Mount Moriah Cemetery Research
The Friends of Moriah Moriah have access to the records that were left behind in the office building when the cemetery was abandoned. They are housed off-site, and are not directly accessible to the public.
Due to the size and condition of the cemetery, we do not offer a photography service.
About the Records
- Details on burials from the last few years before the cemetery closed in April 2011 are scarce. We are usually unable to provide grave locations for 2010 and 2011.
- The records usually contain name, burial date, section and lot. They sometimes offer the deceased’s approximate age and cause of death. There is no other genealogical information available in the records, and we cannot tell if a headstone or marker is present.
- If your ancestor was moved from another cemetery to Mount Moriah, we cannot search by the original death date. Researchers need to provide the date of re-burial at Mount Moriah.
- In most cases, we are unable to provide details on who purchased a lot.
- There are maps of the cemetery and of most individual sections. For sections without maps, we are unable to pinpoint exact grave locations, as we do not have a reference for where the rows, divisions, or lots are oriented.
Research Requests
We estimate there are nearly 200,000 burials on the nearly 200 acre property. Because there is not a complete index of all burials, please contact us with a detailed request including the first and last name of the deceased, and date of death (day, month, and year).
Self-Service Research
If you are unsure of a death date, or need to confirm burial at Mount Moriah before requesting a lookup, there are a variety of options.
Pennsylvania Death Certificates (1906-1967)
Pennsylvania residents can access the PA death certificates online for free. Follow the instructions on this page for access, which requires creating a free ancestry.com account. Those with ancestry.com subscriptions can view the death certificate collection after signing in to the website.
Burial Records at Ancestry.com
Those with a paid ancestry.com account can access a limited set of Mount Moriah Cemetery records. In most cases, you will get the section and plot information from these records. Use Ancestry's Pennsylvania and New Jersey Church and Town Records set found via the Card Catalog. Not all records are available via ancestry.com, but this is a good resource.
Pennsylvania Death Records
FamilySearch offers a variety of Philadelphia records, including death certificates. The collections are accessible with a free user account.
Findagrave.com
See if your ancestor is already listed on the free findagrave.com website. This is a collaborative website for cataloging the final disposition of the deceased. The Friends of Mount Moriah do not manage the listings here.
