New York State contains a vast number of cemeteries, ranging from small family plots with only a handful of graves to the sprawling Calvary Cemetery in Queens, which contains over a million burials. In the table below, we have identified some of the largest and most prominent cemeteries in New York State, along with information for each that may be useful for researchers. This list is necessarily limited, but may provide a starting point for a researcher who happens to be searching for one of the millions of people buried in these cemeteries.
The New York State Department of State Division of Cemeteries website contains a directory of the cemeteries under its jurisdiction, which include not-for-profit cemeteries. Religious, private, municipal, national, and family cemeteries are not included. [At link, see sidebar on right with links to downloadable PDFs of non-profit cemeteries arranged alphabetically or by county.]
Table of Cemeteries
|
Cemetery |
|
County |
Incorp. |
Burials |
Information for Researchers |
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| Calvary Cemetery | Queens | 1848 | 1.75 million+ |
No online genealogical resources. The BillionGraves website has 21k interments recorded. |
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| Potters Field | Bronx | 1869 | 850,000+ |
Burial records at Municipal Archives, Manhattan. Online database requires payment, covers public burials from 1980-2011. Microfilm (1881-1931) available at the Family History Library under "Hart Island." |
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| Green-Wood Cemetery | Kings | 1838 | 560,000+ |
Free, online database with name, date of death, and burial location. Genealogy requests may be submitted from their website. Fees apply. |
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| The Evergreens Cemetery | Kings/Queens | 1849 | 500,000+ | Free online database gives name, burial date, and burial number. [Update: database not available as of April 2017 as part of Evergreen's site redesign. Unclear if database will be available again in the future.] | ||||
| Mount Hope Cemetery | Monroe | 1838 | 350,000+ |
Accepts written inquiries. Website provides link to extensive indexed data at the University of Rochester. |
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| Holy Sepulchre Cemetery | Monroe | 1871 | 300,000+ |
Free online database gives name, age, burial date, and burial location. |
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| Woodlawn Cemetery | Bronx | 1863 | 300,000+ |
Burials may be confirmed by email; genealogy requests may be submitted from their website. Fees apply. |
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| Mt. Hebron Cemetery | Queens | 1909 | 220,000+ |
Free, online database with name, date of death, burial location, and burial society. |
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| Gate of Heaven Cemetery | Westchester | 1916 | 190,000+ |
No online genealogical resources. |
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| Forest Lawn Cemetery | Erie | 1849 | 160,000+ |
Genealogy requests may be submitted from their website. Fees apply. |
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| Kensico Cemetery | Westchester | 1889 | 130,000+ |
No online genealogical services. |
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| Albany Rural Cemetery | Albany | 1844 | 103,000+ | Burial Cards, 1791-2011, may be accessed for free at Ancestry.com. The Troy Irish Genealogy Society has created an index of re-interments from the State Street Burying Grounds. | ||||
| United German and French Roman Catholic Cemetery | Erie | 1859 | 75,000+ |
Free, online genealogy request form and extensive data hosted by Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. (Part of Mount Cavalry Cemetery Group. Name changed in 1982.) |
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| Elmlawn Cemetery | Erie | 1901 | 70,000+ |
Accepts written inquiries; fees apply. |
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| Oakwood Cemetry (Syracuse) | Onondaga | 1859 | 62,000+ | Limited family history data online. | ||||
| Oakwood Cemetery (Troy) | Rensselaer | 1848 | 60,000+ |
Microfilm available at the Family History Library. |
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| Mount Ararat Cemetery | Suffolk | 1928 | 45,000+ |
Free, online database with name, date of death, and burial location. |
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| Sleepy Hollow Cemetery | Westchester | 1849 | 40,000+ |
No online genealogical resources. Accepts inquiries; fees may apply. |
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| Vale Cemetery | Schenectady | 1857 | 33,000+ |
Free, online database (incomplete) with name, date of birth, date of death, and burial location. |