Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

15 years ago

I thought some of you might be interested in Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK), a website where people volunteer to take gravestone photos and look up local genealogical information for people around the world.

I was so moved to find photographs of my great-great-grandparents' graves (in England) on the Internet, and that wouldn't have been possible had someone not taken the time to photograph them. So I just signed up as a volunteer on RAOGK, offering to take grave and tombstone photos in my county. This should be interesting.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

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Comments (12)

angelaid
15 years ago
Incredible! Thanks for sharing that Susan!
elizabethzen
15 years ago
What a wonderful concept! Kudos Susan for setting a good example in response to the kindness of a stranger.
Elizabeth
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Restores your faith in humanity, doesn't it? I've had things like that happen to me and I've also dealt with workmen who are looking to get every extra nickel. The guy who reno'd my bathroom was constantly looking for ways to add extras. It got to be a battle of the wits. He may have gotten extra money out of me then, but he lost in the long run since I do not recommend him to others nor would I hire him again, even though his work was very good. Be sure to mention their good deed to others.
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Wow, those are wonderful, incredible and meaningful coincidences, Alisande! I've had many similar things happen to me over the years and have come to realize that, like you, I was guided for a higher purpose. One I can relate quickly: I'd been married and living in New Mexico for about ten years when this happened. I'd been keeping in touch with several family friends intermittantly and one morning, had this strong urge to call my friend "B". When I did, she told me that her DH, "W" has battling inoperable cancer, but seemed to be getting stronger lately. That afternoon I, again, had this incredibly strong urge to call their son, a long-time good friend of mine. I hadn't talked to him in several years, though. B&W lived on the east side of Michigan, where I was born and raised. Their son lived across the state in Grand Rapids. When their son answered the phone at his work, I totally surprised myself by blurting out that I had this bad feeling that his father needed him. I did ~ right then~ feel that, but can't believe I spoke those words out loud! Thankfully, though, something resonated in him. He told his boss he had to leave, drove quickly home to pack a few things and then made the 4+ hour drive home to see his dad. He walked in, hugged his dad and W died right there in his arms less than an hour later. He'd taken a bad turn and B had no time to call her son to try and make it home. I know without out a doubt, that God used me to get their son home so that father and son could say their last goodbyes. We were all quite shaken by this, but also very, very grateful. Lynn
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The nice thing about your dollar store scenario is 100% of your money goes directly to someone in need! I try to help too. Today I am going a bit out of my way to do the afternoon high school carpool so the afternoon driver doesn't have to do it. I have to be out this afternoon anyway (to pick up overnight clothes for my daughters friend) because I am helping another kids Mom by keeping her daughter overnight. The Mom is flying to NY to check her sister with stage 4 cancer out of the hospital and get her on a plane to fly home (Carribean). Hopefully the karma gods will hold off on the expected bad weather till I'm home!
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It's not hard (usually) to find a volunteer willing to take photos of gravestones at cemeteries surprisingly, though I don't do that myself. That seems to be the most popular volunteer activity. Having done extensive genealogy workups on a couple of Wikipedia subjects whose published backgrounds just didn't sound credible, I decided to volunteer in the areas I would have personally found very useful during that time. The local sources---which I've offered at Random Acts of Kindness---are old phonebooks going back to 1940, city directories from 1880 to 1944, probates, divorces, etc. (on microfilm) from the County Courthouse going back to maybe 1910, and San Francisco Bay Area newspapers going back to the 1880ties for obituaries. Fortunately for these activities, I live in the city of the county seat, so between our public library, the courthouse, the nearby LDS/Mormon Family History Center, and the commercial on-line genealogy sites such as ancestry.com & newspaper archives.com available to me, I can do---& do do---a fair bit of "ancestor sleuthing". Not everyone would be in that position. So if you sign up as a volunteer, consider all the areas of assistance that might geographically be available to you. It can be a more interesting, not to mention challenging, project.
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casey_nfld
15 years ago
What an interesting idea! I know the guy who is the volunteer for my area (well, I don't really know him, I've never met him in person but we both share our photos on a local website).
jayokie
15 years ago
I was helped a couple of years ago by someone from RAOGK.
Located the cemetery where my Gr'grandfather was buried. I had the county/state but not the cemetery name. Don't have a pix of the tombstone (if any); I hope to visit it someday -- maybe 5 hrs from me. Several in the genealogical society to which I belong have helped or been helped. It's a great service.
socks
15 years ago
That is really wonderful. I'm going to explore the site further when I have "a minute!"
Jodi_SoCal
15 years ago
Cool! I'm looking for someone in the Nome, Alaska area which is where my great-great grandmother lived and died. There isn't presently someone to help out in Nome so I'll keep checking back.

Jodi-
maryanntx
15 years ago
Thanks for the link. I just signed up to take pictures at two of our local cemeteries. No one is listed for out county. I would love to help out by looking up info at our courthouse, but it's almost 30 miles away.
des_arc_ya_ya
15 years ago
I just signed up for cemetery photos in our county. I live about 10 miles from the courthouse but, SHOOT! THAT'S too much like school work!
LOL

Thanks for the website.
alisande
Original Author
15 years ago
How cool that three of us signed up today! Be sure to share when you get your first request.

I specified April through November because everything is so weather-dependent here in winter. Plus I couldn't see myself slogging through a few feet of snow to take a picture of the top third of a tombstone. :-)
ivamae
15 years ago
How do you get a name listed in the cemetery files? My partner passed away almost 9 years ago and his still isn't listed but some are, who passed away since that.
jemdandy
15 years ago
Dear Ivamae:

The work done by RAOGK is mostly photographing EXISTING tombstones. Some of the members do look-ups in local files, however. If your partner has a stone, it should bear the date of his birth and death. It is up to the family to purchase and have engraved a marker for a loved one's grave. They can be aided in getting data by the funeral home who conducted the burial. In answer to your question, "How do I get a name listed in the cmemtery files?", start with the cemetery caretakers. The next place to look is the court house of the county in which the deceased was buried or creamated. Be prepared to show that you are a close family member of the deceased, else the county clerk may not release a copy of the death certificate to you. Expect to pay a small fee for a copy.

This information is considerd personal and confidential and is not generally put on public lists until after 50 to 100 years. Stangely enough, the Social Security Adminstration ignores this rule. I have seen persons and their social security numbers published on SSA's list within 3 months after death, my mother being one. You have to know where to look. Poke around a bit with Google.
ivamae
15 years ago
The stone has been there since shortly after his death and does give all the info. I do have a death certificate as well. We are in Cnada.

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

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