Welcome to the first installment of a little blog series, “Did You Know?,” where we highlight some of the documentary resources available at the CHC.
During the summer, we receive a lot of phone calls and emails inquiring after the Old Burying Ground in Harvard Square (sometimes referred to as the “Old Burial Ground”). Many people visit from out of town and would like to know where their ancestor, or person of historical interest, was buried — do we have a map of the burying ground? What about lists of burials? Records of specific epitaphs?
The answers: Yes, we have documentation on all of those things! It is important to note that, although this was the only burying ground in Cambridge until the early 1800s, many burial plots today remain unmarked.
Those interested in finding out more about the Old Burying Ground can make an appointment to check out the resources at our office, or find some of the digitized resources online.
Check out our list of some of these print and online resources:
- We have a copy of the book, Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge, (1845) by William T. Harris. This publication is also available online at Google Books.
- View a pdf file of the City Engineer’s map of burial plots at the Old Burying Ground.
- Know exactly who you are looking for? We also have an index and maps of the burial plots that was compiled in 2000 by Richard B. Anderson, Ed.D. These files have been scanned and can be downloaded as four pdf files: Cover material and notes; Base map and smaller sub-maps; Name index; Sub-map index. These are large files, especially the maps file.
- We also have several other useful books in our office.
- Old Cambridge City Directories can also show if and when your ancestor lived in Cambridge. This can then help us to determine where they might have been buried.
- For more information on the history of the Old Burying Ground, check out the book “Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development” (2016) by Susan Maycock and Charles Sullivan. The City of Cambridge’s Department of Public Works has an excerpt from the book on their website: https://www.cambridgema.gov/theworks/ourservices/cambridgecemetery/oldburialground/historyandnotableburials
- Other cemeteries in Cambridge:
- Cambridge Cemetery, opened 1853, 617-349-4890
- Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Boston’s Genealogy and Cemetery Locations, 781-322-6300
- North Cambridge Cemetery on Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, opened 1846
- Sand Banks Cemetery (aka Mt. Auburn Catholic or Cottage Street cemetery), on Cottage St., Watertown, Searchable Database
- Mount Auburn Cemetery, opened 1831, 617-547-7105
- Cambridgeport Burial Ground (No longer a cemetery), opened 1812, closed 1865. When this cemetery on Broadway in Cambridgeport was closed in 1865, existing burials were relocated to the new Cambridge Cemetery or another cemetery selected by the family of the deceased. The former burial ground was then re-purposed as a public park and called Broadway Common/Broadway Park and later renamed Edward J. Sennott Park.
- We have two original burial plot maps of the Cambridgeport Burial Ground in our archives; contact us for more information.
To see these resources in person, or for answers to other questions, feel free to call the Historical Commission at 617-349-4683, or email us at histcomm at cambridgema.gov. Additionally, check out our other documentary resources on our page here.