Graveyards and Cemeteries:
What is the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery?
The word cemetery (from Greek κοιμητήριον, “sleeping place”) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs.
The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.
Cemetery at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cemetery
Types of Burial Practices
https://www.cemetery.com/learning-center/guide-to-cemeteries-and-burial/types-of-burial-practices/
In-ground
Above Ground Entombment
Above Ground Entombment for Cremated Remains
Green Burials
Cremation Gardens
Types of Cemeteries
Purpose and Characteristics of Cemetery Types
Each type of cemetery is designed and organized to reflect the religion, culture, traditions, and habits of the community it serves. The changing differences in both burial traditions and legal regulations has led to the creation of many different types of cemeteries.
https://www.cemetery.com/learning-center/guide-to-cemeteries-and-burial/types-of-cemeteries/
The most common types of cemeteries include:
Monumental Cemeteries
Memorial Park
Garden Cemeteries
Religious Cemeteries
Municipal Cemeteries
VA- Veterans Cemeteries
Natural or Green Burial Grounds
Grave Yard
Family Burial Ground
Importance of Cemeteries
https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/cemetery-preservation/importance-cemeteries
Cemeteries are among the most valuable of historic resources. They are reminders of various settlement patterns, such as villages, rural communities, urban centers, and ghost towns. Cemeteries can reveal information about historic events, religions, lifestyles, and genealogy.
Names on gravemarkers serve as a directory of early residents and reflect the ethnic diversity and unique population of an area. Cultural influence in gravemarker design, cemetery decoration, and landscaping contribute to the complete narrative of Texas history. Established in large part for the benefit of the living, cemeteries perpetuate the memories of the deceased, giving a place character and definition.
Unfortunately, historic cemeteries do not necessarily remain permanent reminders of our heritage. Across Texas, they are threatened by development and expanding urban areas, natural forces such as weathering and uncontrolled vegetation, lack of fences to keep cattle from toppling headstones, and vandalism and theft, including removal of headstones and objects. Neglect accelerates and compounds the process.
Who Owns a Cemetery (In Texas)
Access, Descrecration and Abandonment of a Cemetery in Texas
State Antiquities Code in Texas
Historic Texas Cemetery Designation
Notice of Abandoned or Unknown Cemetery
History of the Cemetery Preservation Program
CHC (County Historical Commissions) Cemetery Projects
https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/cemetery-preservation/chc-cemetery-projects
Familysearcearch.org Wiki Online- Cemetery Records and More:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Cemeteries#Types_of_Cemeteries
Additional Cemetery Grave Finders:
Accessgenealogy.com https://accessgenealogy.com/
Politicalgraveyard,com https://politicalgraveyard.com/
Arlington National Cemetery https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/#!/
How to Read a Cemetery
http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/graveyards.html
Abbreviations on tombstones
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~wicemetp/abbrev.htm
The Texas Historical Association
History Detective PBS Program
https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/educators/technique-guide/cemetery-information/
Family Tree Magazine -Cemeteries and Tombstones
https://www.familytreemagazine.com/cemeteries/tombstone-tales/
The following chart describes common gravestone materials in US
| Year | Common Gravestone Materials |
| 1650s and earlier | fieldstones, boulders and wood markers |
| 1660s to 1850s | sandstone, limestone and slate |
| 1830s to 1880s | marble |
| 1880s to 1910s | soft, gray granite and cast metal |
| 1920s to present | granite |
Images of Different types of Cemeteries
Identifying Different Types of Military Headstones
preservation guidelines historic burial grounds and cemeteries
https://www.mass.gov › doc › download
Massachusetts Historic Cemetery Preservation. Initiative … sites face different challenges. the majority of the … This new type of cemetery experience changed.
American Gravestone Evolution-Part 1
https://atlaspreservation.com/pages/american-gravestone-evolution-part-1
American Gravestone Evolution – Part 2
https://atlaspreservation.com/pages/american-gravestone-evolution-part-2
New Orleans Cities of the Dead