How to Prepare for a Cemetery Research Trip
A visit to a cemetery is always on a genealogist's to-do list after he locates vital records. Cemeteries allow researchers to take gravestone photographs and rubbings, locate new relatives and ancestors, and discover birth or death dates. A little pre-planning goes a long way in uncovering new information about an ancestor. Begin by compiling everything known about relatives in a particular cemetery. Contact the cemetery to inquire about visiting hours. Bring a camera along to take photos of the graves and plenty of paper to record all the details you discover.
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Things You'll Need
- Full names of ancestors
- Birth dates of ancestors
- Death dates of ancestors
- Age of ancestor at death
- Family tree chart
- Family group sheet
- Camera
Instructions
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Choose a cemetery to visit. Check to see if there are other cemeteries in the vicinity that can be visited during the same research trip. Gather addresses and directions to the cemeteries. Complete a worksheet similar to the Cemetery Employee Interview (See References) to document each cemetery's information. Print copies of a form such as the Cemetery Transcription Info (See References) to take with you to record data, or create a new form. Additional fields could include "photograph," to indicate whether or not a photograph was taken, and "not located," to note when a stone could not be found.
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Identify which relatives are buried, and which relatives may be buried, at these cemeteries. Create a list sorted by surname that includes surname, first name, birth date and death date. Add an additional field for notes, if necessary. Print a family tree and family group sheets for relatives listed. It is always better to have too much information, rather than not enough.
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Search online for cemetery and grave information. Many genealogy and historical societies have cemetery indexes and transcriptions available online for free. User-contributed sites like FindAGrave.com also provide cemetery information, many times with a photograph of the grave.
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Pack notes, worksheets, maps and directions to the cemeteries, along with a digital camera and extra batteries, in a bag. In another bag, pack water, sunscreen, a hat, hand-sanitizing wipes and snacks. Exploring a cemetery can be very time-consuming, especially when the graves are not well marked. It is a good idea to have drinkable water and snacks on hand. Most cemeteries have non-potable water available in various locations to water plants at grave sites. In warmer weather, a hat and sunscreen are a good idea.
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Tips & Warnings
Take a few plastic bags, gloves and a shovel with to clear sunken grave stones. Most cemeteries mow the grass but do not have the staff to continually remove debris from flat stones.
You may not always locate grave stones. Some will be so old they have sunk into the ground and are covered, while others may not have been there to begin with. When asking a cemetery employee about a grave location, find out if there is a stone or monument on the site.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Cemetery image by ike from Fotolia.com
