Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Richmond (Va.) Oakwood Cemetery Record of Interments, 1874-1972 (accession 43466) is closed for conservation.

Use Restrictions

Use microfilm copies, Richmond City (Va.) Reel 856-858.

Preferred Citation

Richmond (Va.) Oakwood Cemetery Record of Interments, 1855-1973, Richmond City (Va.) Reel 856-858. Local government records collection, Richmond (City) Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This volume came to the Library of Virginia under the accession number 43466. These items were microfilmed by the Library of Virginia's Imaging Services Division.

Historical Information

The city of Richmond was established in 1742. Incorporated as a town in 1782, it was incorporated as a city in 1872. It added to its size over the years by annexation: the city of Manchester in 1910; Barton Heights, Fairmont, and Highland Park in 1914; and part of Chesterfield County in 1970. Richmond is the capital of the commonwealth of Virginia.

Oakwood Cemetery was established in 1854 as a public burial ground by the city of Richmond. The first burials in the cemetery occurred in 1856. The Richmond City Council created a standing Committee on Burying Grounds to oversee the development and administration of the municipal cemeteries. There is a large section of Confederate burials of individuals who died in battles around Richmond and from Chimborazo and other Richmond area Confederate hospitals. In 1914-1916 the City Council donated certain lots to the Lady Board of Managers of the Foundling Home for the purpose of burying therein deceased foundlings.

Scope and Content

Richmond (Va.) Oakwood Cemetery Record of Interments, 1855-1973, consists of multiple volumes of registers of burials in the Oakwood Cemetery.

Record of Interments, 1874-1972, consists of two sections. The first section from pp. 2-38 records the burials of white residents of Richmond in Division A and is laid out in traditional family plots. Only the names of persons buried are given and no further information. The individuals in this section are indexed in the microfilmed card index to Oakwood burials found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The second section from pp. 40-139 consists of "Colored Interments" with some pages marked "colored paupers" and "colored infants." This section is arranged like a traditional register and lists variously date of death, name, cause of death, and age. The names from the Colored Interments are not found in the microfilmed card index to Oakwood burials and there is no other index to this section. Persons buried in the Colored Interments section do appear to have Bureau of Vital Statistics death certificates. The original volume of this record of interments was transferred to the library under the accession number 43466. Several pages have gone missing from the original register since it was microfilmed and the volume itself is in poor condition. Access is restricted to the microfilm, Richmond City (Va.) Reel 856.

Record of Interments, 1885-1906. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year (for example, surnames A- 1885, 1886, 1887 and so on). Information given in the register includes date of death, name, age, undertaker (not always filled in), location of grave, number (not always filled in), and the owner of the lot. This volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Use microfilm Richmond City (Va.) Reel 856.

Record of Interments, 1855-1911, lists the date of death, name of person, age, disease, occupation (usually not filled in and sometimes used for remarks about removal), range, section, part of section, range of grave, grave, and remarks. The bulk of the volume is 1855-1905 with additional notes at the front of the volume for burials through 1911. This volume may be partial duplicate or additional information to that contained in the record dated 1885-1906. There is no index. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Use microfilm, Richmond City (Va.) Reel 858.

Record of Interments, 1907-1923. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year. Information given in the register includes date of death, name, age, undertaker (not always filled in), location of grave, number (not always filled in), and the owner of the lot. This volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Pp. 1-394 through surnames W 1923 are on Richmond City (Va.) Reel 856. Surnames Y-Z and a section titled Perpetual Care are on Richmond City (Va.) Reel 857.

Record of Interments, 1923-1948, consists of two volumes. The first volume contains surnames A-S and the second surnames S-Z. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year. Information given in the register includes date of death, name, age, undertaker (not always filled in), location of grave, number (not always filled in), and the owner of the lot. This volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold these original volumes. Use Richmond City (Va.) Reel 857.

Record of Interments, 1948-1958, contains surnames A- 1948 through surnames S- 1952. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year. Information given in the register includes date of death, name, age, undertaker (not always filled in), location of grave, number (not always filled in), and the owner of the lot. This volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Use Richmond City (Va.) Reel 857.

Record of Interments, 1948-1958, contains surnames S- 1953 through surnames Z- 1958. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year. This volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Use Richmond City (Va.) Reel 858.

Record of Interments, 1958-1971. The microfilm states that there is a general index in the volume but that is not correct. The volume is arranged in alphabetical order by surname and thereafter by year. The volume is indexed by the microfilmed card index to Oakwood interments found on Misc. Reels 914-926. The Library of Virginia does not hold this original volume. Use Richmond City (Va.) Reel 858.

Record of Interments, 1971-1973, has a separate index to lot owners and interments preceeding the record of interments. The index lists names, date of death, lot book page, and intermnet record book page and line numbers. The names in the index are probably to deceased persons as opposed to lot owners. The record of interments lists date, grave number, name, lot number, late residence, age, line number, plat book, name of undertaker, and lot owner. The Library of Virginia does not hold these original volumes. Use Richmond City (Va.) Reel 858.

Related Material

The city of Richmond is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional city of Richmond Court Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Database found at the Library of Virginia web site.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Richmond (Va.) Department of Parks and Recreation.

Subjects:

• African Americans -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Cemeteries -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Death -- Causes.

Geographical Names:

• Richmond (Va.) -- History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Cemetery records -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Richmond.
• Registers (lists) -- Virginia -- Richmond.

Adjunct Descriptive Data