Contacting A Cemetery Office

Cemetery offices can be busy places at times and often the staff is small. They get a lot of people visiting and looking for graves. To save yourself some time, and the office staff some stress, write well in advance of your visit.

The following suggestions may help you get a response more quickly:

Always enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for your reply.

Request a cemetery map with the location of each plot marked on it. This will help you find the graves you are seeking more quickly.

Limit your request to just a few grave locations. It is time consuming for the staff to look up the information and then mark it on a map. If you are requesting quite a number of lookups, allow more time to receive a response.

Give them the name you are looking for as well as the date of birth and death, and any other information you can provide that will help distinquish one person from another (such as a spouse, parent, or sibling's name). This is really important if you are researching a common name or there is more than one family member with the same name.

Not all graves are marked. Be sure to ask if there is a stone or marker on the grave. This just might save you a trip, if all you want is a photograph of the stone.

Try to visit the cemetery when the office is open in case you have trouble finding a grave and need more help.

And always write a Thank You to the person who sent you the information.

Finding "Lost" Cemeteries

The following article was published in RootsWeb Review: 27 January 2008, Vol. 11, No. 9

"I once searched for a lost cemetery in a small Connecticut Community. My method was to visit the local coffee shop at breakfast time. All the "regulars" noticed me and spent time wondering who the stranger was.

Towards the end of my meal I asked the waitress if she had ever heard of the cemetery or knew anyone who might have knowledge of it. Without hesitation she approached the regular crowd with the answer they sought ("Who is that guy?"), and the question I had. Within seconds I had half-a-dozen friends, the way to the cemetery, and the history of how the surrounding land developed."

Jay Powell

Cemetery Research In Winter Months

Now that winter weather has hit here in my area, it is very difficult to do any on-site cemetery research. I don't know about you, but I do not enjoy walking and searching through cemeteries with snow or ice on the ground and temperatures near freezing. So here are some ideas on alternate ways to find cemetery or burial information.

A great website to visit is findagrave.com. They have a database of over 16 million burial records. You can search for a cemetery and see who is buried there, or you can search on a surname or full name to see what cemetery they are buried in. The information is entered by individuals, so you may need to double-check birth and death dates. There are even some pictures that have been uploaded by individuals. You could get lucky and find a tombstone photo of one of your ancestors.

Try visiting or writing to local libraries, genealogy libraries, and genealogical societies in the area where your ancestor is buried. You may find your ancestor's gravestone inscription listed among the transcriptions owned by these organizations, or they may know where transcriptions are located.

Computerized cemetery records indexes can be helpful in locating the record you need. These can be found at some libraries, or can be purchased from genealogical and historical societies.

Another great idea is to visit the web page for the area where your ancestors lived or died. Many counties and states now have on-line databases with helpful information. I have had great luck using the Randolph County and Perry County, Illinois web pages. Visit rootsweb.com to find the state or county site you are looking for.

I hope these few ideas will help you. If you do not yet know the cemetery where an ancestor is buried, try sending for the death certificate. It often provides the place of burial. And don't forget to ask an older relative. Quite often older relatives know information the younger ones do not, even where to find that elusive cemetery.

Visiting Older Cemeteries

Since my recent genealogy research trip took me to some older cemeteries, I thought I would share with you some things I learned.

First of all, be prepared to spend a LOT of time (read that as hours) at EACH cemetery. Older cemeteries do not have offices you can visit to ask questions, therefore cannot provide maps of the lot or grave layouts.

Second, the stones are not laid out in even rows and all stones do not face the same direction. This makes it very difficult to walk the rows to read stones.

Third, many of the older stones have deteriorated a great deal and are unreadable, are broken and incomplete, or they are just plain missing.

For one of the cemeteries I was visiting I had found a listing on-line at the County page. It gave the row or section of the cemetery where my ancestors were buried. However, when I got there I discovered the problems listed above, plus there was no way to distinguish the sections. So my daughter and I had to walk the whole cemetery to try and find my ancestors. We found some, but not all that were supposed to be there.

The second cemetery we visited was pretty much the same experience, except I did not have a listing that showed rows or sections, only names. This time I played it smarter and only headed toward the older looking stones. It still involved a great deal of walking and looking. I was about ready to give up finding anything when I practically fell over what I was looking for.

We had planned on visiting 4 cemeteries that day - only made it to 2 of them. We also had planned on spending 3 days visiting 7 to 8 cemeteries, never made it past the first day. The weather was horrible - severe wind and rain kept us in the hotel the other 2 days. Not a completely wasted trip but disappointing just the same.

So Number Four on the list would be to check the weather for the area you are going to before you finalize your plans. If the weatherman say storms are heading that way in a few days, stay home. We had beautiful sunny days driving out to the cemeteries and again driving home. Sometimes you just can't count on the weather staying nice!

Finding A Cemetery

In order to do cemetery research you will first need to learn where your ancestor is buried. Here are a few ways to do that:

Locate death records and/or obituaries. They nearly always mention the cemetery.

Ask family members if they have any funeral, mass or prayer cards. Also ask if they know of family burial locations.

Funeral homes can be helpful in locating cemetery records. The funeral home is often mentioned in obituaries and death notices. Also, funeral directors will have knowledge of the cemeteries in their area.

Check with the church your ancestors attended. Often a record of the death and burial is kept by the church. Also, some churches have attached cemeteries and will have records of the burials there. If you don't know the church, check a map of the area where your ancestor lived and see what churches are near where they lived.

Don't forget to check with the local genealogical or historical society. Quite often they have compiled cemetery indexes.

On-line sources can be very helpful and there are quite a few. Check out Cindi's List at http://www.cyndislist.com/deaths.htm for a varied list.

