I have always been fascinated with cemeteries, even as a young girl (yeah, sounds pretty morbid). There was an old cemetery near my house growing that had gravestones dating back to the early 1700s. I found the olden names (Jebediah and Thankful) fascinating. Some of the gravestones (if they were legible) would have tidbits of information about the person. I also found cemeteries very peaceful and great places to reflect.

I retired from the military in 2021 after completing over 30 years of service. Just before I retired, I started pursuing genealogy. It was a great hobby and would fill up my time. I have been able to go back to my sixth great-grandparents, all the way back to Portugal. I also started going back to cemeteries, but now with FindAGrave, I can actively assist with genealogical research.

I love FindAGrave. Cemeteries are a wealth of knowledge that may not be found in documentation, especially when dealing with really old burials. Sometimes a baby who died at birth is annotated on cenotaph but no birth record exists. Here is an example of one of my favorite gravestone inscriptions (Memorial 14866873).

"In Memory of Mrs Sibbell wife of Deacon Joshua Andrus who died May 30 AD 1785, in ye 80th Year of her Age. N.B. The above named when more than forty years old was delivered of eight children. At three births seven of them born alive within the space of two years and five months."

Eight children within three births, in the late 1700s????? WOW!

There are a few recommendations/advice, requests I have for those who volunteer to take and upload grave photos.

1. The purpose of FindAGrave is twofold. First, it is to memorialize the deceased long after there is no one left living to remember them. Second, it is to help those in their genealogical research. That is why it is important to take clear photos of the gravestones. If the only photo of the gravestone is 30 feet away where you cannot read the inscription, it neither honors the deceased nor has any value in genealogical research. Another pet peeve of mine is taking a picture of the gravestone where the inscription is partially covered by dirt, leaves, branches, grass, etc. Take the time and effort to clean up the gravestone before taking the photo. Again, remember the purposes of FindAGrave and why a clear photo of the gravestone is needed. With older gravestones, due to time and weather, the inscriptions are often illegible. In those cases, there is nothing you can really do.

2. Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial. For some memorials, one photo is enough. But if you can take up to five, why not? I usually include photos of the footstones (if there is one), a close up of the inscription, and then a farther away shot of the whole gravestone. Sometimes I would include the backside if there is a proverb or other family members listed. Again, another pet peeve is when there is only one very closeup of the inscription. The reason you want a photo of the whole gravestone/cenotaph is so that others can find it when visiting. I use other gravestones as landmarkers when looking for a particular gravestone. This is especially important when there is no GPS associated with the memorial.

3. When taking a photo of one gravestone, don't ignore who else is listed on the gravestone/cenotaph. Often families are buried together and, again, it helps in genealogical research. So if you are fulfilling a photo request and notice that there are other family members buried along side them, take the photo of those graves too. This might mean creating memorials on the spot. I had filled a photo request of a woman and when I found her grave, I saw that her three daughters were buried with her, so I created their memorials and linked them to their mother. The photo requestor was ESTACTIC! The deceased had seven children and she had only found her three sons but had nothing on her daughters. By me adding the memorials, it solved the mystery of what happened to her daughters. (BTW – through the obituary of one of the daughters, the photo requestor was able to track down the last daughter!)

I try to do as much research as I can on the memorials that I manage but I might not be able to find every little detail like parents and birth places. I welcome edits and if you can send me the source location, it helps me and I usually learn something new.

I have always been fascinated with cemeteries, even as a young girl (yeah, sounds pretty morbid). There was an old cemetery near my house growing that had gravestones dating back to the early 1700s. I found the olden names (Jebediah and Thankful) fascinating. Some of the gravestones (if they were legible) would have tidbits of information about the person. I also found cemeteries very peaceful and great places to reflect.

I retired from the military in 2021 after completing over 30 years of service. Just before I retired, I started pursuing genealogy. It was a great hobby and would fill up my time. I have been able to go back to my sixth great-grandparents, all the way back to Portugal. I also started going back to cemeteries, but now with FindAGrave, I can actively assist with genealogical research.

I love FindAGrave. Cemeteries are a wealth of knowledge that may not be found in documentation, especially when dealing with really old burials. Sometimes a baby who died at birth is annotated on cenotaph but no birth record exists. Here is an example of one of my favorite gravestone inscriptions (Memorial 14866873).

"In Memory of Mrs Sibbell wife of Deacon Joshua Andrus who died May 30 AD 1785, in ye 80th Year of her Age. N.B. The above named when more than forty years old was delivered of eight children. At three births seven of them born alive within the space of two years and five months."

Eight children within three births, in the late 1700s????? WOW!

There are a few recommendations/advice, requests I have for those who volunteer to take and upload grave photos.

1. The purpose of FindAGrave is twofold. First, it is to memorialize the deceased long after there is no one left living to remember them. Second, it is to help those in their genealogical research. That is why it is important to take clear photos of the gravestones. If the only photo of the gravestone is 30 feet away where you cannot read the inscription, it neither honors the deceased nor has any value in genealogical research. Another pet peeve of mine is taking a picture of the gravestone where the inscription is partially covered by dirt, leaves, branches, grass, etc. Take the time and effort to clean up the gravestone before taking the photo. Again, remember the purposes of FindAGrave and why a clear photo of the gravestone is needed. With older gravestones, due to time and weather, the inscriptions are often illegible. In those cases, there is nothing you can really do.

2. Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial. For some memorials, one photo is enough. But if you can take up to five, why not? I usually include photos of the footstones (if there is one), a close up of the inscription, and then a farther away shot of the whole gravestone. Sometimes I would include the backside if there is a proverb or other family members listed. Again, another pet peeve is when there is only one very closeup of the inscription. The reason you want a photo of the whole gravestone/cenotaph is so that others can find it when visiting. I use other gravestones as landmarkers when looking for a particular gravestone. This is especially important when there is no GPS associated with the memorial.

3. When taking a photo of one gravestone, don't ignore who else is listed on the gravestone/cenotaph. Often families are buried together and, again, it helps in genealogical research. So if you are fulfilling a photo request and notice that there are other family members buried along side them, take the photo of those graves too. This might mean creating memorials on the spot. I had filled a photo request of a woman and when I found her grave, I saw that her three daughters were buried with her, so I created their memorials and linked them to their mother. The photo requestor was ESTACTIC! The deceased had seven children and she had only found her three sons but had nothing on her daughters. By me adding the memorials, it solved the mystery of what happened to her daughters. (BTW – through the obituary of one of the daughters, the photo requestor was able to track down the last daughter!)

I try to do as much research as I can on the memorials that I manage but I might not be able to find every little detail like parents and birth places. I welcome edits and if you can send me the source location, it helps me and I usually learn something new.