IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
Before you write the Oregon Historic Cemeteries Association for help, you should read this page thoroughly for instructions, and check the cemeteries already listed on the Oregon Tombstone Transcription Project Page to see if there is already a listing for the cemetery on-line.
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Please do not request things like "I'm looking for my Jones family in Oregon. Please send everything you have," or "Looking for the Smith, Brown, and William families in Linn, Lane, Marion, Polk, and Coos counties." The OHCA has neither the staff nor the time to handle vague and general requests like this. Instead, please be very specific about the information you seek. Limit your request to one county, and one specific name at a time. Give them as many clues as possible to assist them, and limit the total request to 3 names.
- At this point, their database is limited to about 12,000 entries. In addition to those entries, they have literally hundreds of individual cemetery listings which have not gone in to the database as yet. Some of those are indexed, while a large number are not (entries by row and plot only). They do not YET (hopefully some day) have ALL burials on their database.
- They are most successful in locating specific gravesites (one or two persons)
when the person requesting the information gives them a few clues to go by
(name, approximate date of death, city ... or at least the county ... in
which that person died). When the OHCA can't find the cemetery, they might give you more references to search (genealogical societies, state archives,
historical societies, etc.). They try to give complete addresses, phone
numbers, and email addresses when known. Most specific queries are
successful, either from the OHCA or the referral group finding the info.
- Please make sure the person you're looking for is dead! One woman wrote that she hadn't heard from Mrs. So and So since 1976, and could they please check to see if she had died.
- Recent burials: Most cemetery listings (pioneer) were done in the 30s, 40s and 50s with great, and notable, recent exceptions. Large active cemeteries don't end up with complete printed listings because 1) they aren't "complete" cemeteries and
2) all you have to do is contact the cemetery to find out who's there. We
doubt that there will ever be a private group such as the OHCA or Tombstone
Transcription project that has instant access to ALL burials. Please search for death certificates (at the required fee) when looking for recent deaths rather
than questioning groups such as the OHCA.
If you have read and understand the instructions, you may still wish to contact the OHCA. If so, send your specific request to
ocha@oregoncemeteries.org, and don't forget to thank them for their help. You can visit their website at
www.oregoncemeteries.org for more information.
Return to Oregon Tombstone Transcription Project Page
November 19, 1998, updated August 21, 2000.