How to find your ancestors' cemeteries? Our best practical tips

Discover our methods to find your ancestors' cemeteries: archives, databases, and local research.

A few days ago, we shared an article to help you find the death of someone who disappeared before or after 1945.

Finding the burial place of your ancestors can enrich your genealogy and connect you more to your family history. Whether the death is recent or ancient, several resources and methods can help you in this quest.

How to find the cemetery where someone was buried?

If it's a "recent" death

There are several solutions to try to find the cemetery in question. Obviously, the more recent the death, the easier it will be.

Today, it is possible to know this thanks to death notices published in the press or on the internet.

Next, you can also consult civil status registers and specifically the INSEE website for deaths after 1970. This list will indicate the date and place of death of the person. You can then contact the town hall of the place of death to try to find out in which cemetery or columbarium the deceased is resting. The town hall responsible for the cemetery will tell you exactly where the deceased is (aisle and burial).

There are also websites that list graves in cemeteries. Most of them have a search engine to facilitate your research: 

- Cimetières de France

- CimGenWeb

- Findagrave

- BillionGraves

- Geneanet "Sauvons nos tombes".

or an older death

There are no other documents (which could specify the place of burial) than the burial records under the Ancien Régime.

At that time, there could be a large and a small cemetery in the same commune. The large one was for adults or older children, and the small one was intended for children who had not yet made their communion.

To go further, you can consult these few resources:

• Find a war burial or a memorial to the dead

• Search for (and find) your ancestors at the cemetery

How to locate the location of a grave in a cemetery?

Once you have found the right cemetery, you will need to find the location of your ancestor's grave. Several possible solutions:

• Inquire at the town hall of the place of death by giving the name and first name of the deceased person.

• Ask a cemetery officer. In addition to maintaining the cemetery, they are also in charge of guiding families.

• Ask to consult the burial register at the town hall where the cemetery is located.

Be careful, there may be "gaps" in the follow-up of burials in the registers.

📌 Did you know? 
You can ask the town hall services who owns a concession. You will need to find the concession number (written on the grave). Town halls have the list of owners and the duration of the concessions.

To learn more, you can read the article Who is in the grave? from the Genealanille blog.

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