What kind of records might exist when a cemetery started? Did it start in 1803 with the first burial known? Where might a record be located? Would taxes be paid on this land separately? The Cooke Burial Ground, South Strabane Twp, Washington Co PA was a family burial cemetery. The earliest grave is for Thomas SWEARINGEN who died April 12, 1803. Then on Aug. 18, 1823 Andrew S. Cooke, age 24 died and was buried there. Thomas Swearingen was Andrew S. Cooke uncle. Appreciate any help. A family searcher

It was probably on the Swearingen farm / homestead. Look for a deed that sells this property, whole or in part. The deed should say there's a cemetery on the land. If Thomas SWEARINGEN who died April 12, 1803 had family, the land probably continued in the family. It could take years before the land gets split up. A title search would show how the land transferred hands. See my web sites for how to do a title search. When families started a farm cemetery, no records exist. See if there is an Obit-- might say buried on his farm. As more burials occurred, again, no records. Even churches kept no or few early records. There was no fee to be buried on one's own land; no fee to "open" a grave--family dug it; no fee to the land owner; no cemetery regulations. A doctor's bill for "last illness" might be in the estate Account. A "undertaker" or family member made the coffin-- if the estate had an Account, the bill will be in there. "Viewing" was at home, if any done. So I'd look for an Estate Settlement//Account and search Deeds up through the years. Eventually, the land may have been set aside as a "cemetery" in the Deed record. Judy On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 6:08 PM, DARWIN LOLA WEBER <[email protected]>wrote: > What kind of records might exist when a cemetery started? Did it start in > 1803 with the first burial known? > > Where might a record be located? > > Would taxes be paid on this land separately? > > The Cooke Burial Ground, South Strabane Twp, Washington Co PA was a family > burial cemetery. > The earliest grave is for Thomas SWEARINGEN who died April 12, 1803. > Then on Aug. 18, 1823 Andrew S. Cooke, age 24 died and was buried there. > > Thomas Swearingen was Andrew S. Cooke uncle. > > > Appreciate any help. > A family searcher > **** > Please visit http://www.chartiers.com/pages-new/pawashin.html for list > information, particularly the bottom of the page. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- -- WASHINGTON COUNTY PA WEBSITES::: http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.com/~florian/ Coordinator of the Washington County PAGenWeb: http://www.rootsweb.com/~pawashin/