Don't Be Spooked By Cemetery Research
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By The Tree Shaker-
When visiting cemeteries and looking for ancestors, I always take a few supplies with me including a camera and a hand-held broom. The camera is for taking photos of your ancestor’s gravestone for sourcing and also for future needs. The hand-held broom is for cleaning up around the gravestone. Groundskeepers do an amazing job at keeping up with the mowing of the cemeteries, but I like to clean up around the gravestone while I am there if just out of respect for my ancestor. Others have even taken some gardening scissors and gloves to cut away grass growing close around the stones.
Nearby gravestones can lead you to other family members. Grave markers can also tell a story of children who died in infancy, and no other records may exist for some of these children. If the gravestone is decorated nicely, this tells you that there are still living relatives. The tombstone is a symbol of the life your ancestor lived.
Some stones have a picture of the ancestor on it. An engraving of the children’s name could be on the back of the stone plus the gravestone will at least tell you the birth, marriage and death dates. The engraved symbol above the ancestor’s name could lead you to their occupation or hobby.
If you don’t know which cemetery or in what area of a cemetery your ancestor is buried, you can check a couple different places. The local historical society may house plat books that can point you in the right direction. You can also scope out the cemetery office, where there should be records of where individuals are buried.
Large cemeteries usually have an attendant on staff who can usually give you a direction to look for your ancestor’s gravesite. Usually large cemeteries are divided off in sections, rows and plots. Most old rural cemeteries usually started at the front by the road and went to the back of the cemetery. Small cemeteries usually don’t have staff but most of the time there is a record either at the local courthouse or the historical society, which should have either cemetery records or at least plat books that can help in your search.
Have fun wandering through the cemeteries!
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When visiting cemeteries and looking for ancestors, I always take a few supplies with me including a camera and a hand-held broom. The camera is for taking photos of your ancestor’s gravestone for sourcing and also for future needs. The hand-held broom is for cleaning up around the gravestone. Groundskeepers do an amazing job at keeping up with the mowing of the cemeteries, but I like to clean up around the gravestone while I am there if just out of respect for my ancestor. Others have even taken some gardening scissors and gloves to cut away grass growing close around the stones.
Nearby gravestones can lead you to other family members. Grave markers can also tell a story of children who died in infancy, and no other records may exist for some of these children. If the gravestone is decorated nicely, this tells you that there are still living relatives. The tombstone is a symbol of the life your ancestor lived.
Some stones have a picture of the ancestor on it. An engraving of the children’s name could be on the back of the stone plus the gravestone will at least tell you the birth, marriage and death dates. The engraved symbol above the ancestor’s name could lead you to their occupation or hobby.
If you don’t know which cemetery or in what area of a cemetery your ancestor is buried, you can check a couple different places. The local historical society may house plat books that can point you in the right direction. You can also scope out the cemetery office, where there should be records of where individuals are buried.
Large cemeteries usually have an attendant on staff who can usually give you a direction to look for your ancestor’s gravesite. Usually large cemeteries are divided off in sections, rows and plots. Most old rural cemeteries usually started at the front by the road and went to the back of the cemetery. Small cemeteries usually don’t have staff but most of the time there is a record either at the local courthouse or the historical society, which should have either cemetery records or at least plat books that can help in your search.
Have fun wandering through the cemeteries!
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