Cemetery Records
Some of the Tattnall family interments at their Bonaventure Plantation (now Bonaventure Cemetery) are recorded in "Early Deaths in Savannah, Georgia, 1763-1803" which are chronological obituaries which were typed in 1993. A few of the earliest interments at the Evergreen Cemetery of Bonaventure are recorded in "Registers of Deaths in Savannah, Georgia, 1803-1853." This register includes six volumes of typed data in chronological order plus an alphabetical index. There are no copies of these books in the Department of Cemeteries; however, copies are available at the Bull Street Branch of the Liveoak Public Library and at the Georgia Historical Society Library, both in Savannah. Copies on microfilm are available at the State Archives in Atlanta.
A continuation of the earliest records exists in an old hand-written ledger titled "Evergreen-Bonaventure Cemetery 1853-1903." This fragile ledger has been retired and is not available for viewing by the public; however, all records have been transcribed into publicly-available documents.
During the Work Program Administration of the Great Depression, the "Keeper’s Records" were transcribed into typed alphabetical indices for Savannah’s Victorian cemeteries. There are two volumes of the “General Index to Keepers Record Books” for “Bonaventure Cemetery 1850-1938." Copies of these indices are available at the main office of the Department of Cemeteries as well as the Bull Street Branch of the Liveoak Public Library and at the Georgia Historical Society Library. Copies on microfilm are available at the State Archives in Atlanta.
The Bonaventure Historical Society prepared an index in 1999 of Sections A-H of Bonaventure Cemetery including information from the aforementioned sources. Copies of "Bonaventure Cemetery Savannah, Georgia Index Sections A-H (1849-1999)" are available at the main office of the Department of Cemeteries as well as the Bull Street Branch of the Liveoak Public Library and at the Georgia Historical Society Library. Copies may also be purchased from the Bonaventure Historical Society.
Additional records are available in card files at the main office of the Department of Cemeteries. Staff assistance is required to retrieve information from the card files and is only available during normal business hours.
A major effort has been underway since 1997 to enter all municipal cemetery records on an electronic database which will be available to the public on the World Wide Web. The data entry portion is nearing completion; however, considerable time will be required to double check, verify and correct this data before it is available to the public. It is projected to be available by 2010. |
|