{"id":5411,"date":"2025-06-18T16:25:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T21:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/outofthestacks\/?p=5411"},"modified":"2025-06-18T16:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T21:25:29","slug":"searching-for-historical-african-american-cemeteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tsl.texas.gov\/outofthestacks\/2025\/06\/18\/searching-for-historical-african-american-cemeteries\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for Historical African American Cemeteries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Robyn Moore, Reference Librarian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Black
Group portrait of two African American women and one African American man standing by side of building, Batson, Texas, about 1905-1920. Clyde and Thelma See glass plate negatives collection, 1995.112-26a. Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center (SHC). View in TDA<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Finding historical African American cemeteries is a challenge for those seeking to know their history. Often, these cemeteries were unmarked, forced to be separate from the named burial sites, destroyed or displaced due to city development, or forgotten when the communities moved away. However, they may be mentioned in government records, local historical organizations, historical newspapers, and many other places. While we do not know of any comprehensive sources for finding an individual\u2019s burial location or final resting place, the following resources may be helpful in tracking down relevant resources and conducting your search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Black<\/a>
Cemetery presumed to be in Liberty area and connected to African American burials from collection context. One photo included with others attached to: Essay,” The Negro of the South, “Molly Smith, May 1932, 1977.047-1. Lois M. Short collection<\/a>, SHC. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Two<\/a>
Cemetery presumed to be in Liberty area and connected to African American burials from collection context. One photo included with others attached to: Essay,” The Negro of the South, “Molly Smith, May 1932, 1977.047-1. Lois M. Short collection<\/a>, SHC. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Searching the Web<\/strong>
The following websites are registries specifically for African American cemeteries.
Texas African American Cemetery Registry – The Texas Freedom Colonies Project<\/a>
Site Directory \u2014 Black Cemetery Network<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site Find a Grave (https:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/<\/a>) may prove less useful for a researcher looking for African American cemeteries but is still a good resource that you won\u2019t want to miss.
Search Cemeteries – Find a Grave<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching our Catalog<\/strong>
One resource that the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) holds that many people may not know about are the archaeological reports done before some construction projects. Before construction is begun, the site is evaluated for historical significance. If it is determined to be historically significant, an archaeological investigation is done to see what the construction would be displacing. Through these investigations, burial sites that were once lost can sometimes be rediscovered. Search for archaeological reports in the TSLAC catalog, including keywords to target your area of interest, to see if any discoveries have been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cover
Bioarcheological Investigations of Nineteenth-Century African American Burials at the Pioneer Cemetery (41B0202) in Brazoria, Texas<\/a>, [2016]. Texas Documents Collection, H2000.7 P422 NO.5058.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Try using a special kind of search, called a Boolean Search, in our catalog with keywords such as \u201cAfrican American\u201d AND \u201ccemetery.\u201d The all caps \u201cAND\u201d tells the search engine to use both terms at once. This can show resources such as Investigation of the Hockley Cemetery, 41BX911, and African American family of the Wetmore Community, in northeast San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>or Bioarcheological investigations of nineteenth-century African American burials at the Pioneer Cemetery (41BO202) in Brazoria, Texas<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching Local Resources<\/strong>
We also suggest that you contact libraries in your area of interest about their local history and newspaper collections. You may search for Texas libraries on our Find a Library page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great strategy is to contact a local genealogy or historical group, like Travis County Cemetery Project<\/a>. FamilySearch has wikis to help your search for sources by location<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching for the Funeral Home<\/strong>
Private funeral home and crematory records are not maintained by TSLAC. If you know the name of the funeral home or crematory that performed the burial, you may wish to contact that entity about available records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do not know the name of the funeral home or crematory that performed the service, you may try using some of the tips from our Business and Company History Research Guide<\/a> to try locating the entities that served your communities of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching for a Death Certificate<\/strong>
You may want to search for the individual\u2019s death certificate, which may have burial information. Although we do not have the certificates themselves, we do have some Texas vital statistics indexes<\/a> available for on-site research at our library in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FamilySearch.org<\/a> has some Texas vital statistics collections available to search online:<\/p>\n\n\n\n