Magnolia Cemetery is the largest burial ground in the City of Charleston, and has been active since the 1830s. This set of film includes various lists of persons interred in the cemetery from 1838 to 1979. This set of film differs from the Magnolia Cemetery Inscriptions book (929.5 Inscription); the book is an inventory of tombstones in Magnolia compiled by the Works Progress Administration up to 1937, while the rolls of film contain burial records and cover a larger time span.

Magnolia Cemetery is still active to date and is open to visitors.

Roll 1C: “Records of Burials at Magnolia Cemetery, 1836-1931”

This set of film is broken into three sections: burials from 1836-1889, lists of cremations and incinerations 1890-1919, and list of burials 1890-1931. The burial sections of the film are organized alphabetically by surname. Please note that they names are not in perfect order; only the first and second letters of the name are in order. For example, the names may jump in this fashion: Beash, Best, Bebbee, etc. The ledger book entries include the name of the interred, date of burial, age, grave lot location/number, section of the cemetery, and occasional remarks. The cremation list is not in alphabetical order. The list includes the name, date of death and burial, where the cremation occurred, and the burial location in Magnolia.

Roll 2C: Index of burials, 1838-1978 

The index groups all the surnames of one letter together (all As, Bs, Cs, etc.) but is not alphabetized within the letter heading. The index includes the name of the interred, month and year of interment, and some remarks. This is the index for rolls C3-C5, “Records of Interments.”

Roll 3C-5C: “Interment Records for Magnolia Cemetery, 1838-1908; Oct. 1902-Dec. 1915; Jan 1937-Dec. 1979” 

These rolls are organized chronologically by date of burial, so it is necessary to use the index on 2C (or roll 1C for burials prior to 1931) to locate the individual. The film is a list of entries from the internment ledger books. Each entry includes the name, date of burial, age of the interred in month, day, and year form, marital status, place of nativity, disease/cause of death, physician, place of residence at time of death, plot location, and burial fee paid. While there are duplicate entries on these rolls and 1C, this collection includes more information. Please note that Roll 5C is very hard to read.