Daily AncestorPotter's field
A potter's field was a public burial ground for the poor, the unknown and the unclaimed, kept by a city or county.
The name comes from the Gospel of Matthew, where the priests buy a potter's field as a burying place for strangers. American cities and counties used it for the public cemetery where paupers, unidentified bodies and the unclaimed were buried.
New York City's potter's field on Hart Island became the city cemetery in 1869, for those who died indigent or whose bodies went unclaimed, with 1,875 burials in its first year. Since such graves seldom have stones, look for the city or county burial register.
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Daily Ancestor. "Potter's field." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/poor-relief/potters-field. Last checked 2026-10-03.