Findagrave.com
DaClyde - a Guest Columnist on our old newsletter submitted the following some time ago.
"Findagrave.com was started when Jim Tipton found that there wasn't already a website site for helping people find the graves of celebrities. And considering how many people visit the graves of the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jim Morrison and Rod Serling (ok, maybe tens of thousands of people don't visit the grave of the Twilight Zone's creator), Jim took it upon himself and launched Find A Grave. By popular demand, Find A Grave quickly grew from containing virtual memorials of thousands famous people to include the graves of over 6.4 million humans and animals (with the help of over 100,000 contributors). And what began as a virtual Cemetery Tour of the Stars (theres even a Cemetery Stroll feature), has evolved in to an extremely valuable and versatile resource for genealogists, families and fans alike.
While it does contain cemeteries and graves from the whole globe, currently, the Non-Famous database only offers searches for cemeteries within the United States (but more countries will be searchable in the not-too-distant future). They started by creating a database of every state, county and town from the U.S. Geological Survey's database and listing every cemetery included in the survey. Any cemeteries not included in the USGS surveys (which includes any cemeteries less than 50 square feet, or any cemeteries created after about 1970) can be added by contributors. Each cemetery listing is it's own virtual cemetery. In cases of more complete infomation, the main cemetery page includes a photo of the cemetery gate/sign or a general landscape photo, location (both a map with GPS coordinates as well as the city, county & state) and in some cases a street address or history of the cemetery.
Within the cemeteries, lie the alphabetized listings of those interred. Each listing can include the individual's name, birth date & location, death date & location, personal photo, tombstone photo, family photo, the gravestone inscription, the plot location (section/row/plot), a brief biography and any notes added by the contributor. In keeping with the spirit of a physical cemetery, there is also a place to leave flowers and notes as virtual memorials or tributes to the deceased.
For genealogists, Find A Grave is a great resource as it is like a constantly growing cemetery transcription database, only better. With most transcriptions of any kind, there are multiple points for errors to creep into the work: the original transcriber's interpretation of the inscription, the typist's transcription of the field survey into book, and in some cases, the further transcription of the printed work into an electronic format for the web. With each generation, the researcher is moved further away from the source. The tombstone photos give everyone the chance to see the stones for themselves (keeping in mind the limitations of space and photographic quality of an image that's only 500 or so pixels wide). In addition to the photos, the maps provided can show the cemetery location with a high degree of accuracy that is difficult with written directions of old cemetery surveys. Landmarks can change, buildings added or removed and new streets can make follwing 30 year old directions a challenge. Find A Grave gives you the precise location of the cemetery. To round out the site, Find A Grave also features a very active message board that is frequented by contributors, admins and visitors alike, so any problems or questions relating to the site and records can be addressed by the knowledgable and friendly forum members.
Please note DaClyde is not associated with the above site other than as a contributor."
Be sure to visit Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Links and Chat.
While there stop into Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Chat.
Try a new Ancestry.com Membership! No Credit Card Required
"Findagrave.com was started when Jim Tipton found that there wasn't already a website site for helping people find the graves of celebrities. And considering how many people visit the graves of the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jim Morrison and Rod Serling (ok, maybe tens of thousands of people don't visit the grave of the Twilight Zone's creator), Jim took it upon himself and launched Find A Grave. By popular demand, Find A Grave quickly grew from containing virtual memorials of thousands famous people to include the graves of over 6.4 million humans and animals (with the help of over 100,000 contributors). And what began as a virtual Cemetery Tour of the Stars (theres even a Cemetery Stroll feature), has evolved in to an extremely valuable and versatile resource for genealogists, families and fans alike.
While it does contain cemeteries and graves from the whole globe, currently, the Non-Famous database only offers searches for cemeteries within the United States (but more countries will be searchable in the not-too-distant future). They started by creating a database of every state, county and town from the U.S. Geological Survey's database and listing every cemetery included in the survey. Any cemeteries not included in the USGS surveys (which includes any cemeteries less than 50 square feet, or any cemeteries created after about 1970) can be added by contributors. Each cemetery listing is it's own virtual cemetery. In cases of more complete infomation, the main cemetery page includes a photo of the cemetery gate/sign or a general landscape photo, location (both a map with GPS coordinates as well as the city, county & state) and in some cases a street address or history of the cemetery.
Within the cemeteries, lie the alphabetized listings of those interred. Each listing can include the individual's name, birth date & location, death date & location, personal photo, tombstone photo, family photo, the gravestone inscription, the plot location (section/row/plot), a brief biography and any notes added by the contributor. In keeping with the spirit of a physical cemetery, there is also a place to leave flowers and notes as virtual memorials or tributes to the deceased.
For genealogists, Find A Grave is a great resource as it is like a constantly growing cemetery transcription database, only better. With most transcriptions of any kind, there are multiple points for errors to creep into the work: the original transcriber's interpretation of the inscription, the typist's transcription of the field survey into book, and in some cases, the further transcription of the printed work into an electronic format for the web. With each generation, the researcher is moved further away from the source. The tombstone photos give everyone the chance to see the stones for themselves (keeping in mind the limitations of space and photographic quality of an image that's only 500 or so pixels wide). In addition to the photos, the maps provided can show the cemetery location with a high degree of accuracy that is difficult with written directions of old cemetery surveys. Landmarks can change, buildings added or removed and new streets can make follwing 30 year old directions a challenge. Find A Grave gives you the precise location of the cemetery. To round out the site, Find A Grave also features a very active message board that is frequented by contributors, admins and visitors alike, so any problems or questions relating to the site and records can be addressed by the knowledgable and friendly forum members.
Please note DaClyde is not associated with the above site other than as a contributor."
Be sure to visit Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Links and Chat.
While there stop into Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Chat.
Try a new Ancestry.com Membership! No Credit Card Required
Labels: Cemeteries, Find A Grave
posted by Just_M at
2:57 PM
