BOOT CAMP - Lesson 4 - Cemetery Searches

 Cemetery Searches

First an explanation about these programs.  People just like all of us go out into the cemeteries, take pictures, write down all information found at each grave (birth, death, etc) then post it to one of these programs.  Each program has specific details on how to submit information but anyone can participate. Once info is posted online, it is available free of charge to all of us searching our family. Great things can be found in some of these cemetery records - pictures, family history, obituaries, names of parents and siblings.  NOTE: not all info posted is correct as many gravestones are difficult to read and sometimes the person taking the info does not write it down correctly.  Also, some info on Find a Grave especially, may be submitted without ever finding the actual headstone (someone who has info about a person and their burial info can actually post it as though they actually found it in the cemetery). Sometimes this info can be incorrect also (I know because I have found some instances on both of these situations).

Let's start with Find a Grave - found at www.findagrave.com

The HOME page has 4 sections from which to choose.  (Find Famous Graves, Find Graves, Questions and Answers, and Forums, Store, etc.)

- Choose Search Grave Records (under Find Graves).  Type in a name of a deceased person and see what happens.  If you have specifics like birth or death and location, enter it but if you find nothing, start removing some info. If you still find nothing, try removing different info and leaving different info. Also try the full name. Again, if you get nothing, try just a letter for the first name and the full last name.  You need a last name but if you know of alternate spellings, you might try them. If you have an unusual last name, search for it and see who all come up!

-  You can also try Search for a Cemetery (Cemetery Look-up). If you don't know the name of the cemetery, just type in the state and county and all of the cemeteries that have been entered (some cemeteries have not had their info submitted) will show. Once you find a cemetery and select it, you can search through the whole cemetery (in ABC order) or do a search from within the cemetery by typing in a name.

Note: If you have a question or might want further info on a person, check to see who submitted the information.  Often you can email them or ask them a question.  Some are great to answer. I even had a man go back to the cemetery for me and looked up some additional information.

Billion Graves found at www.billiongraves.com - this is very similar to Find a Grave. People take pictures with their phones (after they have registered and downloaded the app) then they upload the pictures.  Other people transcribe the data from the pictures for the website. Then the information is available for searches.

Headstone Search - type in a name (use info as stated above for Find a Grave). If you want to put in more information, click on the words "Check out the Advanced Search Page". This will open a page with the options Person Look-up or Cemetery Look-up.

There is a lot more available at both of these sites so after you've done a few searches, take a look around the sites and see the other information they offer.

Words From the Grave

Recently my husband and I took a road trip across the United States.  One thing we incorporated into the trip was cemetery searching.  I thought it would be fun to check out cemeteries of where some of our ancestors were buried.  We visited several cemeteries, in some we found our ancestors and in others, not so lucky.  The whole experience was wonderful.  Oh the excitement when we found those graves of our loved ones that we had only gotten to know through our researching endeavors.  We did discover that we were quite unprepared for really using this search as a tool in helping us discover more information.  We agreed that we want to go back to many of these cemeteries and do it right this time.  Here are some problems we faced and what we decided we needed to do next time.

First, we did bring along a computer that assisted us in looking up what we had already found and helped us to decide where we wanted to go looking.  In all circumstances on this trip, we knew the names of the cemeteries and the towns where they were located.  We also brought along a GPS which made it possible for us to find some of these cemeteries by coordinates.  I doubt that we would have been able to find them any other way.  We also used the Internet each night to check out the locations of these cemeteries so that we could plug it into the GPS to find them.

The thing we were not prepare with is that almost all of our visits to cemeteries were on the weekend.  Not a great plan.  There was no one to go see if we had questions about locations and plot maps etc.  The other thing, we had no rubbing materials or cleaning materials and many of these old stones were extremely difficult to read due to wear and mold and such.

Here is a list of things I think need to be done if you plan on searching out cemeteries.  (From my other blog http://www.grandmaschitchat.blogspot.com/)

1.  Get your facts -  Try to know as much about your ancestor as you can.  It helps to know the cemetery where he/she is buried (or at least the town).  Check all of your lines to see if there are others that might be in the same cemetery (try to do as much as you can at one cemetery as possible).  Check out Find A Grave on the Internet.  It is free and will be a huge help.

2.  Do ground work ahead of time - Write the county or town hall to see if they have any information about the cemetery that would be of help to you - like a plot map showing where graves are located (this will save huge amounts of time walking and searching).

3.  Gather supplies - Do research on how to extract information from decaying gravestones (brushes, cleaners, rubbing materials, etc).  There are right and wrong ways to clean gravestones - be sure to research this!  Bring a computer or printed material of your genealogy.  Bring a clipboard and plenty of paper.

4.  Plan enough time - It is amazing how fast time flies when you are searching gravestones.  If you have to factor in cleaning time, your time will go even faster.  Don't rush!  Don't over plan your day (don't try to do several cemeteries in a day) - be flexible.

5.  Document what you find and where you found it - Take pictures but also map out those around your ancestor - they may be related in some way.  It is amazing how quickly you will forget what picture goes where.  Take notes of your pictures so when you are looking at them, you will know who it is you are viewing and who they a re related to....(many times you will find a stone that says the family name with no information but in front of the stone you see mother, father, child, etc. This can be very confusing if you are only looking at pictures.). 

6.  Week day working hours may be best - If you need to talk with someone at the cemetery or in a court house, funeral home, etc., they may only be available during work hours.  If you plan your cemetery visit during the weekend, you may be out of luck if you need to speak to someone (believe me, you very well may need to do this).

7.  Take the family - What a fantastic experience for your whole family.  Get the kids involved.  Everyone can search in a cemetery.  How exciting it is to see your ancestor's grave.  This would be a great time for you to tell your family about some memories or research experience you may have had with this ancestor.  These were real people with real life struggles.  Believe me, there will be some touching moments when you see your ancestor's grave.
Your family can tell you so much from the grave but be prepared before you go.  Plan to enjoy the experience.  Bring the generations together and share your experience with your family.  Have fun, this will be a most rewarding time for you...you can count on it!