I recently wrote an article about my search for information about my great-uncle Joseph who was murdered on Christmas Day 1924, the same day that his daughter was born. It was a good exercise, because it forced me to go back through all of the documentation I had collected thus far. One unrealized avenue of research jumped out at me. Joseph and his mother (my great-grandmother) were both interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens New York. I had never looked into contacting the cemetery and trying to get their interment records.
So after reading some advice on the ancestry.com New York City message board, I called the cemetery. The woman I spoke with told me that the records would cost $75 for the first name, and $5 for each additional. A bit pricey I thought, but this could be a treasure trove of information.
Since I had two names, and I did not know if they were in the same plot, she asked the name and date of death and burial for the most recent. I gave her the info for Joseph. She put me on hold for about a minute and then came back and told me the plot was purchased by Antonio Cascio (my great-grandfather) on 06 Aug 1912. This was four days after his wife, Anna, had passed away. There were only three interments in the plot. Now I knew that Anna was one. I also learned the location of the plot.
The woman on the phone told me the last interment was in 1951. She put me on hold again and looked up the record. When she came back, she told me that the third name was my great-grandfather. He was buried on 21 Feb 1951. Since I still don't know his date of death, this would be the only new info I would learn.
When I asked her about ordering the record, she somewhat scolded me and told me that she just looked up all of the information for free, and I should save the $85. I agreed with her advice and thanked her for her help.
BTW... I should add, for anyone searching for info on contacting Calvary Cemetary. The phone number is 718-786-8000. It is located in Queens, New York. The address of the main office is;
Calvary Cemetery
49-02 Laurel Hill Blvd
Woodside, NY 11377
