Using Cemeteries Tutorial

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Finding the Correct Cemetery

Ask your relatives the name of, and the location of any cemeteries where deceased family members may be buried. This information is sometimes available on obituaries and death certificates. Sometimes even old "holy cards", commonly passed out at Catholic funerals, and later used as bookmarks in Bibles and prayerbooks, will give this information. Holy Cards have a religious picture on one side and information about the deceased, usually accompanied by a prayer on the back. These cards may be found in any old Bibles or prayerbooks owned or inherited by any family member. Non-Catholic and secular funerals often have Funeral Cards, which have similar information, but use landscapes instead of religious photography, and poetry in place of prayer.

Either way, these cards usually contain the birth and death date of the deceased and sometimes photo. The information on these cards may vary from the the actual dates, especially if they are from Ireland, so be sure to verify dates. But they give you a general idea of when the person was born and died and sometimes are very accurate.

Online Cemetery Database Websites

Several important resources are available online for finding where a loved one is buried These sites allows users to upload burial information and even pictures of gravesites and cemeteries. Some genealogists have added obituaries and other detailed information. Sometimes an entire family history can be traced if a relative has added many details to the gravesite entry. Researchers can search by name, locality and cemetery.

1. Findagrave.com - which mostly has cemeteries in the United States
2. Billiongraves.com - international
3. Hiddengraves. com - Europe and international

Warning: Safety Is Very Important When Visiting Cemeteries!

It is not the dead you have to watch out for, but the living. Cemeteries in remote places, or even in the city can be hideouts for criminals, vandals and other mischief makers. Never go to a cemetery alone! Try to get the caretaker to visit the gravesites with you. Check with the local police to find out if the cemetery is in a safe part of town. And carry a walking stick so you don't stumble on uneven ground, or trip over low tombstones.

Locating the Gravesites

Patrons need to check with the owner of the cemetery when they arrive. Modern cemeteries are owned by cemetery companies or funeral homes. They usually keep goodrecords of who is buried where.

Older cemeteries may be on the hill on part of an old farm, and one may have to talk to the farmer to gain access. He may or may not be a relative, and he may or may not have any records of who is buried on his property. If he is related, he may have an attic full of relics of the past, so he should not be overlooked.

Photographing Headstones

You will need to bring a camera to photograph any headstones, monuments, or markers erected at the gravesite. In order to assure a clear readable picture, you may want to bring along chalk or charcoal to highlight any of the lettering. You may also want to bring a crayon and a large sheet of blank paper to do a rubbing of any interesting stones.

Because many of our ancestors died one hundred or more years ago, when one finds the older graves, the headstones may not be in the best condition. Time, weather, vandals, tree roots, and ice may have all taken their toll on the very stones that once contained the information being searched for.

Not all cemeteries are maintained through perpetual care. Garden tools may be needed to clear the gravesite. Searchers need to watch out for snakes and bugs in the tall grass. In very old cemeteries, the stones may be broken, or even removed or relocated.

Posting Headstones Online

If the artwork of some of the old stones interests you as well, you might enjoy looking at sites which feature these old headstones found on gravesites.

Posting of your favorite headstones online is a good way to share genealogical information as well as the artwork of the stones. I made a virtual cemetery webpage of my ancestors online so I can see them all on one page, but it is currently offline. A facebook photo album is probably the easiest way to do this today.

Folks who are interested in preserving the records and archives of an entire cemetery can record every gravestone, carefully noting the spelling, dates and location of each burial stone or burial site. These records can be donated to your library, or to a local historical or genealogical society or museum. They can also be shared online with genealogists all over the world who may be interested in your locality.

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Acknowledgements

This website written and designed by: Sharon Centanne, Genealogy Research Instructor and Internet Trainer

This page updated by Troy-204 August 24, 2020