FindAGrave Addicts

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Comment by David L Plaskett on February 3, 2010 at 11:42am

As a follow up to the evergreens at the cemetry in Stratford I was told that when you buy the plot its yours! It's up to the survivor in charge to tend the grave beyond the normal mowing. (I don't know how that is determined).
My brother in law is a mortitian and he tells me that caskets presently include a micro chip that transmits all the vitals to a hand held device. A while back it was a chip the helped locate the grave only. It would be interesting to get this info.
I was researching a Catholic cemetry in Pittsburg and it was like pulling hens teeth to get cooperation - even after the generous donation.
I found there that relatives swapped burial plots depending on who had one available at the time. There were large areas with no markers.

Comment by Cynthia Kindall on February 3, 2010 at 10:54am

An example in my town now of Norton,Ks we have the usual directory- but alot of the times families are buried together and so make it easier. And yes David i too have looked for a family in a cemetery about 75 miles from me i could not find, and the county genealogical society assured me the stones were there just buried under evergreens, he had asked the county to remove them so the people in question could be refound, as of today not done! He also told me when i complained about their directory- that there is one man buried according to the directory in three different places.
One thing i always ask if there is a sexton present is how the graves run - do they start from east to west , north to south? Most start(at least here in Ks) from the west and go east and then scissor back to the west for the next row.
I have a map of most of the cemeteries i do look ups in.
Most of the ones i go to are county cemeteries so - with our lack of moisture and then lots of moisture- you have to watch out for holes and snakes. alot of these cemeteries do not have the money to keep up. Last fall , i went to the county clerk to complain about a cemetery- full of holes and snakes, tall grasses -neglect- 100% he sent me to county attorney- who addressed the issue with someone else and told me who had taken over the job of sexton at that cemetery- this person assured me it would be in ship shape by memorial day. I told him i would be checking- this cemetery had not had any care in 20 yrs as i was one of them that had trimmed those evergreen then.
I would say if there is a church attached to that cemetery- andhopefully someone working in it- you might luck out- but you can also watch the stones- if they died in 1800- out here is usually a white stone and usually tall and maybe 4 sides- alot of time someones name is on all 4 sides. 1900-1920- stones are more modern and i find alot have eroded so much are hard to read,a friend of mine says spray them with water( i hate to when the weather is below freezing) and that makes the engraving easier to read.
1930- the stones are lower and not so tall- also they maybe a marbleized texture and that makes them really hard to read.
1940- they are getting closer to the ground and no tall- a lot of family stones are all made out of same granite- alot are really hard to read.
If your cemetery is a fairly large one, owned by the city or county that sexton usually has maps that will help guide you to where your loved one is buried.
As David said -he does pictures, etc in central florida.
I live in northwestern Kansas and will do Find a Grave pictures in a 5 county area plus i usually end up at least 100miles from home after that elusive grave- I am also a volunteer for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - so i do look ups
Happy Hunting!

Comment by David L Plaskett on February 3, 2010 at 8:42am

In addition to my experience in my home town of Stratford, I currently live in Central Florida if anyone has a need in this area.

Comment by David L Plaskett on February 3, 2010 at 7:53am

In Stratford Ontario I went searching for relatives and finally tracked down the "superintendant" He reluctantly printed a list of relatives from an atiquated computer that took a while to get set up. It was obvious that he was busier burying that keeping up with modernization. After I got the list and learned the coding I went searching. I couldn't find my notable grandfather and spent a lot of time. Finally with some help, a worker pulled aside some evergreens that had obviously looked great when they were planted each side of two gravestones, but were now about twelve feet tall. Persistance paid off.
Of note also in the same cemetry, my grandmother's marker dates were different than the certificate dates. In winter time bodies were stored in a mausolium until the ground melted and someone got confused.

Comment by Arthur Scott Kaye on February 3, 2010 at 6:56am

Do you photo volunteers have any tips for searching for stones. Are churches and large cemeteries forthcoming with stone locations? I get request in my area but often the task looks overwhelming.

Comment by Susan Teresa Holmes on February 2, 2010 at 4:45pm

For people who have had a problem with FAG, try downloading Maleware its free, and will keep that from happening in the future.

Comment by Cynthia Kindall on February 2, 2010 at 2:35pm

I have been a volunteer for about 7 months on Find a Grave. The one thing i can tell you is that even if you unintentionally make a mistake the one over everyone will tell you about it, for sure.
Here in the states i have contacted the person who has it listed and tell them additional information that needed added with out thing being transferred to me.
Some of these volunteers are quite territorial and you almost have to prove your lineage before they will transfer the memorial to you.
And addressing the 6 memorials .....someone at one time or another will claim them and then you can transfer them to the proper owner.
Now on the famous- thing- I have seen "famouspeople" being the first one buried in that cemetery, a Senator, Mayor, if he/she is famous to you then , she would be to everyone else.
I am glad you are enjoying a nice hot day- today is about fifty degrees F here and where i live the snow is melting- we are ready for seasons to shift and have the heat!Greetings from NorthwesternKansas, USA

Comment by Darlina Shaw on February 2, 2010 at 12:41pm

I was just inputting some corrections and additional information on graves on Find A Grave, and don't you know, ... if you send a correction or additional information to the Veteran's Association about someone, they transfer the memorial to you? I really didn't want the memorials, I just wanted the additional information (mostly the name of their spouse) put on the site. But, now I am the proud owner of 6 memorials to veterans that I never knew, never will know, and didn't ask for. Makes me laugh.:)

Comment by Jo Kotylak on December 20, 2009 at 8:59pm

I have a couple of questions - is there a quick way to add a standard message to all the people who's grave's you've added, such as merry christmas, or do you have to do them individually as I hav done, and also seriously what's famous? There's a real sad/interesting story that's kind of sidways related to me, they made a tv show about it, and it's been written up, would that be famous? I find the fag faq's long and involved sometimes, and I tried to add Mary McKillop now Australia's first saint, but I kept not doing it right and getting messages that I wasn't doing it right, but NOTHING telling me exactly which bits were wrong and to fix them. I don't keep the best of health, I thought it would be nice to add her to the site, but the hassle of trying to get it published put me off uploading anyone famous for good!

Comment by Craig Humes on December 6, 2009 at 10:56am

Thanks for the replys. Yes, I had the exact same thing. Was a great wake up call.

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