Things to watch out for on Find A Grave (CAUTION)

[@gopherlyn]

I found my mom's mom on their, with the wrong birth year, which is because when my grandfather was filling out the form he wrote the wrong year, I message the person and she changed it an offered to transfer it to me. At the funeral, my grandfather was so upset that he made the error and my mom said to him "Don't worry about it, mom won't know." This story was told to me by my mom as I was 5 at the time (1969).

[@AncestryAimee]

So true! Death certificates are tough. The death date is usually right but the other information is based on the informants. It’s a time of stress so they may make a mistake or maybe they don’t know and are guessing or simply remember incorrectly.

[@pjsisseck915]

@@AncestryAimee Talk about stress! Two of my great grandmother's brother's DCs say their father's name was Elizabeth! Long story short, it turns out to have been Lisbon. But I can understand how one could be heard for the other. Add in a careless person filling out the form, and all kinds of stuff can happen.

[@AncestryAimee]

@@pjsisseck915 good example! Thanks for adding that. It's important to realize sometimes its transcription error from the form turned in by the informant - or misheard from the informant.

[@nannyrowand6841]

I use Find A Grave a lot and I have found mistakes. I contact the person who manages the grave with the right info, thank them for posting and list why it is wrong. 99% of the time they correct it. I wait about a month to see if it gets updated and check when they were last logged in. If it's been a while, I add a new memorial and reference they old one. (I usually don't have to do this) Alot of times the death date is the burial date.

[@AncestryAimee]

Great suggestions on how to handle that!

[@faustbos]

Being cautious of information is a good idea regarding any source. I love find a grave, and do my best to correct information on any records I'm dealing with. One thing I do is upload images of obituaries. I'm sure you are in agreement that Obits contain some of the best supporting information but even those are only as good as they are. Errors can happen anywhere. I've established a number of cemeteries in the areas of Italy where my family is from. In fact, Im heading back to one such area in a couple of weeks and hope to get hundreds of new photos to upload. Not sure where I'm going with this post other than to say I really enjoy your channel hahah. One thing I have noticed alot more on findagrave recently is that records seem to be mass entered with comments that the death date is the internment date. I wonoder if this has anything to do with Ancestry owning findagrave now and some sort of automated population. I also find that records of these types are not generally linked. So I will spend some time linking records if Im working in that particular area. I will always uploaded my supporting documentation. I Love find a grave but I think it could use some user friendly maintenance. Wish me luck in Italy!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you! So glad you enjoy the channel. You raise some interesting thoughts about Find A Grave. Hummmm. So glad you are taking those photos in Italy!!

[@AlannahRyane]

I submit corrections with proof whenever necessary as sometimes my photos of gravestones are clearer as taken years earlier. I also put in requests for a picture as in Hudson's Bay Sask posting as much info from the obit as I could on the page and was able to have a great conversation with a local who knew the families of the pallbearers. So he is now listed.

[@AncestryAimee]

Yes!! The folks who had put the information on my grandmother asked if I wanted to take over her memorial. They were so kind.

[@shelleymonson8750]

One thing I don’t like about Find A Grave is that sources for the information are very rarely given. It does happen, bit it’s super rare.

[@AncestryAimee]

Yeah. I agree. I like it when people post obituaries or other information.

[@shelleymonson8750]

@@AncestryAimee Far too often, when they do put up an obit, they don't bother to put where it came from. Grumph.

[@AncestryAimee]

@@shelleymonson8750 😂 Yeah. True. Sometimes it provides me with enough info to find it though. But that is so frustrating!!

[@pjsisseck915]

Just because a name is on a marker does not mean the individual is buried there. For example, when a stone is made for a couple, many times the surviving spouse remarries, and is buried with the subsequent spouse. Or, the marker is in Kansas, but the person died n New Mexico Territory (true story), and the money was not available to ship the body half-way across the country.

[@AncestryAimee]

That's so true! Thanks for mentioning it!

[@TomCooper]

I have relatives where this is true. My in-laws lived in western New York, and his parents set up a family plot with all the names and stones already set up. But my father- and mother-in-law retired to Florida, where most of their kids had already moved. They made their decision to be buried in the national cemetery in Florida. My daughter was able to get ownership of the F.A.G. listing and correct it, but until then, he was listed, not only in the wrong cemetery, but the wrong state!

[@AncestryAimee]

@@TomCooper haha! Thanks for sharing! And thanks to your daughter for fixing it!

