Find a Grave Georgia by Name —
Cemetery & Burial Records Search
From colonial Savannah in 1733 to the red clay hills of 159 Georgia counties — your complete guide to finding any Georgia grave by name.
Georgia holds burial records stretching back to the 1730s — colonial Savannah’s Christ Church Parish is one of the oldest documented burial grounds in the American South. Today, with 159 counties, more than 20,000 identified cemeteries, and a genealogy landscape that spans Revolutionary War graves, Civil War prison camps, Reconstruction-era freedmen’s cemeteries, and the sprawling suburban memorial parks of modern Atlanta, Georgia is one of the most complex — and rewarding — states for burial records research.
The challenge: Georgia’s statewide death registration didn’t begin until 1919 — later than most states. Records before that date are scattered across county courthouses, church vestry books, WPA cemetery inventories, and newspaper archives. This guide gives you the complete, verified system for finding any Georgia grave — from the coast to the mountains — with every link, phone number, and address confirmed working.
🔎 How to Search Georgia Graves by Name — Micro Step-by-Step
- Go to findgraveusa.org — Georgia and type the person’s full name. Use exact spelling first.
- Apply the county filter right away. Georgia’s 159 counties mean common surnames like “Williams” or “Johnson” return hundreds of unrelated results without filtering.
- Click any result to view the full burial record: cemetery name, address, plot number, burial date, headstone photo if available, and linked family members on the same memorial.
- No exact match? Try surname only, then test spelling variants — many Georgia mountain county records use phonetic spellings of German, Scots-Irish, and Cherokee-adjacent surnames.
- Still no result? The grave may be in an unindexed rural or family cemetery — proceed to Methods 3 and 4 for deeper archival research.
- Visit findagrave.com — Georgia Cemeteries. No account required for basic searches.
- Enter the surname and select Georgia from the state dropdown. Add the first name and approximate death year for common surnames.
- Use wildcard operators:
?replaces one letter (e.g.Sm?thfinds Smith and Smyth),*replaces multiple (e.g.Mc*finds all Mc- surnames). Essential for the phonetic spelling variations common in Georgia’s 19th-century records. - Click “More Search Options” to filter by specific Georgia county, death year range, and whether a headstone photo exists.
- No photo? Click “Request Photo” — a local Georgia volunteer typically photographs within a few days at no cost. Metro Atlanta and Savannah volunteers often respond within 24–48 hours.
- Click “Nearby Graves” on any found memorial — this reveals unlisted relatives buried in the same section automatically. One of the most underused features in Georgia genealogy research.
- Visit www.georgiaarchives.org/ — the official Georgia state archives holding the most comprehensive collection of pre-1919 burial and death records.
- Search the WPA Cemetery Survey — completed in the 1930s and 1940s, this documents thousands of rural Georgia cemeteries with individual grave listings, including family cemeteries never indexed anywhere else.
- Use the Georgia Death Index (1919–1998) — free to search online. Enter the name, and the index returns county, date, and death certificate number for ordering the full certificate.
- Search county deed records and estate files — Georgia probate records frequently name the burial location, cemetery, and family relationships.
- For in-person research: 5800 Jonesboro Rd., Morrow, GA 30260 · Phone: (404) 656-0460 · Tue–Sat 8AM–5PM. Free admission; photography allowed.
- Create a free account at familysearch.org — no credit card, permanently free.
- Go to Search → Records and search “Georgia Deaths.” Key collections: Georgia, Deaths, 1919–1998 and Georgia, County Death Records, 1890s–1919.
- For pre-registration records: search Search → Catalog by county name plus “cemetery” to find microfilmed county cemetery registers held at FamilySearch centers.
- For African American genealogy: search “Georgia Freedmen’s Bureau Records” — an essential collection for tracing burial records after the Civil War through 1872.
- Use Search → Genealogies to find user-submitted family trees that may include your ancestor’s burial location — verify all linked sources independently.
- Go to billiongraves.com and enter the name, selecting Georgia from the location filter.
- Results show GPS-tagged headstone photos with the grave’s exact latitude/longitude — not just the cemetery name but the specific row and section.
- Click “View on Map” to see the precise plot position within the cemetery grounds — especially valuable in large Atlanta-area cemeteries with tens of thousands of burials.
