New Hanover County

Oakdale Cemetery Records, Wilmington, North Carolina, 5 volumes, 1852-1879; 1880-1920; 1920-1949; 1950-1969; 1970-1988, (Call number NC 929.375627 O). Founded in 1852, Oakdale is Wilmington’s largest cemetery. Many who died before 1852 were also removed to Oakdale.

There are 4 different books that cover Bellevue Cemetery which began in 1879 as a private cemetery company. Some of the following compilations are taken from stones, some from the registers, and some include both. It is wise to check all of the volumes. Burial Records of Bellevue Cemetery, Wilmington, N.C. compiled by Jeff and Susan Phillips (Call number NC 929.375627 B). Register of Deaths and Burials, Bellevue Cemetery Company, July 1876 - May 1988, (Call number NC 929.375627 B) an Eagle Scout project, led by Jonathan T. Rowell of Boy Scout Troop 215. Bellevue Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina, A Directory of Grave Sites, a photocopy of an old hand written listing. Lower Cape Fear Gravestone Records, Vol. III (Bellevue Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina), by Ida Brooks Killam. (Call number NC 929.37562 M)

Prospect Cemetery, by Emma Opp. Murray. Located in a recently highly developed area north of Wilmington near Highway 117 and Military Cutoff Road, the earliest grave dates to 1860. (Call number NC 929.375627 P)

Oak Grove Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina, compiled by Bill Reaves. (Call number NC 929.375627 O) The original Oak Grove records have been lost. Mr. Reaves compiled them from newspaper notices and death certificates. It is the final resting place of both whites and blacks. There was also a "potter’s field" area for unknowns, strangers, criminals and the destitute.

Masonboro Sound Cemeteries and Other Information, compiled by Crockett W. Hewlett, (NC 929.375627 M). Included are the burials in Masonboro Baptist Church as well as several family cemeteries in the area.

Inscriptions, by Elizabeth Francenia McKoy, (NC 929.375627 I). From St. James Church graveyard, these records include the entire tombstone inscription.

Gravestone Records, New Hanover County, with Supplementary Records for Pender County, by Leora H. McEachern. Vol. XI in her cemetery series, this book covers the smaller family and church cemeteries in the county. (NC 929.37562 M)

Pine Forest Cemetery Records, 1863-1971, (Call number NC 929.375627 P). These are the records of the city’s oldest surviving African-American cemetery. They can only be viewed on microfilm.

Brunswick County

Lower Cape Fear Gravestone Records (Vol. I) by Ida Brooks Killam, (Call number NC 929.375627 L). These records, which randomly cover all the counties of Southeastern, NC, were compiled in 1959. Of the 43 cemeteries covered, 25 are in Brunswick County.

The Cemeteries of Southport (Smithville) and Surrounding Area, compiled by Dorcas W. Schmidt, (NC 929.375629 C).

Pender County

Pender County, North Carolina Gravestone Records, Leora Hiatt "Billie" McEachern, (Call number NC 929.37562 M). This is a remarkable collection of over 400 family and church cemeteries.

Onslow County

Onslow County Cemetery Records, compiled by James Michael Whaley, (Call number NC 929.375623 O). Twelve volumes of hundreds of family and church cemeteries.

Onslow County, North Carolina, Confederate Veterans, compiled by James Michael Whaley, (NC 929.375623 0). Includes cemetery records.

Markers of Time, Cemeteries of Onslow County, a project of the Onslow County Old Cemetery Society, (Call number 929.375623 M). So far the Cemetery Society has published four volumes of Onslow County family and church cemeteries. Fortunately, they intend to continue the project in the future.

City of Jacksonville, City Cemetery Listing, published by the city of Jacksonville, NC, (Call number NC 929.375623 J).

Prepared by Beverly Tetterton, State and Local History Librarian