FindAGrave 101 | Ancestry

There are now more than 116 million grave sites catalogued on the FindAGrave.com website. Join Crista Cowan for a look at how best to search these records and how to attach them appropriately to your Ancestry.com tree.
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FindAGrave 101 | Ancestry
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[@Cyberlucy]

I am a long term user and sometime contributor at Findagrave. One thing to keep in mind is that the accuracy of the site is only as good as its contributors. I have seen entries for graves on there that I am not sure exactly exist the way it is reported. There is also a lot of perpetuating of bad genealogical information. Be skeptical of older grave information (pre-1800). Verify the info as best as you can.

[@DoloresJRush]

I add sources to the bottom of my memorials so that people can verify the information for themselves.

[@DoloresJRush]

You are most welcome! I've been a contributor to Find-a-grave for approximately 6 years!

[@k0rc]

This is a great overview of using Find A Grave in conjunction with Ancestry. One clarification is when reviewing the cemetery statistics on Find A Grave (# of memorials, % photographed, etc.). The # of memorials reported is not necessarily the total number of burials in a cemetery. It is easy to assume that 250,000+ memorials would include everyone, but in reality there may be unmarked graves. Or the cemetery itself may be only have been 50% audited, and is a "work in progress". This is a nuance of the statistics and not meant to diminish the value of your presentation.

[@mtpokit]

I love this site and volunteer whenever possible. Pay it forward is my motto. Besides, it helps it to crawl a little faster.

[@morganmckibbon4241]

You are an excellent instructor; thank you for these videos.

[@AncestryUS]

Glad you like them!

[@gwenpryor]

Thanks for this Crista. I learned some things I didn't know.

[@susanr3250]

Thank you for this. I have been a member of findagrave for over 7 yrs, working mostly in Canada. It is nice that you explained about the photos as most don't realize the copyright laws.

[@twin3rd]

LOVE FinaAGrave!! Patiently waiting for a Droid app.

[@wannaberocker3057]

I really love FIndAGrave. I very much appreciate all those who research cemeteries tombstones and records. What's beginning to frustrate me lately though is all these memorials based on family trees and not from actual records. Basically burial unknown. Ex: I have an ancestor born in VA and died in AR or possibly AL. However someone has listed him as buried in VA. This is only one example. There are many others. I would like to encourage folks to be more limiting to real records or at least, known burial place...just no record or tombstone anymore

[@wannaberocker3057]

This then leads to wrong information being populated throughout ancestry trees. Just adds to all the wrong info out there leading us down a dead end path. We can tell the person it's wrong or ask why but not always help or change.

[@westtrindy9176]

I am a longtime user of findagrave. It started out great. However, people often place rumored information on the platform without backing up the information. I’ve seen people in the wrong cemeteries, with incorrect names, incorrect photos, incorrect names, incorrect spouses and/or children. People forget that there is often more than 1 person(s) who carry a name. I have seen entire family names changed bc someone didn’t check their facts before posting information. I also have sent documents to people correcting their errors and a lot of times they refuse to correct those errors. It’s sad, it is a useful tool, but be cautious and use the info as a clue to look up documents and see if what is posted is correct or not.

[@davidrichardson8843]

#1 owners- Have a list of owners responsibilities and they sign that they will work to comply. #2 All dates will have day/month/years #3 Link family, parents, spouse, children #4 Photos must be readable, must be taken level with gravestones #5 Find A Grave people should read American Ancestors, The Portable Genealogist #7, Cemetery and Gravestone Research. Four pages, less than $10.00, add a distribution list. #6 The names on a gravestone may not be the name in the census or records. Humphrey has over 36 spellings. Crique, Tremain and many others also have problems. Add an alternate name to Find A Grave. Military records may have a different name. Add a place in in Find A Grave for an alternate name. Maybe a DNA name. Most owners are reasonable but ... You are doing great, be safe dave.richardson

[@jimosipowicz8179]

It would be nice if you could search for the cemetery by the cemetery number Find A Grave assigned instead of having to look for the name of the cemetery in a state and then the town.