- Download the BillionGraves app before visiting any large Georgia cemetery — it navigates step-by-step to any indexed grave using your phone’s GPS.
- If the grave isn’t indexed, photograph and upload the headstone using the app — it auto-tags the GPS coordinates and adds it permanently to the database.
Georgia-Specific Search Tip: Always test three spelling variants of any surname — Georgia’s mountain counties (north Georgia Appalachian) have many Scots-Irish and German surnames with inconsistent phonetic spellings in 19th-century records. Use the * wildcard on Find a Grave and cross-check with FamilySearch Soundex search for best results.
📋 The Complete 14-Step Workflow to Find Any Grave in Georgia
Follow this sequence every time — it covers the most common paths from first search to confirmed burial location, including the offline steps most online guides skip entirely.
- Start with FindGraveUSA.org name search — apply county filter immediately
- Run a parallel search on Find a Grave using wildcard operators for spelling variants
- Open every potential match (top 15–20 results) in separate tabs and read each fully
- Record: cemetery name, county, death date, plot number, and linked family members
- Click “Nearby Graves” on any confirmed memorial — reveal unlisted relatives automatically
- Search Georgia Archives death index at georgiaarchives.org to confirm the death certificate number
- Request the official Georgia death certificate from DPH Vital Records — $25, required for full verification
- Compare every detail: name spelling, birth/death date, parents’ names, county, cemetery
- Locate the cemetery’s official phone number — call to confirm plot number, section, row, and directions
- Ask the cemetery office about nearby family graves and any sexton burial records
- Search the obituary via Google: full name + “obituary” + “Georgia” + death year
- Call the funeral home listed in the obituary — they retain burial books for decades
- Document everything: screenshots, GPS coordinates, plot numbers, and official record numbers
- Cross-reference all findings with FamilySearch census records for household and family context
Why 14 steps? Most Georgia genealogy dead-ends happen at step 1 (no online record) without realizing that steps 6–12 — offline archives, phone calls, and funeral home records — solve the majority of cases that appear hopeless online. Don’t stop at the digital databases.
📊 All Georgia Burial Record Databases — Free vs. Paid
Every major database for searching Georgia cemetery records, interment records, and burial indexes — compared by coverage, cost, and best use case.
Database | What It Covers | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Georgia cemetery burial records searchable by name and county | Free | First stop; county-filtered name search | |
Millions of GA memorials; wildcard search; volunteer photos | Free | Headstone photos, family links, nearby graves | |
GPS-tagged headstone photos; precise in-cemetery navigation | Free | Finding exact plot in large cemeteries | |
GA death records 1919–1998; county registers; Freedmen’s Bureau | Free | Historical records; pre-registration research | |
WPA cemetery surveys; death indexes; county records; estate files | Free | Pre-1919 records; rural family cemeteries | |
County-organized transcriptions from original sexton registers | Free | High-accuracy transcriptions; rural cemeteries | |
Veterans in all VA national cemeteries — section, row, site | Free | Military and veteran burial searches | |
Genealogy collections; cemetery records; historical newspapers | Free online | Savannah-area & coastal Georgia records | |
Certified Georgia death certificates (1919–present) | $25 first copy | Legal proof; parents’ names; cause of death |
🗺️ Search Georgia Burial Records by County
Georgia has 159 counties — the second-most of any state. Each county maintains its own vital records, probate court, and historical society. Click any link below to browse that county’s indexed cemeteries on Find a Grave.
Browse all 159 Georgia counties at Find a Grave — Georgia. For official sexton register transcriptions, use Interment.net — Georgia — especially valuable for rural south Georgia counties with limited Find a Grave coverage.
🪦 Major Georgia Cemeteries — History, Maps & Search Links
Georgia’s historic burial grounds span from 18th-century colonial Savannah to the Civil War’s most significant prisoner-of-war cemetery. Each entry below includes verified contact details, Google Maps embed, and direct search links.
