Grave Research Sites

When I started researching my family history, I had no idea why I would be interested in the final resting place.  It was all about family names.  Then I started collecting surnames.  Next I wanted to know about the history behind the name.  Now I want to know where they are buried.  It’s the only way left to honor those that have gone to meet their Maker. (See note below about footnote)

Finding a grave is simple if all the family members have stayed in the same area for 200 years.  What happens when they start moving around to different states or countries?  Worst yet, what if they do not have a final resting place?  That happens more than you would think.  Many don’t get buried or they get cremated and have their ashes spread all over Manhattan.  Did great uncle Jim get buried under the oak tree in the back yard?  Some families can not afford a grave marker.

I performed a “Random Acts Of Kindness” for someone.  (www.randomactsofkindness.org/, The making of this web site is a random act of kindness in my opinion.  If you want help, they may be able to find someone to help.)  I spent 7 hours at the cemetery looking at every head stone.  And I knew what cemetery the person was buried in.  I actually started over again and after two rows I gave up.  The office did not have records for those buried on that side of the cemetery???  Three different cemeteries at the same location I guess?  A week later I found the person that had the records and they told me exactly what site she was buried on.  No marker to be found. You learn something new every day.

www.interment.net  provides cemetery records on line.  You have to work to get past the advertisements but it pulls information from many different sources.  It’s a last stop for me if all else fails.

www.namesinstone.com  It’s mission is to preserve history by mapping grave sites.  You can upload pictures of grave stones, then transcribe the information on the stone.  The information becomes searchable as data is entered.  You can view a map of the a grave site and then view the stone.  A virtual grave yard, where you can honor the fallen with virtual flowers.  Saves on travel expenses.

www.findagrave.com  is the biggest place to look for graves.  It’s focus is on famous people, so if you think you have famous folks in your background, check them out.  They have a huge amount of resources available.  I use and contribute as often as I can.

www.billiongraves.com is a picture place.  What would happen if you got together a million people armed with iPhone’s?  Maybe a billion pictures of grave sites viewable on a map.  WOW the potential of this is unbelievable.  If you take a picture with a GPS enabled smart phone you get more than the picture.  When you upload the picture to billiongraves that information is attached to the file.  That helps them pinpoint the location on a map that you can view.  Then you transcribe the information from the headstone on the site.  (Fill in the name, dates, and etc.)  Then anyone can search billiongraves to view the grave site.  Did I say WOW?  They are only a few month old, but I estimate will take over the category in no time.

A few other links that you may find useful.

www.cousinconnect.com is a site that you can post question about a family name or see questions already posted by others.  There is a lot of information available.
www.genealogyarchives.com has a family history section.  They give history about surnames.
www.mycinnamontoast.com a search engine of other search engines.
www.mytrees.com a search engine of family trees.
www.familysearch.org will help you find individuals.

There are a lot of additional web sites that have information for a fee.

www.achives.com
www.origins.net
www.ancestry.com  You can develop a family tree at no cost on the site.  Can I just say, thank you very much ancestry.com team for changing genealogy research forever.  (Remember that the people create the trees, is it fact or fiction, check your sources, verify the facts.)
www.footnote.com  I can’t list footnote without an atta boy.  They created footnote pages to honor our hero’s.  There is no charge to view or add to the footnote pages.  Take a look.  www.footnote.com/pages/  Is your ancestor listed there?  It’s a Wiki style site to honor our ancestors.  Go look now.
www.onegreatfamily.com

From www.findagrave.com a great memorial to the late Betty Ford. (Elizabeth Ann Bloomer)
Born April. 8, 1918 and died July 8, 2011.

First Lady of the United States of America. Born on April 8, 1918, she first married William Warren, before marrying future President Gerald Rudolph Ford in 1948. Together they had 4 children. She became First Lady following the resignation of President Richard Milhous Nixon, and served as the First Lady from August 8, 1974-January 20, 1977. In 1987 she released her autobiography entitled, "The Betty Ford Story" (1987), which was made into a movie the same year. The Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, a well-known substance abuse clinic, was named in her honor.

Kevin’s Story, Part 12, Force It

So, , , , I decide to force the family history.  I spent two days, first with Yahoo, then Google, then in frustration I  tried ASK.com.  I typed in “who was my Mom’s Grandmother?”  I got something about grandparents day.  Forcing the family history was not working.  Obsessions do not follow logic.  Nor was I able to be logical.  So I wrote a letter.  After another month, I got the contact information and away we go.  I got names for all great grandparents!  This can sometimes be the bridge you need.  With those names I added an additional two generations and 94 cousins to the list.  That was two years ago.  In the last two years we have added almost two thousand more family members.  There are another 25 little green leaves yet to investigate.

