In the presented article which is based on fi eld and documentary material (from the National Archive of the Republic of Moldova), the author examines the parish cemetery of the city of Tvarditsa in the Taraclia district. For the fi rst time he draws attention to the church sources “Metric books” with which you can compare information about the date of death marked on the tombstone with the one noted by the priest during the funeral of the deceased in the XIX century. The author showed that with the help of these sources it is possible to trace the cause of death of a person, as well as to establish the day and place of their burial (in the parish cemetery or in the church fence). As a result of the study, it was found that the cemetery in Tvarditsa was built by the fi rst settlers in 1830, it continues to function to this day. Among the buried, both residents of this inhabited place and people from other settlements stand out, but once worked here and suddenly died.