Cemeteries Information System
"The wholeness of a people are diminished, if the ancestors are not honored" (African Proverb)
The Cemeteries Information System provides access to biographical, death, and burial information for the thousands of persons interred in the historic burial grounds, curated from these sources:
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Mount Zion United Methodist Church death and burial records, and member questionnaires
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Georgetown and Washington DC funeral home records
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DC Health Department of Health and Death Records
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Cemetery gravestones and memorials Inscriptions
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Graves Identified in historical surveys of the burying grounds
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District of Columbia Free Negro Registers 1821 - 1861
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Historic newspaper's death and funeral notices
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Military service records
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Freedman’s Bank account activity records
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Public records of census, births, deaths, and marriages
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Public records of Last Will and Testament
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Education institutions registrations and graduation roles
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Input from educators, professional researchers, and descendants
In addition to biographical information, the CIS contains images of individuals and original documents - including marriage, education, occupation/business, manumission, emancipation, military service, funeral home records, death notices, and more than 590 gravestone images.
The CIS enables researchers to gain insight to the lives of individuals; common life experiences such as enslavement, military service, and occupations; community activities and worship, education; and causes of death. The CIS, by virtue of offering access to the life stories of thousands of people, provides the public with a more accurate and complete understanding of Georgetown’s history.
We are seeking to enhance our records - Descendants and members of the public are invited to use the CIS to submit "Tips" of information and documents, and ideas for enhancing the CIS, to Foundation researchers.