Oakland Cemetery

Oakland Cemetery

LOCATION:  3900 Oakland Circle, Dallas, Texas (@ the 3900 block of Malcolm X Blvd). From IH 45, go 0.5 mile NE on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Turn right at Malcolm X Blvd. and go 0.7 mile south. The cemetery entrance is at Oakland Circle on the east side of the road. Office phone number is (214) 421-2244.

This is a very large, fully fenced cemetery that is active and maintained. The cemetery contains many impressive architectural and sculptural features. Mt. Auburn Cemetery, George W. Carver Cemetery (city pauper cemeteries) and Confederate Cemetery are nearby (although those records are not part of this transcription).

Oakland Cemetery opened in 1892. Today the cemetery contains about 60 acres in 34 numbered sections with over 30,000 burials. The cemetery is divided into sections containing lots and sections containing tiers (rows). Each lot generally is divided into 12 plots, usually two rows of six graves each. A family may have purchased all or part of a lot or parts of two lots creating such designations as Lots 17 NW½ and 19 SE½ as found on the interment cards. The sections containing tiers may have varying number of rows (tiers) and graves. Some sections have both lots and tiers.

The Internment Cards for burials at this cemetery have been digitized and are now available on the Family Search Website. They are not yet indexed.

MAPS:
The links below are digital images in a variety of formats of the ‘Plat of Oakland Cemetery Property in City Blocks 1766, 1767 & 1970, Dallas Texas’, Drawing number E-199 created by Powell & Powell Engineers in March 1976. Note that the pdf and tif files are larger and will take a bit longer to download and open.

Maps Provided by the Dallas Public Library

Codes used in this transcription:

Code Description Code Description
[   ] Information from sources other than tombstone nd No Date
8 Obituary attached to IC OOSL Old Oversized Singles Ledger
9 Other information written on IC P Purchase (no burial)
ASL Alpha Singles Ledger QS Quad Stone
AAUW Ancient Order of United Workmen R Removed from Oakland Cemetery
d/o Daughter of S Stone
dau Daughter s/o Son of
DS Double Stone SL Singles Ledger
FS Footstone Inscription TS Triple Stone
h/o Husband of V Vault
IC Internment Card w/o Wife of
IOOF International Order of Odd Fellows WOW Woodmen of the World
LOC Lot Owner Card    

Section specific descriptions are coming to this site soon.

Information for the Oakland Cemetery transcription comes from the actual tombstones, interment cards, lot owner cards, alpha singles and singles ledger. All of the ledgers and cards, except the current singles ledger, have been filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). The original records are located in the Oakland Cemetery caretaker’s office. Copies of the GSU microfilms are available in the Texas/Dallas History and Archives section, 7th floor, of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, Texas or from the Family History Library.

The Dallas Genealogical Society (DGS) Oakland Cemetery survey team of Suzan Younger, Alvin Harper, Barbara Ware, Shari Degan, and Tresa Gomez recorded all the visible tombstones twice. The records transcription team of DGS members Suzan Younger, Carole Ruska, Barbara Ware and Carolyn Smith have recorded, compared and edited the tombstone transcriptions, interment cards, lot owner cards, alpha singles ledger, and singles ledger and are preparing the database for publication. Harold Williams, Oakland Cemetery sexton, has been immeasurably helpful to this project and to the team members.

The transcription team realizes, that even with careful edits and checks, it is possible that a date or name may not be correct. The members would appreciate any corrections that can be verified.

More Information