Maryland, Baltimore, Locks Funeral Home Records, 1936-2007

What is in the Collection?

This collection consists of funeral home records from the Locks Funeral Home in Baltimore for the years 1936 to 2007. The records are located at the Maryland State Archives accession number MSA SC 6147.

Funeral records are generally a late nineteenth, early twentieth century record. Embalming within the United States was not a widely accepted practice until the Civil War and the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Most funerals prior to the early twentieth century were a family and friends event taking place at the decedent’s home with burial taking place within twenty-four to forty-eight hours of death. Funeral homes or parlors were not used and caskets were made by the local cabinet or furniture maker. Large cities are more likely to have earlier funeral home records. Most rural areas did not have funeral homes until the early twentieth century. Funeral directors are now responsible for initiating and filing the death certificate. Since the 1950s, many funeral homes have merged with other firms or gone out of business. Funeral records are generally recorded in the locality where the person resided or is buried. They were not used by the general population until local regulations required embalming and the use of a funeral home became a generally accepted practice.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can these Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Funeral records may include death certificates, ledgers, obituaries, and miscellaneous loose papers.

• Name, age and race of deceased
• Death date and place of deceased
• Residence of deceased
• Burial date and place of deceased
• Birth date and place of deceased
• Name and birth place of father of deceased
• Maiden name and birth place of mother of deceased
• Name of informant
• Date and place of funeral
• Date and place of burial
• Religious preference
• Names of surviving family members
• Names of other relatives or friends
• Copy of obituary or notes used to prepare obituary
• List of newspapers where obituary was placed

Collection Content

Sample Image

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  1958 Funeral Record