- Historic cemetery founded 1850 · 48 acres · 70,000+ burials
- Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, 6 Georgia governors buried here
- 17,000 Confederate and 3,000 Union Civil War soldiers in separate sections
- Phone: (404) 688-2107
- Daily 8AM–6PM (grounds) · Visitor center hours vary · Free entry
- World-famous Victorian cemetery on a bluff above the Wilmington River
- Johnny Mercer, Conrad Aiken buried here · subject of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”
- Over 160 years of Savannah’s most prominent families; excellent sexton records
- Phone: (912) 651-6840 (City of Savannah)
- Daily 8AM–5PM · Free entry · One of America’s most photographed cemeteries
- One of Georgia’s oldest active cemeteries — used 1750 to 1853
- Revolutionary War officers, colonial Georgia governors, early Savannah founders buried here
- Button Gwinnett (signer of Declaration of Independence) buried here
- Phone: (912) 651-6840 (City of Savannah)
- Open daily · Free entry · Managed by City of Savannah Parks
- National cemetery at site of the Civil War’s most infamous prison camp
- 13,000+ Union soldiers buried here — one of the most significant military burial sites in America
- Full searchable burial database at nps.gov/ande — more detailed than Find a Grave
- Phone: (229) 924-0343
- Grounds open daily sunrise to sunset · Visitor center hours vary
- Over 100,000 burials on 580 acres — one of the largest cemeteries in the South
- Strong records for Atlanta’s African-American community; civil rights figures buried here
- Excellent internal sexton records — office staff can locate most plots by name and approximate date
- Phone: (404) 755-6611
- Daily 8AM–5PM · Free entry
- Established 1817 · Historic cemetery for Augusta’s earliest families
- Confederate soldiers, Revolutionary War veterans, and early Georgia governors interred here
- Essential for Richmond County and eastern Georgia genealogy research
- Phone: (706) 821-1750
- Mon–Fri 8AM–4PM (office) · Grounds open daily
📜 Official Georgia Death Certificates — How to Get Them
A certified Georgia death certificate contains information no headstone or online index can provide: the exact cause of death, the attending physician, the parents’ full names and birthplaces, the informant’s name, the funeral home, and the cemetery of burial. For genealogy research, this is often the record that reveals a parent’s birthplace — pointing directly to the next generation of records.
Access Rule: Georgia death certificates are public record 25 years after the date of death. Deaths from 2001 and earlier are now publicly accessible. Records under 25 years require proof of qualifying relationship (immediate family, legal representative, or direct descendant).
- Go to dph.georgia.gov/vital-records and click “Order Death Certificates.” The state uses VitalChek as its authorized online ordering vendor.
- Select Death Certificate. Enter: full name at death, date of death, county of death, and your relationship to the deceased.
- Pay the $25 state fee for the first certified copy plus any processing/delivery fees. Rush processing available.
- Visit your local county health department. Find the nearest location via dph.georgia.gov/locations/county-boards-health.
- Bring valid photo ID and proof of qualifying relationship (if the record is within the 25-year period).
- Pay $25 for the first copy; $5 for each additional copy at the same visit. Most county offices issue same day.
- Download the application at dph.georgia.gov/vital-records. Complete all required fields.
- Make a check or money order payable to “Georgia Department of Public Health” for $25 per copy. Do not send cash.
- Mail to: Georgia Vital Records, 2 Peachtree St NW, Suite 10-462, Atlanta, GA 30303. Allow 4–6 weeks for processing. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
📚 Georgia Archives — Official State Records
The Georgia Archives at georgiaarchives.org is the official state repository for historical records — the most essential resource for any pre-1919 Georgia burial records research. Located at 5800 Jonesboro Rd., Morrow, GA 30260 · Phone: (404) 656-0460 · Tue–Sat 8AM–5PM.
Key collections for cemetery and burial research:
- WPA Cemetery Survey (1930s–1940s): Documents thousands of Georgia cemeteries — including rural family burial grounds with individual grave listings that exist nowhere else online.
- Georgia Death Index (1919–1998): Free to search online. Returns county, death date, and certificate number — use this before ordering the full certificate.
- County Probate Court Records: Wills, estate inventories, and guardianship files — frequently name the cemetery, burial location, and surviving family members.
- Georgia Newspaper Collection: Digitized historic Georgia newspapers with obituaries, death notices, and burial announcements dating back to the early 1800s.
- Civil War Records: Georgia Confederate pension files, discharge papers, and burial records — essential for tracing ancestors who served in the Civil War.
- Freedmen’s Bureau Records (1865–1872): Registers for post-Civil War freedmen and freedwomen — among the most important collections for African American genealogy in Georgia.
