death: Records that Document Death, Part One

Instructor: Amy Urman

This presentation reviews documents that were created at the time of death. We will discuss death documentation, and explore how these records have evolved from simple, handwritten entries to comprehensive databases.

1:00-2:15pm, Life, Death, and Relationships: Understanding Estates and Inheritance

Instructor: Paul Graham

Probate records are central to our work as genealogists. Arising from laws of inheritance, they document relationships within families in ways few other records can. Learn the structure of estates, the content of records, and the evidence these sources provide for documenting our ancestors.

2:45-4:00pm, The Records Beneath the Stones: Discovering and Interpreting American Cemetery Records

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

Cemetery records are essential resources for genealogists. When they exist, they represent far more than documentation of a final resting place. This presentation explores the history and development of cemetery records in the United States, examining how burial practices, recordkeeping traditions, religious beliefs, community structures, and changing social conditions influenced the creation and preservation of these sources. Participants will learn about the many forms of cemetery documentation—including burial registers, sexton records, cemetery maps, and related sources—as well as strategies for locating records in cemeteries, archives, and digital collections. By placing cemetery records within their historical context, genealogists will gain a deeper understanding of how to interpret these resources and use them to uncover the lives, communities, and experiences of their ancestors.

Tuesday, January 26

8:30-9:45am, Beyond the Mortality Schedule: Death, Dying, and the U.S. Census

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

This presentation explores ways the United States census documents death beyond the familiar mortality schedules. Beginning with the history and evolution of the federal census, we will examine how changing census questions, enumerator instructions, and specialized schedules provide valuable clues to changing household composition. Participants will learn how to identify direct and indirect evidence of death within population schedules and discover how census records can reveal stories that extend far beyond a simple enumeration. By placing these records within their historical context, genealogists will gain a deeper understanding of both the census itself and its value as a source for researching death and family history.

10:15-11:30am, Death in the Newspaper

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

If we are researching a death in the newspaper, we look for obituaries. But what other articles report on death? In this presentation we will look at the history of American newspapers, the different types of newspapers, including ethnic, academic and religious, and the various types of articles, including obituaries, that report on illness and death. 

1:00-2:15pm, Ashes to Archives: How U.S. Churches Remembered their Dead

Instructor: Sunny Jane Morton

For millions of Americans, the church was the center of community life–and death. Long before civil registration, and then in parallel to it, congregations recorded the passing of their members. Explore church death and burial registers, cemetery records, funeral programs, religious newspaper obituaries, ministers’ memorials, and other records kept across a variety of denominational traditions. Most importantly, you’ll learn to think denominationally: understanding that finding these records requires knowing where your ancestor worshipped and how that tradition preserved its history. Whatever your ancestors’ religious loyalty, their church may hold the key to documenting their death.

2:45-4:00pm, Buried in Silence: Researching Burials for the Poor and Unmarked Graves in America

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

Not every ancestor was laid to rest beneath an elaborate monument. Throughout American history, poverty, circumstance, disease, and social status often determined where—and whether—a person received a marked burial. This presentation examines the history of potter’s fields, public and charitable burials, institutional cemeteries, and unmarked graves, placing these practices within their historical and social context. Participants will learn how burial customs for the poor evolved over time and what records may document these overlooked burials. By exploring municipal, institutional, cemetery, and death-related records, we will discover research strategies for uncovering the final resting places of ancestors whose burials have long remained hidden.

Wednesday, January 27

8:30-9:45am, A Survey of American Cemeteries 

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

Cemeteries aren’t all the same. Cemeteries in America differ according to time period, region, religion, and circumstance. In order to better understand American cemeteries, this introductory survey will explore the history of burial in the United States and what types of cemeteries you will find according to time and place. This presentation will prepare the student for the focus on specific types of cemeteries presented in this course. 

10:15-11:30am, Survey of Early American Carvers, 1620-1800

Instructor: Marian Pierre-Louis

Gravestones from the 1600s still exist today as a reminder of the early founders of the American colonies. We will take a broad look at the earliest carvers and the development of the carving industry with reflection on their choice of stone, engraving style, symbolism, and geographic diversity.

1:00-2:15pm, The Rural (aka Garden) Cemetery Movement in the U.S. and Around the World

Instructor: Marian Pierre-Louis

The 19th rural cemetery movement demonstrated a dramatic change in approach to cemeteries. The rural cemeteries were relocated away from urban centers and focused on horticulture and landscape design. Suddenly cemeteries became not just a place for burying the dead but a destination. We’ll explore their history and take a look at some of the most famous rural cemeteries.