[@72cmg]

What about the memorials that do not have a picture on the tombstone? Some list only the cemetery name. Where does the info (dates of birth and death) come from? Do the volunteers actually get their info from the cemetery? If there is no tombstone photo, how do we, as users, know that info is correct? I don't want to use findagrave as a source on my ancestry tree if I'm not sure the info is correct.

[@AncestryUS]

If there is no tombstone photo or descriptive information, ask the memorial creator where they obtained their information. Good for you for trying to get back to the most original source. :-)

[@Rajordan]

Hey Crista! If you click on the "Memorial" tab, the URL will condense to a smaller length. As in: www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=58560672 This is all you need to copy and paste into a web link. This also makes it easier to find the "Find A Grave Memorial#" - it is the last number in this URL text.

[@crystalwolfer4117]

Could you please do a video about immigration versus emigration?

[@fizzbomb3392]

No mention of reading the site's policies (also known as the FAQs or "Help With Find A Grave".) Apparently those are inconsequential details no Ancestry user needs to bother with...

[@edwardyeutson8507]

I am a new contributor on find a grave don’t know how to put a cousin on find a grave who doesn’t have a head stone. And I know what graveyard and town it’s in?

[@crackerjacks46]

They are "Memorials" All who are familiar with the site know this. I still think if I put up a memorial and request a photo for my memorial then the photo should not be copyrighted. Especially if the memorial is one of my family members. I find it unbelievable that a grave marker can be copyrighted. I understand personal photo's. I just think I should not have to fight to get my Great uncles marker photo.

[@Rajordan]

Usually, all you have to do is ask permission to use a photograph. Tell a photographer that you would like to copy it and ask permission to put it on your Ancestry.com tree or use it in your personal genealogy. Usually, they will tell you that they want you to add "(c) by JackCracker" or "Photo by JackCracker." A lot of the times the contributors on Find A Grave have had their photos lifted from there and put on other web sites with no acknowledgment to them as the photographer. We want to encourage volunteer photographers, not piss them (us) off. Plus, the TOS for both Find A Grave and Ancestry.com have rules against uploading photos you've simply google and found on the internet. Like it or not, those are the rules. If one photographer will not allow you to use their photos, request that another photographer take a photo that you can have permission.

[@crackerjacks46]

I know all this and it doesn't pertain to what happened to me in this case. I always ask for permission when requesting a photo and always give credit. That's a given. When you have a hoarder who will not acknowledge that a photo exists and tries to tell you the cemetery staff say there isn't a marker when you saw her photo, that is not a nice thing to do. And...I did get someone else to go to the cemetery and get a photo for me which I now have on his memorial.

[@fizzbomb3392]

crackerjacks46 Bottom line: the photographer owns the copyright to their photo whether the subject of the photo is a grave marker, a sunset, a building or a flower. And it's their right to decide whether or not to allow republishing.

[@jamesdarnell8568]

@@fizzbomb3392 On the other hand, just take it. He'll never know because he will never see a copy of my family history.

[@fizzbomb3392]

@@jamesdarnell8568, of course you could do that. My parents taught me stealing was wrong. Even if I didn't get caught, I would always know it was stolen and know what I had done was wrong. Hopefully, yours taught you the same thing.

[@limesstones]

Ancestry.com definitely needs to keep "Find A Grave" as a free site and certainly not "retire" it as it has done with some other sites like MyFamily and Genealogy.com. The presenter seems to be 'tripping over' what to call the memorials themselves. For lack of a more definitive term that would encompass all of the final destination possibilities, I myself do use the word 'memorials.' Yes, whether you have been an active member for a long time, or not; or not a member at all, please do your homework where you take the time to look through the FAQs which are an important aspect for you to help you use the website properly. It will mean less requests for edits or removing your memorial because it is a duplicate.

[@bipolarbananas]

coolio

[@ireneadams5589]

Ancestry 0;1