Why Register? Why Record?

Cemeteries and graveyards are facing increasing threats yearly. In addition to the natural weathering and deterioration of markers, it seems likely that pollution - from industry and from automobiles - is causing some forms of deterioration to increase at a much faster rate. Some suggest that over the next decade we may see damage that is greater than that observed over the past 200 years. And some are estimating that the loss of stones to deterioration may be as high as 30 stones per thousand on a yearly basis.

In addition, the theft of cemetery statuary, stones, and ironwork is becoming a big business. Cemeteries across the region have been hit to supply the craze called "cemetery chic." Abandoned cemeteries, or those with declining congregations, are particularly at risk since they receive less use, and often less care. Many caretakers are not well versed in preservation issues, so that broken or partially obliterated stones are hauled away, leaving graves unmarked and resulting in the loss of valuable historical and genealogical information. Add to this vandalism and development, and cemeteries are being attacked from all sides.

Considering all these threats, we need to carefully and completely record their information. This will at least ensure that the information these graveyards contain is preserved, even if the actual stone, or the cemetery itself, is lost.

Genealogists have been quick to recognize the importance of cemeteries, often devoting considerable time and effort to their recordation. This work, however, is not always done with the consistency that the situation deserves. For example, far too often only names and dates are recorded, ignoring the other verbiage on the stone, as well as the stone artwork itself. This, of course, tells only half the memorial's story and leaves unrecorded information that may be of exceptional information in our study of the past.

Too often these cemeteries are also poorly identified, using local and frequently transitory landmarks, so that years later it is impossible to retrace the original steps and relocate the graveyard. Rarely are cemeteries mapped and this means exceptional information on the spatial arrangement of burials, the organization of kin groupings, the segregation of different social and religious classes, and the growth of the cemetery itself, is left undocumented.

There also remain many cemeteries completely unrecorded. Often these graveyards are known only to a few elderly local residents and perhaps a few hunters who use the overgrown stones as local landmarks. Unknown, and seemingly uncared for, or about, these graveyards can easily fall victim to development and destruction.

Even cemeteries which are still functioning may not have very good records. Sometimes record keeping post-dates the earliest use of the cemetery. Or the early records may have been lost or destroyed. Sometimes these records are simply incomplete. Stones may provide considerable genealogical information that would not be recorded in the "official" cemetery records. For example, while cemetery records typically include only the name of the individual buried and the birth and death dates, a family monument may have all four sides covered with family information.

What is at stake is a valuable source of historical information with a very peculiar intrinsic value all its own. As one author has noted, this heritage is "threatened by ignorance, lack of interest and time, and official policy." **

The ACPA recommends you register your cemetery or cemeteries with both the ACPA through our on-line registration at this site and with the AHC. We further recommend you record (a.k.a. survey or make burial listings of) your cemetery (ies) to show the physical layout of the cemetery; vegetation/landscaping; where each grave is located; a description of each marker, fencing and funerary object; and what is inscribed on each marker. The AHC has forms designed for this purpose and printable copies are provided on this website for your convenience. Good descriptions and photographic records have proven to be of great value to law enforcement in recovering stolen objects and prosecuting the thieves.

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