Every person bitten by the genealogy bug knows the danger/value of exploring collateral lines. The Clarke branch of my family tree is a maze of interesting twists and turns. I often learn more about my Clarke direct line ancestors by focusing less on them and more on the people with whom they have connections. I’ve…
Find A Grave contributors come in many shapes and sizes. I know this because I read the bios that catch my eye when I process edits. I enjoy reading the reasons people contribute memorials to Find A Grave, the stories about what brought them there and about their backgrounds in genealogy or graving. Today I read a…
Every time I hear of another cemetery threatened by catastrophic weather or destroyed by vandals, I feel a greater sense of urgency to photograph headstones. Although a picture cannot replace a monument, it can provide a record for the family, law enforcement or insurance companies who may wish to replace a damaged memorial. Thoughts of tragedy aside, just seeing a…
Genealogy clues abound in nearly every cemetery I visit. Sometimes immigration, relationship, and residency clues present themselves in abundance on just one headstone: At times, the overall layout of a family plot will reveal names and relationships: Sometimes the only record of a child who was born and died between censuses is found on a headstone: These and other important…
In December I posed three questions to Find A Grave contributors whose virtual preservation work I admire: How did you discover Find A Grave? What motivates you to contribute? What is your favorite way to contribute (i.e. photos, vital information, obits etc.)? Answers to those first three questions are posted here. In January I asked three more…
If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you may already know I’m a Find A Grave contributor. In fact, last year my love of cemeteries and headstone photography upstaged my family history research! I believe Find A Grave plays an important role in the preservation of history, art and architecture. And the people laid to rest…
I’m currently working on a 2016 series of blog posts about Find A Grave
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 and centenarians laid to rest side…
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 a community. I get absorbed by…
where2look4ancestors 