Regardless of whether cemeteries creep you out like it did when I was a kid
or they're a fabulous place to run. Cemeteries provide a lot of information for genealogy
researchers. And today I'm going to share with you six things that you want to do when you are doing
research for your ancestors by digging up stones. Okay not really. you're not gonna actually dig up
the stones. Now regardless of whether a cemetery is open to the public or is private there's a
lot of information that is waiting for you to discover. I want you to take your time.
I do want you to use online sources that I'm going to talk about later. But I also want you to do a
lot of ground work by contacting offices. And then taking an in-person visit if you need to.
After visiting a cemetery and doing 600 images across nine different cemeteries in one weekend
I have some tips for you. The first step is to make a list of who you want to find.
So use genealogy software and run Missing Location reports. So you're particularly interested in
missing cemetery or burial information. Maybe you have a date but you don't have a location. Now
you also want to see if you have a death date and place. So when you run this report you want
to make sure that you have death date and place in there as well. Because if you have no death date
and place and no burial date and place, then you actually need to do different research than head
off to a cemetery. But if you do have a death date and place chances are you might have some clues to
cemetery research that will make you speed that process along. So you're going to focus on the
ones that have a death date and death place or maybe even a burial date with no place. And you're
going to search those first and then you come back to the other ones that are missing both death and
burial place. Now one of the things I like to do is run the report and then make a spreadsheet
out of those names so that I can write notes and things all over in my spreadsheet. Rather than
constantly going back to this report. However you can print it out and write your notes all
over it as well. Two strategies. The next thing you want to do is you want to go re-evaluate the
paper trail. I know we're not in a cemetery yet. Right? Yes. But you want to go back and make sure
that you've captured all the possible clues in the paper trail. So what are you going to look for?
first look at home. Some of you have funeral programs. You have death notices. You have
obituaries that are lying around your family. Maybe you even have notes
or letters that have been transferred between individuals. You want to check your home sources
first for clues that you need. Then you want to talk to family members. When I asked my
dad's first cousin Molly, "Hey. Do you know where grand, uh, great-great-grandpa Paul Zumstein
is buried? I'm looking for him and I can't find him." and she's like, "Ah. I know why."
In that particular cemetery his stone is sunk into the ground and so it's buried under grass. But she
knows exactly where his plot is. And when we went to the cemetery, we were able to kind of dig it
out and take a picture of. You never know what information they will have. But they also maybe
tell you, "Oh, they were cremated. You're not going to find a burial location for them."
so my great-aunt Margie. She was cremated. So there is no location for where she was buried. So
I need to put, you know, cremated and let it be. Then what I want you to do is go to online grave
sites like [Find A Grave] and BillionGraves. And the reason why these are helpful
is because if you happen to know the cemetery where your ancestor was buried they might have all
the information you need in order to establish a record. And then your source would be Find A Grave
or BillionGraves. They might even have photos for you. And sometimes you get really lucky and
there's link to their children, their spouse, and their parents. And you can pick up extra details
about their burial information. And reduce your research list for burial information. Another
place you want to look for is obituaries. Have you tried the Obituary Collection from Newspapers.com
that's over on Ancestry.com? I have a video all about it. So you want to check out the Show Notes
or the link in the description because both will tell you how to access that additional video. If
you happen to find that your ancestors information isn't on Find aAGrave or isn't on BillionGraves,
or even if it is, I also want you to see if you can find out if there is a website for that
particular cemetery. Now Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio has a fantastic website.
Some of the genealogical information is starting to be put behind a paywall but the information
you can find for free is very helpful for you to track your ancestors in those locations.
Additionally on a website for a cemetery you may find a number for the sexton or the cemetery
office. I know that when I contacted the Saint Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Lockbourne, Ohio,
they actually had these one page print outs sometimes two page printouts. They give you all
the details that they have from the a photo of the stone, the plot information, the purchase history,
and a lot of biographical and familial relationship history on this document.
Now not every entry has the same amount of information because they're relying
upon the research that they've gathered in the records that they have. But it's saved me a trip
from Texas, when I lived in Texas. To Ohio by contacting the office. And then they give me
everything I could possibly need. So you want to check out the cemetery websites for things
that you can find online or information that they have access to that they would be happy to send to
you. Sometimes there'll be a small fee associated with it but remember any fees are probably offset
but the not need to travel. Finally another place you want to investigate, and it's not
always possible, is funeral homes. You want to contact the funeral homes that are listed
as the undertakers on a death certificate or you want to look for funerals listed in obituaries.
When you do that you're going to ask them, "Hey, do you have any information of the burial of
Louis Sherman Brown in 1978 in columbus, Ohio? You're listed as the undertaker. Do you have
anything?" And it's entirely possible they do. Bare minimum they may have a record that says
where they buried that person. So you're going to check all of that. And now I just realized you
also want to look up a death certificate. Maybe it includes where the person was buried. As you're
researching you have probably discovered a lot of answers to the questions that you have about
when and where was someone buried. You've probably written notes on your print out, added list of
missing burial facts or it is in the spreadsheet that you created. I want you to take time and
transfer that information over to your database or your online trees before you continue. Then decide
of the people that I've actually found information on, do I need to visit the cemetery? Sometimes
you do. I mean I wanted to go to stand at the burial location of my great-grandfather Geiszler.
