Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934

This database contains details transcribed from headstones in Connecticut cemeteries.

Historical Background

Charles R. Hale began charting veterans’ graves in 1916 as a project for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. In the early 1930s he directed a WPA project that transcribed inscriptions on headstones for cemeteries throughout Connecticut, transcriptions that make up the records included in this database. Mr. Hale and his co-workers discovered many old burial places that had been forgotten, and in the end, transcribed headstones in more than 2,000 Connecticut cemeteries.

What You May Find in the Records

Details included in the transcriptions vary depending on what was inscribed on the stone. But they may contain some of the following information:

• name
• death date
• age at death
• birth date
• cemetery
• place of burial
• place of death

Some transcriptions contain additional information that could lead to other records or indicate family relationships. These include military service, spouse’s names, children’s names, or parents’ names.

This database also includes some maps indicating cemetery locations.