Title: A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries, 3rd edition
Author: David Allen Lambert
Format: Paperback
Published: 2018
My Rating: 
The following review first appeared in the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM magazine (Summer 2019); reprinted with permission.
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First published in 2002, A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries has become a go-to reference for those researching ancestors in Massachusetts. This third edition is a complete update from the second edition published in 2009.
This town-by-town guide is the most comprehensive publication you’ll find covering cemeteries in the state of Massachusetts. Towns are listed alphabetically, as are the cemeteries therein. But, this is not just a guide to cemetery locations. Also included in the listings are: the date the cemetery was founded (or date of earliest known burial), contact information, other names the cemetery is/was known by, and any books or articles containing gravestone transcriptions. The latter being extremely important since an early transcription may be the only surviving source. Another nice feature is that each town includes the year of incorporation and the parent town(s); helpful for genealogy research in general. Additionally, some listings include short notes, such as “The Boston Archdiocese Archives has grave lot sales 1885–1920” under St. Mary’s Cemetery in Quincy, and “Contains the tombs of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams . . .” under United First Parish Church Tomb also in Quincy.
Author David Allen Lambert updated the listings from the second edition, and even added cemeteries that were not known when that edition came out in 2009. Lambert also included new transcription materials that were published in the interim.
If you have ancestors from Massachusetts, this is certainly a guide you will want in your genealogy reference arsenal.
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