The Georgia Archives is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library. In-person visitors get free access to restricted FamilySearch digital collections not available at home. Photography is allowed throughout the archives — bring your smartphone or camera. No appointment required for general research.
🎖️ Georgia Veteran & Military Grave Search
Georgia is home to several significant military burial sites — most notably Marietta National Cemetery and the Andersonville National Historic Site, one of the most significant Civil War burial grounds in America. Use all systems below independently; their coverage differs significantly.
🎖️ VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Covers veterans at all VA national cemeteries including Marietta. Returns section, row, and site number.
Search VA Locator →🏛️ Marietta National Cemetery
10,000+ burials from Civil War through modern conflicts · 500 Washington Ave, Marietta, GA 30060 · (404) 428-5631.
Marietta Cemetery Info →⚔️ Andersonville National Site
13,000+ Union soldier burials — has its own NPS burial database more detailed than Find a Grave for these specific records.
NPS Andersonville →📋 FamilySearch Veterans Collection
Search “U.S. Veterans Gravesites, 1775–2006” free — covers VA cemeteries plus non-VA military burial sites across Georgia.
Search FamilySearch →📁 Military Service Records
Pension files often name the burial location. Request from NPRC — free for records over 62 years old.
Request at NPRC →💼 VA Burial Benefits
Burial in a VA national cemetery is a free benefit for eligible veterans. Find Georgia VA cemeteries at va.gov/burials-memorials.
VA Burial Benefits →Georgia-Specific: Georgia has 4,000+ identified Civil War burial sites spread across 159 counties — the vast majority are NOT in the VA system or Find a Grave. The Georgia Department of Veterans Service at veterans.georgia.gov maintains records of state-operated military burial sites.
🔎 Common Georgia Burial Record Questions — Answered
Every major question people search when looking for Georgia cemetery records, burial records, and grave locations — with practical, Georgia-specific guidance.
Find a Grave Georgia by Name Free
Start at FindGraveUSA.org — Georgia, then Find a Grave and BillionGraves. All completely free, no account needed for basic searches. For pre-1919 records, use the Georgia Archives death index at georgiaarchives.org — also free.
Georgia Cemetery Records Online
Georgia has strong online coverage for Atlanta-area and Savannah cemeteries. For rural sexton records, use Interment.net — Georgia. The Georgia Archives WPA Cemetery Survey documents thousands of rural burial grounds not yet digitized elsewhere — visit in person at 5800 Jonesboro Rd., Morrow, GA 30260.
Georgia Death Records Genealogy
Georgia death records fall into three periods: pre-registration county records (pre-1919), statewide death certificates (1919–present), and the 1919–1998 death index at Georgia Archives. FamilySearch holds the most complete free index. Official certified death certificates are available from Georgia DPH Vital Records for $25.
How to Find a Grave in Georgia
Start with FindGraveUSA.org using the county filter. If no result, try Find a Grave with wildcard operators. If still nothing, search the Georgia Archives WPA Cemetery Survey — it documents family burial grounds across all 159 counties that exist in no online database.
Georgia Genealogy Cemetery Records
Georgia genealogy research benefits enormously from the WPA cemetery surveys of the 1930s–1940s, which documented tens of thousands of graves in rural family cemeteries across all 159 counties. The Georgia Historical Society at georgiahistory.com holds extensive Savannah-area and coastal Georgia genealogy collections.
Georgia Veterans Burial Records
Search VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator for Marietta National Cemetery burials. For Civil War burials at Andersonville, search the NPS Andersonville database — the most detailed Civil War burial database for Georgia. The Georgia Archives also holds Confederate pension files with burial location data.
Free Georgia Death Records Search
The Georgia Archives death index (1919–1998) is free to search at georgiaarchives.org and returns the certificate number so you can order the full record. FamilySearch also holds Georgia death indexes for the same period. The certified death certificate — with parents’ names and burial location — costs $25 from Georgia DPH.
Georgia Historical Cemetery Records
Georgia’s historical burial records go back to colonial Savannah in the 1730s. Christ Church Parish in Savannah has burial registers dating to 1750. Colonial Park Cemetery records cover 1750–1853. For all historical records, the Georgia Archives at georgiaarchives.org and the Georgia Historical Society at georgiahistory.com are the essential resources.
🌿 8 Insider Tips — Georgia-Specific Genealogy Tricks
Things experienced Georgia genealogists know that casual searchers miss consistently. Read all eight before you start.
Georgia Has 159 Counties — Use the Right One
Georgia created many new counties throughout the 19th century. An ancestor buried in “Forsyth County” in 1850 may have been born in a county that was split or renamed. Always check historic county boundary changes using the Georgia County Formation Timeline before concluding a record doesn’t exist.
Death Reg. Didn’t Start Until 1919
Georgia was one of the last states to begin statewide death registration — 1919. For pre-1919 deaths, you must use the Georgia Archives WPA cemetery surveys, county probate records, church registers, and newspaper death notices. Don’t waste time searching the state death index for pre-1919 records.
WPA Cemetery Survey Is Indispensable
The 1930s–1940s WPA Cemetery Survey documents thousands of rural Georgia burial grounds — including family cemeteries on private land that have never been indexed online. This survey is only available in person at the Georgia Archives in Morrow, GA, or via FamilySearch microfilm at select locations. Plan a visit before giving up on a rural ancestor.
Andersonville Has Its Own NPS Database
Andersonville National Cemetery (13,000+ Civil War burials) maintains an independent NPS burial database at nps.gov/ande — completely separate from Find a Grave and the VA Gravesite Locator. Always search all three for any Civil War soldier who may have died in Georgia.
Freedmen’s Bureau Records Are Essential
Georgia’s Freedmen’s Bureau records (1865–1872) include marriage registers, labor contracts, and ration lists that often include burial information — essential for tracing African American ancestry in Georgia after the Civil War. Search free on FamilySearch under “Georgia Freedmen’s Bureau Records.”
Call the Funeral Home Listed in Any Obituary
Georgia funeral homes retain burial books for 50–100 years — these are not digitized and not publicly searchable. If you find any obituary mentioning a funeral home, call them directly. Give the full name and approximate date. They can often provide exact plot number, section, and cemetery location in minutes.
South Georgia Rural Cemeteries Are Off the Grid
South Georgia’s rural counties (Irwin, Telfair, Coffee, Atkinson, Ben Hill) have hundreds of family burial grounds on private farmland with almost no online documentation. Contact the county historical society and county probate judge’s office directly — these offices often hold handwritten lists of known private cemeteries compiled over decades.
Oakland Cemetery Has Exceptional In-House Records
Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta has one of the most complete internal burial databases in the Southeast — covering all 70,000+ burials back to 1850. Call (404) 688-2107 or visit their website before visiting in person. Their staff can locate any indexed burial and provide exact section, lot, and grave number.
⚡ Common Problems & Exact Solutions
The problems Georgia burial researchers hit most often — and the specific, verified steps to solve each one.
No record found on Find a Grave or any online database
✅ The grave is likely in a rural or family cemetery. Request the WPA Cemetery Survey at Georgia Archives (Morrow, GA) — it covers thousands of burial grounds never indexed online. Also call the county probate court directly.
Wrong or uncertain spelling of surname
✅ Use the * wildcard on Find a Grave (e.g. Smit*). Cross-check with the official Georgia death certificate from DPH Vital Records. Run a Soundex search on FamilySearch for phonetically similar surnames.
Death occurred before 1919 — no state death record
✅ Search the Georgia Archives death index for county-level records that predate statewide registration. Also check Georgia Historic Newspapers for obituary notices, and FamilySearch for any available county death registers and church burial records.
Know the cemetery but can’t find the plot
✅ Call the cemetery office with the full name and death date — most Georgia cemetery offices can find a plot in minutes using internal sexton records not available online. Oakland Cemetery Atlanta: (404) 688-2107. Bonaventure Savannah: (912) 651-6840.
Ancestor may be buried on private rural land
✅ Contact the county historical society and county probate judge’s office. Many rural Georgia counties maintain handwritten lists of known private and family burial grounds. The WPA Cemetery Survey at Georgia Archives is the other essential resource.
Civil War ancestor — can’t find burial location
✅ Search the NPS Andersonville database (nps.gov/ande), VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator (gravelocator.cem.va.gov), and FamilySearch “U.S. Veterans Gravesites 1775–2006” separately. Georgia Archives also holds Confederate pension files with burial location data.