Illinois State Genealogical Society
Illinois Cemetery Location Project
 
The goal of this project is to identify and locate every cemetery in Illinois. This includes those that have been abandoned, moved, no longer in use, and presently used. The cemeteries shall be located by GPS location, county, section, township, range, baselines, and principal meridian on a plat map along with driving directions.  This project also strives to indicate whether or not a cemetery's records have been published and the availability of the records. 
 
Notes
  • The Illinois Cemetery Location Project contains almost 15,000 records related to Illinois cemeteries. The information is not complete. A number of counties are incomplete and we need you to help us update this information.
     
  • Headstone transcriptions are not a part of this project.
     
  • If you are looking for a cemetery and don't know the county, please send an email, requesting assistance, to: isgscemeteries@ilgensoc.org.
     
  • To add a new cemetery, driving directions, and other information or to let us know about errors, send an email to: isgscemeteries@ilgensoc.org.
     
  • IDOT maps include townships, county sections, and county roads.
     
  • Even though this project is focused on the location of cemeteries, we often get questions about how to find information about burials. Listed below are some suggestions:

    - Try the county pages at ILGenWeb.
    - Try the county pages at Illinois Genealogy Trails.
    - Try the Illinois Tombstone Transcription Project.
    - Try our Member Societies' websites.

     
  • Local societies may have published cemetery records in their quarterly or a county close to it may have published it (i.e., Logan county was transcribed by Macon County Genealogical Society in its early years), so search PERSI (Periodical Source Index) for relevant articles.
     
  • Interlibrary loan is also a possibility if the cemetery has been published in a separate book.
     
  • Check the yellow pages for cemeteries in the county and write to them.
     
  • Check the person's death certificate and/or obituary for the name of the cemetery.
     
  • Join the county's message board if one exists. Someone may be able to answer your question.
     
  • Try contacting a funeral home in the area as they may know the caretaker.