The Coalition’s Guide to Burial Site Stewardship
This 133-page guide provides information to assist individuals or groups on how to proceed when faced with a burial ground that is inadequately maintained, neglected, abandoned, or harmed by vandals. The chapters include: getting started; reading local/state laws governing burial sites before attempting access; access to burial sites on private property; types of cemeteries and their development; documentation and recordation; what are the next steps; cemetery CPR and maintenance; miscellaneous topics including: symbolism; gravestone rubbings; mapping; and foil impressions; a glossary; appendices; and an index.
The printed and bound Guide was available for $18, but you may download a digital version for FREE. We only ask that you kindly make a donation to CPMBS at the bottom of this page and add a note to the form mentioning that you’ve downloaded the Guide.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and Audience
Chapter 2: Getting Started (Identify area as a cemetery and then determine ownership)
- Look for Signage (May be Hidden, Fallen, Partially Buried)
- Ask Neighbors
- Look up Listing in Telephone Book or City Directory
- Search Online
- Check Maps
- Look For Published Oral Histories
- Check Local Libraries
- Historical/Genealogical Societies
- Nursing Homes for Oral Histories
- Land Records/Deed Research
- Local Funeral Directors
Chapter 3: Read Local/State Laws Governing Burial Grounds before Attempting To Gain Access
Chapter 4: Access to Burial Sites on Private Property: Obtaining Permission Form Owner(S)
- Permission Granted
- Permission Denied
- Wishes of the Family Members [locate other families associated with the cemetery]
Chapter 5: Conservation (Pre-Preservation)
Chapter 6: Types of Burial Grounds and Their Development
- Frontier Graves
- Family or Domestic Burial Grounds
- Churchyard, Church Burial Grounds, or Graveyards
- Potter’s Field
- Town or City Burial Grounds
- Country Graveyards
- Rural Cemeteries
- Lawn-Park Cemeteries
- Military Cemeteries
- Memorial Parks
- Green Cemeteries
Chapter 7: Documentation/Recordation of Burial Sites
- Scope and Purpose
- Photographic Documentation and Initial Review of the Site
- Site Documentation and Evaluation
- Mapping the Site
- Documenting Markers and Monuments
- Record Monument Information
- Sharing the Information
- Owners
- County Offices of Planning And Zoning
- Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites
- Local Genealogical and Historical Societies
- Local Libraries
- Cemetery Sites on the Internet
Chapter 8: What Are Your Next Steps?
- Deciding the Scope of Your Project
- Locating a Single Grave or a Family Plot
- Seeking Information from the Burial Ground Owner
- Report Thefts and/or Vandalism to Owner
- Other Resources
- Volunteers
- Civic Organizations
- Youth Organizations
- Community Service Volunteers
- Forming a Friend’s Group
- Seek Funding
Chapter 9: Burial Ground CPR and Maintenance
- Introduction
- Defining CPR
- Landscape Restoration
- Landscape Maintenance
- Hardscape Conservation and Preservation
- Hardscape Restoration
- Hardscape Maintenance
- Site Assessment
- Cleaning a Gravestone
- Cleaning Solutions for Biological Growth
Resetting Gravestones - Landscape
- Maintenance Plan
- Secure the Site
Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Topics
- Cemetery Etiquette
- Heirloom Plantings
- Gravestone Rubbings
- Foil Impressions
- Photographing Markers
- Symbolism
- Stone Carvers
- Mapping Burial Grounds
- History in Cemeteries [Reserved for future editions.]
- Cemetery Safety
- What to Consider When Hiring a Cemetery Expert
- Glossary
Appendices
- A. Permission to Enter Form
- B. Site Survey and Assessment (Long form acceptable for use with grant applications.)
- C. Directions for completing the Site Survey and Assessment Form.
- D. Gravestone Survey Form (Short form acceptable to record information on the marker.)
- E. Vandalism Report Form
- F. Heirloom Planting Record
- G. Maryland Laws and Regulations Regarding Cemeteries
- H. Grave Marker Abbreviations
- I. Grave Marker Symbolism
- J. Websites
- K. Additional Reading