Tips for Photographing Gravestones

Genealogy.com: Tips for Photographing Gravestones:

Cleaning the Stone

Cleaning a cemetery stone is a controversial topic. The first rule of conservation and preservation is to cause no damage. Unfortunately, by using household cleaners, chalk and shaving cream to enhance the lettering you may injure the surface in ways that are not readily apparent. Caution should be used before you destroy what you set out to preserve.

Over the centuries several different types of stones have been used to create gravestones. Some of the stones are quite porous and fragile, while others are resistant to damage. Be careful when attempting to improve the readability of the inscription. Types of stone:

• Prior to the Nineteenth century: Sandstone or slate
• Nineteenth Century: Marble and gray granite
• Late nineteenth century to the present: Polished granite or marble

There are a few things that you can do that will not cause injury.

• A soft brush or natural sponge and water will help you remove surface soil. Gentle brushing should remove surface dirt and bird droppings. Power washing should not be used; water should flow over the stone or be delicately sprayed onto the surface. Never use hard objects or stiff brushes to clean the stone. Removing lichens with sharp objects may inadvertently destroy the surface.
  
• Not all cemeteries are regularly maintained. By trimming tall weeds around the base of the stone and cutting the grass you may discover epitaphs hidden under the overgrowth.

Photographing Gravestones

When I visit a cemetery to photograph my ancestors gravestones I try to do it in the late morning or early afternoon. The sun is usually at a better angle at this time of day for photographing the stones. Just be sure not to throw your shadow onto a stone with a glossy surface or you will see yourself in the photo. (Yeah, I did this and, unfortunately, did not discover it until after I got home.)

I prefer to use a digital camera with a zoom lense and an LCD monitor. The monitor lets you know immediately whether or not you will be able to read the inscription. If it is an older, hard to read stone be sure to write the information down in addition to taking the photograph. In fact, I do this even when I can read the inscription in the monitor just to be on the safe side. After all, if I have traveled a long distance to get the photos I probably will not be going back anytime soon, if at all. Better to be safe than sorry.

With a large gravestone you may not be able to read the inscription clearly in the monitor, or on the photograph. This is where a zoom lense comes in handy; you can zoom in and photograph the inscription, in sections if necessary. Be sure to also get the full view of the stone.

Sometimes it is helpful to take a photograph at an angle in order to have some shadow in the inscription, which makes it easier to read. It depends on how the sun is hitting the stone. Be careful also with using a flash. A lot of the time it causes too much light and fades out the inscription making it unreadable.

Those bronze plaques that lay flat in the ground are harder to photograph well. It is difficult to read the dark lettering against the dark background. I have found, though, that you can deal with this in whatever photo program you have in your computer. I used Paint Shop Pro to lighten a plaque photograph so it is easier to read.

Another thing I like to do is make a sketch of the layout of the gravestones, especially when a family is grouped together. In the sketch I draw the shape of the stone and put a number on it; then further down the page, or on another sheet of paper, I write that number along with the inscription and a brief description of the stone. I also take an overview photograph showing this same layout. This can be very helpful if you ever need to go back to the site or another member of the family wants to visit the site.

Don't neglect the stones in the plots next to or near your ancestors. Take photographs of these stones and closeups of the inscriptions even if you don't recognize the names. You may find out later that they are extended family.

Take the time to stop in the cemetery office and look at the records. Sometimes there is more information than what is on the stone - such as a baby buried in a plot with another child or adult, or the name of a relative who is/was the owner of the plot. Also, if you can't find a stone for an ancestor but you know they were buried at that particular cemetery, the office can tell you if there was no stone at all.

Genealogy Through Cemetery Research

Sometimes the only way to gain information and further your research is by visiting the graves of your ancestors. You may wonder why you should go to the trouble of locating and visiting cemeteries. I'll tell you why. You may think you are visiting the grave site of one person, then when you get there you discover a whole family plot. There can be a spouse (maybe even a maiden name), children, possibly the children's spouses, full or partial birth and death dates, birthplaces, and parent's names listed on the stone. Sometimes a grave stone will even provide military information or a hint of membership in an organization.

Yes, it is true! It has happened to me. I can't tell you how excited I was when I found such extended information. The grin on my face was huge. I began taking notes and pictures like crazy. What I thought would be a short half-hour visit to a cemetery turned into a couple of hours. I have even found evidence of previously unknown baby deaths.

Just remember, this is considered secondary information not primary. The people providing the information or the stone carver sometimes made mistakes. You will need to confirm the cemetery information with sources - birth and death certificate, marriage records, probate records, etc.

Is it worth it? Absolutely! It is a wonderful feeling to stand in the place that holds your ancestors' remains and see important information carved in the stones. If the cemetery you want to visit is a long distance away, use the trip as part of a vacation. And do it now. Older stones are deteriorating or being destroyed by vandals; old cemeteries are disappearing. You won't regret the trip, but you might regret a missed opportunity.

Since the Elmlawn Cemetery is located near Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, my daughter and I decided to make it a vacation trip. For us it was a 6 hour trip by car to Buffalo. We stayed near the 290 Expressway to make it easy to get to both the cemetery and Niagara Falls. A good portion of one day was spent visiting the grave sites and taking pictures.

The office at the cemetery is very helpful if you have any questions or need directions to a particular area. I suggest you write to the cemetery in advance with the names you are interested in. They will send you a map of the cemetery with the grave sites marked.

Elmlawn has a new website with more information on the cemetery, a map and directions, plus some genealogy information. You can visit them at www.elmlawncemetery.com

While you are there be sure to take time to take in Niagara Falls and visit some of the sites in Buffalo.