2:45-4:00pm, From Tombstones to Memorial Parks: The Transformation of American Cemeteries

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

For genealogists, cemeteries are more than burial places—they are rich historical records that reflect changing attitudes toward death, remembrance, and community. This presentation discusses the evolution of American burial grounds from churchyards and rural cemeteries to the landscaped memorial parks that emerged in the twentieth century. Participants will explore why memorial parks gained popularity, how they differed from traditional cemeteries, and the social, cultural, and economic forces that shaped their development. Special attention will be given to the genealogical challenges and opportunities presented by memorial parks, including the use of flat markers. By understanding the history of these modern burial landscapes, researchers will gain valuable insight into locating and interpreting more modern final resting places.

Thursday, January 28

8:30-9:45am, Meaningful Deaths: US Military Burials & Memorialization 

Instructor: KB Barcomb

The magnitude and violence of the Civil War brought about a major shift in how the United States accounted for, buried, and memorialized both its wartime casualties and deceased veterans. This session examines the practical and social considerations that shaped military burial practices, from the haphazard and often mass burials of the Revolutionary War to the 20th Century expectation of individual identification and remembrance. Understanding these changes, the records they generated, and the role of memorials can provide us new and valuable insights into our family history. 

10:15-11:30am, Studies of African American Cemeteries through Time

Instructor: Ari Wilkins

This lecture will explore cemeteries created for the enslaved, freedmen, and formerly enslaved African Americans. It will look at how segregation shaped the distinction of African American burial grounds. The discussion will highlight historic African American cemeteries and the rituals and artifacts found within them. It will also examine the role of benevolent and mutual aid societies that supported the African American community.
The lecture will address the long-standing neglect and municipal devaluation of these cemeteries. It will review past and current documentation and survey studies. In addition, it will consider how urban planning, including highway construction and gentrification, has led to the demolition or relocation of graves. Finally, the lecture will discuss current restoration projects working to protect and preserve these sacred sites.

1:00-2:15pm, Tradition Carved in Stone:  Reading Jewish Cemeteries for Genealogical Clues

Instructor: Tammy Hepps

This lecture introduces the traditions that have shaped Jewish burial practices and teaches participants how to “read” a Jewish cemetery as a historical source.  Attendees will gain a basic understanding of Jewish burial customs and how they influenced the organization of Jewish cemeteries and defined the roles of congregations, burial societies, and landsmanshaftn (hometown societies) in creating distinctive cemetery landscapes.  Through photographs and examples, participants will learn to work with Hebrew inscriptions, identify common abbreviations and symbols, understand cemetery organization, and recognize how family plots, burial societies, and congregational affiliations can reveal genealogical clues.  Attendees will leave with appreciation for a set of culturally distinct burial practices and practical skills for using Jewish cemeteries to uncover family history clues that may not survive in any other records.

2:45-4:00pm, Understanding Chinese Cemeteries in North America

Instructor: Carly Lane Morgan

This session explores the history of Chinese cemeteries and burial traditions, including headstone inscriptions, cemetery organizations, temporary burial practices, exhumation and bone repatriation, and the social and legal barriers that shaped where Chinese immigrants could be buried. Participants will learn how these practices influenced the genealogical record and how cemetery evidence can reveal valuable clues about migration, family connections, community networks, and ancestral origins.

Friday, January 29

8:30am-9:45am, Where I Am You Will One Day Be: Analyzing and Understanding Tombstones, Part 1

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

A burial marker is far more than a record of a person’s name and dates of birth and death; it is a historical artifact that reflects the cultural, religious, artistic, and social values of its time. Meaningful analysis requires careful documentation and an interdisciplinary approach that draws upon fields such as botany, symbolism, religion, geology, art history, literature, and material culture. This presentation examines the methods and resources needed to interpret grave markers within their historical context, enabling genealogists to move beyond simple transcription and uncover the stories these monuments were intended to tell. Participants will learn how thoughtful analysis of cemetery monuments can provide deeper insights into the lives, beliefs, and communities of those they commemorate.

10:15-11:30am, Where I Am You Will One Day Be: Analyzing and Understanding Tombstones, Part 2

Instructor: Gena Philibert-Ortega

Continuing our look at grave markers, we will analyze examples and identify next steps in learning more about identifying grave markers and the stories they tell.

1:00-2:15pm, Student Presentations

Student presentation will be based on what has been discussed during the course. Ideas for presentations include analysis of a grave marker, a review of an article from the Association for Gravestone Studies journal Markers, or another cemetery related subject of interest to the student. Presentations are voluntary. We are here to learn from each other!

2:45-4:00pm, Student Presentations

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