[@lindaeasley5606]

I found an error on one page ,given that the deceased was an uncle of mine. They had him linked with the wrong family. That's why I do not like non family members being allowed to post deceased information

[@AncestryAimee]

There are a lot of terrific volunteers trying to assist by loading what they can and transcribing the grave photos but family is better when they are participating. Did you try to correct it? Hopefully you had a positive experience like I did.

[@12234nic11234]

people still keep putting the wrong parents for some of my ancestors. I've been able to get some of them corrected. Recently I've found one for a distant relative but they've got a daughter born the same year as her father, and several years before her mother was born, so yes, always do further research on any information from Find A Grave

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for adding your experience.

[@gorenchick]

I always verify any info i put on find a grave. I also verify any info I find before adding to my family tree.

[@AncestryAimee]

That's great!

[@gorenchick]

My great grand mother was buried next to my great grandfather even thou she remarried and her headstone has her first married name on it. Her second husband was buried next his first wife.

[@AncestryAimee]

I’ve seen that often. Thanks for adding that!

[@Annie4354]

I have also found several times that information on death records isn’t always correct. The family information there is only as good as the informant’s knowledge or memory. And headstones are sometimes mis-transcribed because the stone is dirty or the font has eroded. It’s a tricky business!

[@AncestryAimee]

True! True!

[@annw1395]

Yes, I've found several incorrect headstones bc that information is second-hand. But I always had assumed that the upper section of the web page was from Find-A-Grave records, and the lower section (biography and links to other family members) was filled in by a relative. I wasn't aware we could edit info. I'll have to look into this more. On a funny note. I found a headstone marking the grave of an Alfred (I forgot the surname), but they apparently had some literacy and accent issues, and the headstone was engraved ALFORD. Lol.

[@AncestryAimee]

I’ve actually seen that name on records too!

[@Redberryfarm888]

I was inputting the info when my mom died earlier this year, and was the first one on Find A Grave to input her info, so I am the custodian, able to edit and such. Well and good. My father though who died years back, has someone totally unknown to us/unrelated as the Find A Grave custodian, who added all sorts of info that needed correcting. I messaged them with corrected info and that I am a daughter, etc...but 'too bad, so sad'... they didn't transfer the custodianship over to a family member of the person's grave. (Frustrating...) If it is connected with Ancestry, I wish they could help blood relatives keep the grave info as custodians ... not whoever photographs the site first and lists it.

[@AncestryAimee]

Agreed! Have you tried to reach out to FindAGrave? Maybe they would help. I have no idea but I agree. They should.

[@JCK-gi2gm]

Thanks! That caution on errors applies to every source, every site we work on and in this case, it's amplified since they show up as Ancestry Hints. I do wish you could have spent a bit of time showing people how to "correct" information on FndaG, as well as how to add Bio info (your story abt your GM's bday was great), add pictures, and request transfers. Perhaps in another video at some point. Some people don't even seem to realize that all of this is done by regular people in their "spare" time so I appreciate that you made a point of showing that. They seem to think that Find A Grave is a company or source that does this and it's "their" fault when information isn't correct. It is a great site and there's always room for more people to volunteer and be active, even if it's just for your immediate family or places near where you live or used to live. You don't have to go take pictures and you can even "adopt" graves that are back in FndaG's hands due to people retiring, etc. Some have been doing this for over 15 years now. I've been there going on about 12 years. I focus mainly on my family lines but more and more I've been adding on ones that FndaG now manages (over a million). Most of those are ones that others aren't interested in, no pics or info, infants, kids and women. At least those seem to be the majority when I've gone looking for surnames or various cemetery locations. Also know that there are international listings as well. There are "collectors" of various types, especially pre-1800, any war, etc and they'll adopt the veteran but not the family which I think is a shame if they leave the rest of the family behind. Not all do and some do a great job of adding information that many descendants wouldn't be aware of. Many, many volunteers do a great job and provide a valuable service and I am constantly amazed at the work they put into it. But everybody needs help with errors but please make sure that what you think is an error can be confirmed. And have fun!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks. I appreciate all you added. I agree. I do want to do a video about adding those corrections and other information.

[@cak813]

Also, perfect strangers can put information about people they don’t even know - especially celebrities. Find A Grave is far from being a definitive source of information.

[@AncestryAimee]

True true!!

[@marcidehm8083]

Thank you for pointing these things out! My great grandmother always shaved 10 years off her real age which resulted in an incorrect headstone date as well as an incorrect death certificate. Although I was the reporter on my father's death certificate there are TWO errors on it from the person who took the information from me. It's simply so common to have these errors.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you so much for sharing those examples. It helps people realize how common those things are.

[@djr98686]

One of my Mother's final requests was for us to purchase and place a headstone on her beloved (childless) aunt's grave. We live about 75 miles away, so we contacted our cousin who lives less than a mile from the cemetery. She went to cemetery and took down the info from the temporary marker placed by the funeral home. The temporary marker showed the date of death and the number of years, months and days that our great-aunt lived. Trying to be helpful, my cousin did the math to determine date of birth; however, my cousin failed to account for our great-aunt being born in a different century so the date inscribed on the headstone is off by one year. The headstone says she was born in 1899, but it should be 1898. Sigh. On my Father's side of the family, my G-G-Grandmother's first name shown on her headstone is misspelled. She was a French-Canadian immigrant to the U.S. Her given name at birth was Virginie, but in the U.S. she was called Virginia. On her headstone it says, VIRGINA.

[@AncestryAimee]

Terrific examples of how those things happen on headstones! Thanks for taking the time to share them!

[@Forensource]

oh no

[@deniseeanes4850]

You are very correct about mistakes. Some contributors are not familiar with the locations or cemetery they are working in and establish cemeteries in the wrong county of the state. Some church cemeteries have the same names and the county mix up contribute to contributors establishing records in the wrong cemetery.

[@AncestryAimee]

Good addition. That’s true. Thanks for commenting.

[@cathyhughes991]

Also, and I have found this a couple times, a burial will be noted in the wrong cemetery. One even had the picture of the tombstone but I found it in another cemetery in the same town. The other instance didn’t have a picture of the tombstone. The information on the FAG memorial was from cemetery records but the individual had been moved to another cemetery in another city.

[@pjsisseck915]

There is also the fact that sometimes cemeteries are bought, renamed, merged, etc. I have found myself researching the "genealogy" of a burial place more than once. This also applies to place-names.

[@AncestryAimee]

I've never encountered that! Good to know! Thanks for adding it!

[@AncestryAimee]

@@pjsisseck915 true!!

[@snafuAB]

Like any genealogy source, I add in the information to my tree, as I find more sources, I fix the information I took from Find a Grave. Its a great tool. It has assisted in breaking down brick walls in genealogy.

[@AncestryAimee]

Yes! Completely agree. Particularly when a headstone photograph is there!

[@nannyrowand6841]

I found a lot of my family on Find A Grave with burial dates as death dates, I usually contact the person and ask them to transfer the memorial. Then I change the info. I don't use Ancestry, to many issues

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for sharing!

[@cutiemomma44]

I never was cautious about incorrect info on Find a Grave. However, I guess it's always been an issue with other things gs.

[@AncestryAimee]

It is a great site - hopefully this helps you use it better

[@karmagal78]

I agree with gravestones on findagrave sometimes having the wrong information. My great grandmother’s stone has her middle name as being May when it’s actually Mae. A well meaning person had the stone made for her. The stone that is on my half great grandaunt has her nickname and the incorrect spelling of her surname on it. The asylum that she had lived in probably wasn’t told how to correctly spell her French surname.

[@AncestryAimee]

Good examples. Thanks for sharing!

[@SHANECatLovinActivistHistorian]

Yeah, records are often wrong i found, wrong names, dates and ages. Went to the county health dept and they have my mom down as being 15 when i was born. Yeah, she was young to have a baby, but not that young

[@AncestryAimee]

There are certainly errors on some records!

[@skanoot]

Great information Aimee! Thank you!

[@AncestryAimee]

You're so welcome!

[@pinwheelgrl9304]

The first thing I look for is a stone pic and the second is a plot #. If one of those is missing, I consider it a "best guess" memorial entered by someone. When I heard that in the recent past some people did nothing but create memorials based on daily obits in the papers, I was horrified knowing the typo's and how incorrect that info can be. I liked the old (pink) site better where it was more obvious that sibs/parents/spouses listed were "conjecture". I too have several ancestors with incorrect gravestones, one with actual proof of how it happened due to a probate battle. On death certificates it is important to compare ALL dates - date person was medically treated, date of death, date dr. signed, date removed, date buried, date filed. I have seen discrepancies! Some don't realize that some death certs are a re-typed entry of an original written one. typo's. So again - the most important thing in all this is ANALYZING and not just blindly accepting as most do.

