Culture

A burial records page from Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. Records from Holy Cross and several other cemeteries in the archdiocese are now part of a searchable online database. Pilot photo/courtesy Archdiocesan Archives and CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz

Friday, February 26, 2021Culture

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The first nine cemeteries include over 350,000 searchable names, and we anticipate by the conclusion of this project there will be approximately 1 million searchable names.

Thomas
Lester

The Archive Department of the Archdiocese of Boston is delighted to share that it has partnered with the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and the Catholic Cemetery Association of the Archdiocese of Boston (CCA) to make records of the CCA available online.

The collection, "Massachusetts: Catholic Cemetery Association Records, 1833-1940," consists primarily of lot sale and internment records, and contains information about burial dates, burial locations, and lot owners. Each entry has been transcribed rendering the collection searchable.

At this time, records from nine cemeteries are available: Sacred Heart, Andover; St. Mary, Beverly; St. George, Framingham; St. James, Haverhill; St. Joseph, Haverhill; St. Jean Baptiste, Lynn; Holy Cross, Malden; St. Mary, Malden; and Calvary, Waltham.

Future releases will include records from St. Francis de Sales, Charlestown; St. Paul, Arlington; North Cambridge Catholic, Cambridge; St. Joseph, Lynn; St. Mary, Lynn; Holy Cross, Malden (additions); Immaculate Conception, Marlborough; St. Mary, Salem; St. Patrick, Stoneham; Catholic Mount Auburn, Watertown; and Calvary, Winchester.

The additional records will be released on a continual basis and it is our intention to have the entire collection available by the end of 2021. The first nine cemeteries include over 350,000 searchable names, and we anticipate by the conclusion of this project there will be approximately 1 million searchable names. The collection can be accessed via the NEHGS website, AmericanAncestors.org, and is available to supporting members.

In addition to the records, we are incredibly excited to announce the availability of new cemetery maps, which can also be accessed online via the collection description page on AmericanAncestors.org or by visiting our own "Researcher Resources" page (www.bostoncatholic.org/researcher-resources) and clicking the "Cemetery Maps" link.

Maps, or improved maps, are something that has been frequently requested from both the CCA and the Archive Department and has been a long-term goal we are glad to finally offer the public. Maps currently available include Sacred Heart, Andover; St. Mary, Beverly; St. George, Framingham; St. James, Haverhill; St. Joseph, Haverhill; St. Jean Baptiste, Lynn; St. Joseph, Lynn; Calvary, Waltham; Catholic Mount Auburn, Watertown; St. Patrick, Watertown.

Each map defaults to an overview of the cemetery and surrounding streets; by zooming in, users can see road names, section names, and key points of interest, such as entrances, exits, flag poles, memorials, and water spigots. Special areas for the burials of veterans, religious, priests and infants are shaded. All points of interest also include a photograph and description to help visitors navigate the cemetery grounds.

We welcome any comments or feedback which can be sent to archive@rcab.org.

- Father Thomas Ryan, CSP, directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston.