Understanding Data Fields
This guide is meant to help you understand the data fields in each record. The data fields correspond to columns that were filled out for each individual burial record (one row).
Please note: there may be errors in transcription and/or variances in the way that data was recorded by Cemetery employees over time. It may be helpful to reference the linked digital images of the original pages for clarity.
If you still have questions about what you are seeing, please email vitalrecords@green-wood.com with questions.
Click the fields below for explanatory notes on each.
Birthplace
Called “Nativity” or “Place of Birth” in the original volumes, this field may refer to the City, State, or Country in which the individual was born, if known.
Marital Status
This field indicates whether the individual was single, married, or widowed at the time of their death. If the field is blank, this information was not recorded, and was likely unknown to Cemetery staff of the time.
Age at death
This field breaks down the age of the individual at the time of their death. Age may be specific to the year, month, day, hour, or even minute.
Late residence
This field indicates the individual’s primary place of residence at the time of their death. In the original volumes, this data was recorded in two columns, one that typically included the city, state, or country, and one that was more specific to the street address. The two columns have been combined in this display. (Please see note below “Place of Death” for additional details about reading this field.)
Place of death
This field indicates where the individual died. It may be as general as a state or country, or note a specific hospital or street address. Oftentimes the place of death is similar or identical to the Late Residence field. (Please see note below for additional details about reading this field.)
Because the “Late Residence” and “Place of Death” fields were recorded as adjacent columns in the original handwritten volumes, there was often overlap between them, which in some cases may have caused confusion in the transcription. For example, someone may have written an entry in the “Late Residence” field intending it to be in the “Place of Death” field. It may be helpful to consider these fields together or refer to the digital image of the original page if the data provided seems confusing or unclear.
Cause of death
Called “disease” or “cause of death” in the original volumes, this field indicates the reason why the individual died as it was reported to Green-Wood at the time of interment. Typically this refers to some kind of fatal ailment. Misspellings on the part of the original writer are common in this field, so make sure to search for variances (see How to Search).
Date of death
This field indicates the specific date on which the individual died. In some cases, where the individual was originally interred elsewhere before being brought to Green-Wood, the date of death will be unknown, and thus the field will be blank.
Date of interment
This field indicates when the individual was interred at Green-Wood, and is typically also the date on which the Burial Registry data was recorded. The original Burial Registry volumes were organized in chronological order by this date. Please note that in cases where the individual has multiple lots/graves (due to being moved), this field indicates the date of interment in the first lot/grave listed. (See note about the Remarks column for information on later interment dates.)
Lot number (of current burial site)
This field refers to the location where the individual is interred in the Cemetery. This may not have been the original location of burial at Green-Wood [See Lot number (of previous burial site) for details.] Every interment should have a Lot number. If one does not appear, it is likely the body was removed permanently from the Cemetery.
Grave number (of current burial site)
Similar to Lot Number, this field refers more specifically to the location of the interment in the Cemetery. Each lot is composed of multiple graves, so this field indicates where the individual is interred within the Lot.
For interments in large, public lots (where graves are, for the most part, owned by unrelated persons) the grave number will be numeric and may have one to four digits.
For interments in private, family-owned lots, there is more variation. There may not be a grave number, the grave number may be a single digit, or, in some cases, non-numerical indications may specify the location within the lot (which corner, side, etc.). In some cases, this field was populated with “See R Column,” indicating that a diagram of the grave location was drawn in the Remarks/Notes field. If you see this indication, or the field “Diagram available” is marked as True, click the book icon next to the individual’s name to view the digital image of the original page containing the diagram.
Lot number (of previous burial site)
This field refers to the former location where the individual was interred at Green-Wood, if they were either moved from one location in the Cemetery to another or removed from the Cemetery entirely. In both of these cases, in the original handwritten volume, the lot number was crossed out (ex. 7209). The lot number displayed here is one that was crossed out in the original volume, indicating the individual has been removed from that lot.In these cases, a date of removal was typically indicated in the margins. This value can be found in the Remarks/Notes field.
Grave number (of previous burial site)
This field refers to the former location where the individual was interred at Green-Wood, if they were moved from one location in the Cemetery to another, or removed from the Cemetery entirely. This is similar to “Lot number (of previous burial site)” but refers to graves, of which lots are composed. This number indicates a grave number that was crossed out (ex. 7209) in the original volume, indicating the named body is no longer located there. See “Grave number (of current burial site)” above for further information on grave numbers.
Diagram available (see digital image)
This field will be populated with “True” if a diagram of the grave and lot appeared in the remarks column of the original handwritten volume. These primarily were used within private lots to indicate the grave in which the individual was interred. To view the digital image of the original handwritten volume that contains the diagram, click the book icon next to the individual’s name.
Marital Status
This field indicates whether the individual was single, married, or widowed at the time of their death. If the field is blank, this information was not recorded, and was likely unknown to Cemetery staff of the time.
Lot owner
This field indicates whether the individual being interred was an owner of the lot in which they were interred. In the original handwritten volume, this was indicated by a plus (+) sign before the individual’s name. This was recorded for internal Cemetery purposes because in these cases, additional paperwork would be required to transfer ownership of the lot.
Undertaker / Funeral Director
This field indicates the funeral director who handled the arrangements for the individual’s interment. When the original volume was written, the more commonly used term was “Undertaker.”
Notes & Remarks
This field primarily contains data that does not fit into the other fields. It is composed of both comments written in the “Remarks” field of the original handwritten volumes, along with notes that had been written in margins. If you require clarity about where a note was made, please refer to the digital image of the original page.
The information conveyed in this field varies. Data may include: the original location of the body if it was interred elsewhere before being brought to Green-Wood; the date when the body was removed from a Lot/Grave at Green-Wood; other notations about removals; notes about the spelling of names as they appear in Cemetery records; and other miscellaneous data.
If the meaning of the data in the notes field is unclear, we recommend you click the book icon next to the individual’s name to view the digital image of the original page for more context (for example, a date may have appeared next to a crossed out Lot or Grave, indicating it is the date of removal from said Lot/Grave).
Burial Registry Volume
The data displayed here were originally recorded in a series of 60 handwritten volumes. This field indicates the number of the volume in which the record appeared.
Burial Registry Page
This field indicates the specific page (as captured digitally) from the original volume on which the record appeared.
Interment Number
This field indicates the unique interment number given to the individual listed. Each interment at Green-Wood is assigned a unique number correlating to the chronological order in which the individual was interred in the Cemetery. (For example, an interment number of 300,000 would indicate that that record represents the three-hundred thousandth person interred at Green-Wood.)