I just found my daughter's, Rachel.

Here is a link that might be useful: My baby girl

Jamie, it's wonderful that you found that. Was it a friend of Rachel's that put up the memorial?

No, actually I don't know who she is. I emailed her and asked that she put up my Mom & Dad's as Rachel is buried with them. That is 2 hours from where I am.

I'd never seen findagrave before. I found the cemetary (Hillcrest) in Burt County / Decatur Nebraska, where my maternal grandparents, my parents, and my sister are buried and none of them were listed. I only had my sister's information right at hand, but I joined findagrave and have created a memorial for her. It is fast and very easy, so long as you have dates and obit information. I'd encourage others to try as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: The memorial I created for my sister Phyllis

That's a lovely memorial for your sister. I like the phrase that was used in the obituary, "Left to cherish her memory....."

Beautiful, Susan. I just joined FIndAGrave too and have volunteered to take pictures. I didn't even know this existed. Thanks for giving us this information.

Susan, I am so excited. I have my first photo assignment already. It is for a little cemetery only 10 or 15 minutes from my house that I have never been to before. There are nine graves looking for photos. I am hoping to go tomorrow or Friday morning. Do you have any words of wisdom for me? Things I should look for or things to take with me? Thanks for any help.

That is exciting!! If it's a little cemetery, you can just wander around looking for the graves. Nine is a lot! If the dates of death are very old, the stones might be worn or damaged and impossible to read. But out of nine, you should find some of them.

If the cemetery were large, I'd suggest contacting the person in charge (you can find them through a funeral home) who can direct you to the appropriate section.

I bring a microfiber cloth to gently remove debris, but only rarely use it. I've read that noon is the best time to photograph gravestones. I usually consider noon to be the worst time to photograph anything, but I think the theory is that the sun is not slanted at that time so there's less chance that the side you wish to photograph is in shadow. I've photographed them at all times of day.

I usually take two pictures, one a closeup of the engraving so that it can be read by others. Sometimes the regular picture has clear engraving, so the closeup isn't necessary.

I also take a picture of the cemetery itself, including the sign if it has one. If there's no picture of the cemetery on FindAGrave, you can add yours.

If I go to two cemeteries in one day, I always take a picture to separate the two sets on my camera--if not a picture of the cemetery sign, then a picture of my car. I love my car. :-)

Have a good time, and be sure to give us a full report!

Thanks for the tips. I had to laugh at how you love your car. I love mine too! Many of the people were born in the 1800's and died in the 1940's, so hopefully the stones won't be too worn down. There was a picture of the sign at the entrance. I'm not sure how big it is. I'll let you know how it goes.

I never heard of "Find a Grave",how interesting though.The last time i went back east in 2004,my sisters took me to see my parents graves and my sister,brothers,uncles,cousins etc.I took a bunch of pictures.That was the first time i spent that much time in the cemetaries.

I'll have to send a link to my sister who does the geneology stuff for the family.
Thanks Susan,learn something new everyday!!
Kathi

I tried the Find-A-Grave site for any relatives back in Michigan. I found two---my maternal grandmother who died in 1941, & her son. my uncle, who died within the last 20 years. Both are buried in the same cemetery.

HOWEVER, whoever set this up did not include a photo of either grave, a plot location or even a birth/death date mention. Not sure why this volunteer even bothered.

Kfca, the majority of listings on FindAGrave are what you found: simply records of interments in a given cemetery. This information is useful to people tracing their family trees, and others. I'm guessing a lot of the listings were put up by individuals who didn't necessarily visit the cemetery in person.

I like to "fill in the blanks" on these listings, which is one way I came to upload so many photos to FindAGrave. Occasionally the information on the gravestone doesn't match the info in the listing; in those cases I contact the manager of the listing and suggest a correction.

If you'd like to see photos of these graves, you can request that one be taken. Your request will be given to the volunteer closest to that area. It may not be filled promptly, but at least it'll be in the system.

Susan, thanks for sharing such an interesting website. I can tell I'll be spending some time there soon.

Your friend Terry sounds like she was a really nice lady. What a pretty church in the cemetary picture; looks peacful.

Susan - look what you've started! I know there are some other people here at the GW who have been Find a Grave volunteers for a while but since you posted some of your photographs I think the numbers have increased. I've been meaning to sign up so I finally did this morning.

Well, I went to the cemetery with only Section information on two of the names. I couldn't find them, but I will go back and try again. There are about 500 people buried there, so it will be slow going. In the meantime I took some pictures of some unusual headstones that I thought I'd share.

Maire Cate, I'm delighted the gravestone photographers are increasing, thanks to the KT!

Murraysmom, thanks for posting these pics. The stones are fancy as well as unusual. Sad about the Routts. "Hangin' out till the Rapture" is kind of sweet. I hope the guitar holds up to the elements; it looks quite sturdy so far. I like the dog (Rottweiler?) next to the Fisher stone.

Often graves falling within date parameters will appear together in a cemetery; that is, if you find a stone with a death date in the 1950s, chances are more from that decade will be nearby, and the 40s and 60s not far away. You'll notice that most of the very old stones are grouped together. There are exceptions, of course, but this can help you find a stone you're looking for. If that doesn't work, you may have to contact the cemetery manager.

PS: Don't forget to report back to us, Agent Maire!

I did it!!!!! I found two of the nine on my list. Today I went to the Service Administration office for the township and spoke to a really nice woman there. I had the section and lot information, but had no clue as to where the lots were in the section. She had a neat old map that she pulled out and showed me where the lots were located. That was a HUGE help! I also got to look at a big book where the grave purchase information was listed. My first guy was part of a lot where 10 people were buried. I got some of the other names so I knew what I was looking for. I did find a little stone with just his initials on it. My second one ended up having no stone, but part of a plot bought by someone who's relationship to the woman is unknown. I am so excited that I finally found these people!!! I put the information and photos up on FindAGrave already. Also the woman at the township office told me that there are other cemeteries in this area that have the same name, so I am going to follow that lead to see if these other names are possibly in some other cemetery. What a fun mystery to solve.

Good work, Murraysmom!! I'm glad you enjoyed doing it.

I have gotten two emails from the woman for whom I did it. The woman she was searching for is her husband's great grandmother. They are going to look into who the person was who purchased the plot that she is in. I hope they let me know what they find. It's like reading historical biographies. I really like this. Thanks for sharing your experiences.