Cemetery Records
Laurel Grove Cemetery opened in 1852 and the “Keeper’s Records” for Laurel grove North were hand-written in four ledger books between 1852 and 1935. These ledgers are 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 four volumes of the “General Index to Keepers Record Books” for “Laurel Grove Cemetery 1852-1938." These records do not include Laurel Grove South. Copies of these indices are available at both offices 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.
Some records were also transcribed into a book titled Laurel Grove Cemetery Savannah, Georgia Volume I (1852-1861) produced by the Georgia Historical Society which includes records from both Laurel Grove North and South Cemeteries. Copies of these indices are available at the Bull Street Branch of the Liveoak Public Library and at the Georgia Historical Society Library. Copies may also be purchased from the Georgia Historical Society.
Additional records are available in card files at the satellite office of the Department of Cemeteries located in the Laurel Grove Administrative Building. Staff assistance is required to retrieve information from the card files.
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. |
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