[@AncestryAimee]

Well said!!!

[@TomCooper]

I have seen not only the data on Find-a-grave be wrong, but the data on gravestones themselves. In the case of my grandmother, the death date on her stone is off by 5 YEARS!!! I don't know how it got that way, but the stone was more than 3 hours drive from where she and my grandfather lived, and I am sure that was a factor in it not being corrected.

[@AncestryAimee]

Wow! That’s a huge difference. I’m not sure how they got the year wrong on my husband’s grandmother either. 🤔

[@sharontabor7718]

Some people lied about their age out of vanity or legal issues, or they just didn't know the correct year. It's like a census where the age can be off 10 years because the person giving the information just guessed. Before the years of recording birth certificates,, memory was all people had if they were illiterate. Only wealthy people could afford to attend school beyond the 1st or 3nd grade before public education laws in the 1920s - kids had to work.

[@community1949]

I am on my deceased parents tombstone but Find A Grave has got me listed as deceased just because my name is already carved on the headstone with my birth date - any legal implications of this error? How concerned should I be?

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s so funny. Really. You can correct find a grave. I don’t believe there are ramifications legally to you. Lots of people do that, particularly spouses. I would just contact find a grave

[@community1949]

@@AncestryAimee I did contact them but they haven't gotten back to me. I also called the cemetary where mom and daddy are buried and she said it has happened to her also - she said find a grave is pretty sloppy but NOT to worry.

[@dan56273]

I just watched your video on Ancestry hints and on that subject I would like to more specifically on transcription typos in Ancestry records and how to fix them. Thanks for making these they really help alot

[@AncestryAimee]

Great suggestion! I’ll add that to my list!

[@dan56273]

@@AncestryAimee my last name for example spelled Leite was transcribed in a record as Lute

[@AncestryAimee]

I went ahead and did a video on fixing Ancestry errors. It’s coming out tomorrow 1/26. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@dan56273]

@@AncestryAimee thank you!

[@dan56273]

@@AncestryAimee what time will you be on today?

[@joanprout9619]

Have you found a way to correct the carving on headstone?

[@AncestryAimee]

Good question. But I haven’t. You can make a note on Find A Grave and BillionGraves though to let people know.

[@kenbarnett9415]

Thanks for posting this, I found a couple of contradictions with findagrave too, I took the headstone to be definitive, now I know better!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks!

[@CathyJacobsen-ep2bd]

My great-grandparents headstone is wrong. I’ve made changes showing correct information dates and locations with the German records.

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad you did that Cathy. It happens!!!

[@zhubajie6940]

They have the wrong photo for my mom's grave (they have the picture next to the one shown in the yearbook). AI fouled up.

[@AncestryAimee]

Let them know!!

[@maxandmaureenandersen4522]

Great video!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks!

[@richardbills2702]

Where is your Bills line. I’m from Amos London Bills in Marshall TN.

[@AncestryAimee]

On my husbands side. They were in Idaho for a long time.

[@stevelaursen1691]

I made a mistake on a profile. hoe do I switch it on find a grave

[@AncestryAimee]

Go to the top where your account stuff is and click my memorials. Find the one in question and then below the basic information you will see an edit button.

[@HowWeGotHere]

Great Info

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you!

[@MrSwive.]

I need some advice. I have the memorial for my direct ancestors that doesn’t include their birth information. I know this information I have birth records to prove it. Should I add the information (with sources in the bio) or just leave it as it is?

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s a great question. I think you should add it, but make sure you put the source information in the bio. Otherwise people doubt it and wonder.

[@MrSwive.]

@@AncestryAimee That is a good idea! Thanks

[@cdub31613]

Thanks for sharing the info. I’ve been struggling trying to find the exact date my GGM passed, so I can request a copy of her death certificate. My mom and I recently took a trip to the Bronx, and got pictures of her and my GGF’s gravesite. While it didn’t have the full date on their tombstone, the office at the cemetery had the internment date, so I’ve been able to narrow it down to a few days, and I have pictures to upload to findagrave. Just like any other tool, it’s a great addition once you learn how to use it.

[@AncestryAimee]

Agreed! So important to note the value of the internment records! Lots of time local historical societies or genealogical societies will hold those. So if the cemetery says they can’t release them (which has happened to me) you might find them elsewhere.