where2look4ancestors

Category: Find A Grave

  • Buried Here But Not; How I Played Hide and Seek on Find A Grave

    This year I took over 100 headstone photos in a cemetery where they weren’t. Confused? So was I! I drove through the gates of Memory Gardens Cemetery in the wee hours of May 24th. It was misting and I was rushed knowing the sky would soon give in to the threatening rain.…

  • Top 10 Genealogy Clues in Obituaries

    I was transcribing obituaries for Find A Grave recently and was once again reminded of all the hidden genealogy gems they contain. How many can you find? From page 7 of the March 11, 1892 edition of the Chicago Daily News; “QUINLAN-March 10, 1892, BRIDGET, the beloved daughter of Patrick and the…

  • Waking with the Dead

    Coffee in hand, I head to my desk and start typing. Last name. First name. Date of birth. Date of death. Cemetery section. Photo number. Rinse and repeat. A second cup of coffee. More names. More dates. Lives begun. Lives ended. People buried alone. Families reunited for all eternity. Infants…

  • Stories under the Stones

    Albert W. Schroeder and his wife Julia are buried in Chicago’s Mount Olive Cemetery. Their headstones were among 600+ photos I took for Find A Grave in that cemetery in April. The emblem on Albert’s headstone intrigued me. If the dates on his headstone are correct, Albert was only 19…

  • A Respectful Distance

    Much of this summer has been spent meandering in cemeteries near and far. When the weather is conducive to headstone photography, I enjoy walking along the rows of granite and stone to preserve what I can. It may sound strange, but I often think of the names on each marker as part of…

  • Siblings Share a Headstone

    Auntie died on this day in 1973. Six months later, her younger brother passed away. Auntie and Unkie lived together nearly all of their lives. It was fitting that these siblings should remain together even after death. Their headstone comes to mind every time another Find A Grave contributor asks me to link people…

  • Give of Your Local Cemetery

    Graveyards of Chicago; the People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries is a wonderful resource for genealogists, local historians, and lovers of the arts and social sciences. I carried the first edition with me in April during my Thousand Mile Journey, referring to it before and after every cemetery visit. As soon…

  • The Train Engineer

    Legend has it that Gale Cramer gave his life to save the lives of the passengers on his train. His sacrifice was memorialized in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery: You can read a little of his story here. But why isn’t there a news story about this crash online?

  • Peter Swanson 1848-1937

    From the July 1, 1937 edition of the St. Charles (Illinois) Chronicle; “PETER SWANSON The passing of Peter Swanson of 1042 4th street south Friday, after an illness of several weeks, removes an olden time and respected resident who has lived in this vicinity for nearly 70 years. Mr. Swanson…

  • I’m Not Likin’ Lichen!

    According to Wikipedia, lichens “are among the first living things to grow on fresh rock…”. I’m accustomed to seeing headstones affected by lichen. But unruly amounts of lichen tend to be found only on older headstones. Or so I thought until I visited the Mauston City Cemetery operated by the Mauston…