Support Mount Vernon Cemetery's Interment Card Initiative

Mount Vernon Cemetery Interment Card Transcription Initiative.

Established in 1856, Philadelphia's historic Mount Vernon Cemetery (MVC) is the final resting place of over 33,000 souls. Over the course of the last 20+ years, the cemetery and its archives have been neglected to an extreme degree: The property is blighted, dangerous, and generally impassible; in 2021 many of the cemetery's most vital archival records were stolen, misplaced, and/or discovered to have been exposed to the elements and rendered illegible (photo below).

One of the most significant missing collections is the cemetery's interment cards: 33,000+ index cards, arranged alphabetically, which record the name, age, date and cause of death, burial Section, Lot number, and grave location, for every MVC burial from 1856-1968. The information contained on these cards was often taken directly from death certificates, and is therefore, a trusted source of biographical and genealogical information of immense historic value.

Although the original set of cards is now considered lost, in Fall 2023, archivists identified a second set of interment cards. While this set is incomplete - 1856-1878 are missing - the number of extant cards numbers upwards of 30,000. The second set of cards is arranged arbitrarily, according to internment date, and is contained in 4 large banker boxes. Each box contains approx. 7000-8000 cards (photo below).

While it is extremely fortunate that a second set exists, many cards are covered in dirt and mold, and are in extremely poor condition due to years of improper storage conditions and exposure to the elements (photo below).

Given the historic significance of these cards - they are currently the only reliable means by which burials can be located at MVC - the Friends of Mount Vernon Cemetery acquired the collection on loan, and turned them over to a transcription and digitization specialist in upstate New York. Once there, technicians began to clean, stabilize, and transcribe each index card, and input all legible information into a searchable and customizable digital database.

Currently, this epic transcription initiative, which will culminate in the transcription of all 30,000+ interment cards, stands at over 10,000 entries - which equates to over 10,000 individually transcribed cards; about 1/3 of the entire MVC collection (header photo).

The initial assessment, transportation, and transcription work was paid for by the Friends of Mount Vernon Cemetery. Unfortunately, funds are running low, and the work will eventually stall without further aid. The Friends are now asking for your assistance in helping up reach our $5000 goal in order to complete the rest of the interment card transcriptions.

100% of your donation will go towards the transcription and storage of the remaining 20,000+ internment cards that have yet to be digitized. Once the initiative is completed, we will have the names and burial locations of all internments at MVC from 1879-1966! This invaluable information will be used to help descendants find their lost loved ones, assist the Friends in navigating and cleaning up the property (photo below), programming and community engagement, as well as help future owners identify available plots for use, and much more.

A contribution as little as $10 will go a long way in ensuring MVC's prosperity. We've come so far, but there's still a long way to go. Public interest in the cemetery is growing. We're on the verge of important breakthroughs in community engagement. Transcribing these interment cards, and having the ability to locate burials are an integral part of the process. Please join us in celebrating the future of MVC by way of our interment card transcription initiative. Thank you!

The Friends of Mount Vernon Cemetery.