I wanted to go visit the cemetery where Professor Zumstein was buried. I wanted to go visit the
cemetery where Professor Zumstein's parents were buried. Because I was in Ontario, Canada. I was in
Columbus, Ohio. And I wanted to just connect with them. However my fourth cousin two times removed
uncle's wife. Yeah, I don't need to stand there. I could just grab a picture and move on. So decide
are there anybody that we you have found that you want to actually go visit? Because you want to
stand where they were buried in their last resting place. That's fine leave them on your list.
everybody else. Go ahead and take them off your list and continue to the next
step. Before we continue if you would like to support the work that andy and I do here
on Family History Fanatics there's many way you can support us. Like this video. Leave a comment.
Share it with your community. Or become an FHF Family History Fanatics channel member. All of
that information is in the description below. Now back to the video. Now some of the information
you found is a cemetery but no picture. And you'll want to do a road trip. And sometimes
it is a situation where you still need to take a road trip to visit archives and libraries and
cemetery offices in order to access stuff because they won't share it over the phone or for whatever
reason. So what are you going to do. The first thing you're going to do is you're going to
find the cemetery. Make a map. And you're going to also find out the hours and the restrictions
of those cemeteries. Not every cemetery is open to the public. Not every cemetery
allows you to take pictures. Which I'm not sure why. And there are some other restrictions that
are taking place there. So you do want to call ahead and get all of that information.
There was one time where I couldn't find a picture for my ancestors in georgeville cemetery in this
rinky-dink's little town. What that used to be or is near Prairie, Franklin County, Ohio. The
cemetery is managed by the county but there is a gardener that knew every inch and every stone
in that place. And he was super super handy. And it was really nice because I was able to
get to specific directions. And he said, "drive into the cemetery on the main path. Turn left. At
the dead end, which is up a hill, drive past two large trees on your right and pull over.
Get out of your car and your ancestors will be 100 steps to the northwest of that second
tree." Ao I had to get to the tree and I have to find northwest. And then go home to 100 steps.
And that guy was right! he's like, "and then if you get lost, call me and I'll come help you."
So you do want to call ahead and get that information. You want to get section and
plat map so that you're not driving around the third largest cemetery in the state of
Ohio trying to find your one little ancestor. So try to get prepared. Once you get to the burial
location I want you to stop. I want you to stop. I want you to absorb the emotions of being there.
I want you to look around and just feel a sense of peace and wonder. Far too often when I went to
the cemeteries I was just rushing. And there were so many amazing things in the cemetery.
These monuments, these alcoves. These um trees and bushes that were decorating a plot. I want
you to take the time to notice those details. And you never know you may actually cross a
deer or two. That was kind of fun. Now that you have embraced the moment of being there
with your ancestor. And I want to put on your detective cap. You're going to take a picture.
But also notice the names and spelling variations of that stone and the stones around it.
I want you to record dates and relationships titles, and associations, transcriptions,
iconography, who shares the stone, and was there anything on the back of this stone?
now if it's a flat stone in the ground you're not going to be able to dig up that stone to find out
if anything is written on the back. But if it is a vertical stone I want you to go to the back
and see what's on that. Sometimes it's just the family's surname. Sometimes there's actually some
pretty funny or enlightening details. So make sure you check the back of the stone as well.
Now I want you to go further. That's factual information. But I want you to
look how large is that stone? What material does it look like it's made of? Is it really
reflective? Is it dull? Is it weather beaten? I want you to look around. What is going on
in the plot? Does it have a fence? Does it have a stone marker for the whole family plot?
Are there huge obelisks that bear the family name? The reason why you want to pay attention
to these clues is because they give you a hint in the economic status or the cultural importance
of the markers to that family. Remember I said I want you to think like a detective?
Don't overlook these details. I also want you to think about what cemetery are they buried in?
Go and learn the history of that cemetery. I have an ancestor that was buried in a
Catholic cemetery. She has a single stone but her husband died before her. Why was she not buried
beside her husband? You need to start thinking like a detective. I'm not going to give away
the solution to that. But one just one little detail she was Catholic and he wasn't.
But actually there's more to the story. And you need to think like a detective. Why is somebody
NOT buried here when they should be? or why is someone buried here and they shouldn't have been?
Then I want you to step back a little bit further. And I want you to photograph cemetery signage.
Addition monuments surrounding around your gravestones. Neighboring headstones. Because
now what you're doing is you're given a sense of perspective. And an establishment shots. We
call this establishment in videography. But you're trying to just establish where this area is. Now
the neighboring stones might be so, um, unique that if you put this in a scrapbook page or you
put it in your family history, when somebody wants to go visit you say, "all right. It's right next
to this stone that you can't miss. And just go 100 yards to the right." because a tree could die but
that stone might not go away. If your ancestor doesn't have any other stones around them.
There might be a story there. During World War II there was a lot of anti-German sentiment that was
taking place all around the country. And there are stories where people destroyed stones that
were belonging to Germans. And there are records that said a stone was originally placed there.
So you do want to take a picture of that because now you know the story behind that
field of just one surviving stone or two.
As soon as you get back to your computer, after being out at a cemetery, record all
of your findings. update your trees. update your databases. Put your pictures in. Label
your pictures. And really complete that research process. I hope with these tips that you can enjoy
getting out into cemeteries. Or not because you do cemetery research from your home. And you can
honor and respect the final resting places of your ancestors. There is a lot more information in the
Show Notes. So please go visit my blog. The link is in the description. Even if going to cemeteries-no, no, no.