Daily AncestorPauper burial
A pauper burial was a funeral and grave paid for by the town, county or city because the dead person or the family could not afford one.
Burying the poor was an old duty of local government. New York colonial laws already provided for burial of the poor, and in 1740 for the burial of the county's poor at county expense. In the year to October 1889, the Massachusetts state Department of Outdoor Poor spent about $6,500 on burials.
Overseers' accounts often list a coffin, the digging of a grave or other costs for a named pauper. The grave might be in a potter's field. Such entries can give a death date that no other record has, especially before statewide death registration.
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Daily Ancestor. "Pauper burial." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/poor-relief/pauper-burial. Last checked 2026-10-03.