Adding names to the family tree doesn’t add a lot of family history.  But, if you have the names, then you get the dates, then comes the Google.  I have only started to research our family history.  Most of the stories have been lost in time.  If the stories were not written down or passed down, you can’t get them back.

Families did not move often.  There could have been major moves to find work or harvest crops but many families stayed in the area for long periods.  If you get stuck, try looking at records for the next town over.  Maybe the next county over.  I was looking for the Grant family in a small county in Maine.  By accident I found a record for another Grant in Maine from a different county.  Come to find out they lived about three miles apart across a river.

To be continued . . . .

Kevins Story, Part 6

We made it to California in a week not a day.  Family history?  Hold your britches.  (That’s what they used to tell me.  Not sure why.  I assumed it meant wait a minute.)  What did I know about the family?  I am trying to remember stories.  My parents have been gone for 10 years, and I can’t remember yesterday.

Okay I remember my Dad grew up on a farm in Iowa.  I think the name was something simple, Jones or Brown.  He was farmed out a lot of his childhood because his parents split up when he was about five.  My Mom would tell me that when he was growing up he worked hard even at his young age.  A typical Christmas morning for my Dad was up at the crack of dawn (that’s how they talked then), get the chores done, and get back to the house to celebrate Christmas.  My Dad would have to go upstairs until the family finished with there Christmas celebration, and then he would get to come down and have Christmas dinner with them.

My Mom’s story is way better.  Remember she was born on Christmas day.  Christmas was a huge celebration for her growing up.  Even though she lost her Mom when she was seven, Christmas was always great.  Think of it this way.  The whole family gets together to go to midnight mass.  As they come out of the church, happy birthday Maggie.  (They didn’t call her Maggie, but I didn’t want you to get lost.)  How many kids get a happy birthday one hour into it?  Not only that but, every one comes over on your birthday.  And everybody brings something.  A cherry pie for your birthday.  A ham, mashed potatoes, a huge feast for your birthday.  No one gets treatment like this on there birthday.

Oh yeah, that ancestry question.  Got sidetracked, I have to start with my Aunt and Uncle.  If you look up Genealogist in the dictionary you will most likely find there picture.

To be continued . . .

Kevins Story, Part 5

I am the oldest of five children.  One brother is no longer with us.  My brother called and asked if I could help his daughter with a family history project that she was working on for school.  “Sure” So he asks the question and I have a blank stare.  You would think the oldest would know something.  Who gave you that idea?
“I’ll get back to you!”  Not the answer my niece was looking for.  Where do I start.  I remember on my mother side there were three brothers, a sister, my grand fathers name, and his second wife.  On my fathers side, there was a brother that died fighting so we could be free, and a sister.  I remember his mother, her husband, and my grand father.  Where do I start.  I really have no information but there are people on both sides of my family that have been doing research into family history.  How do I get in touch with them?

In 1959 we migrated west.  I remember a 1959 Ford station wagon.  You could fold down all the seats in the back and that left just enough room for your legs to hang down, and your face to be level and right between mom and dad in the front seat.  Bangor Maine to Wilmington California, I’m thinking we should be there by dinner.  Super highway’s, not yet.  Fancy hotels, dreamer.  Air conditioned car, what is that?  Views straight over the cliff on the right side of the car?  “Fathaaa, you are to close!!”  Two lane roads over the summit.  That’s one lane that way and one lane your way.  Four year olds don’t remember how hot it is thankfully.  My mother never forgot.

To be continued . . .

Try A Different Spelling

Names are not always spelled correctly.  About as good as my spelling.  I was doing research on the Wotton surname.  I restricted my searching to "Wotton" so I would only get the correct person.  The problem with is that it could be spelled wrong.  The name sounds like Waaton the way most pronounce it.  Can you imagine when they came to America and attempted to tell the Government official the name was Waaton.  He says "how you spellin' that?".  They may not have been able to read or write.  So the Government official spells it Waton.  If you hit a brick wall, try different spellings to see if anything pops up.

Paid vs Free Research Sites

Is anything really free?  Many things are free in life including family history research sites.  Sometimes free is not so free and many times more frustrating than it's worth.  If you are following along, I plan to take on the free claims one at a time and let you know just how free they are.  My goal is to review one site each week.  I plan on starting with the big ones first.  Then I want to investigate sites around the world.

Paid sites make your life much easier.  So, if you are in a hurry, or you have deep pockets, I will recommend some of my favorites.  Many of the paid sites are linked together.  The records are available no matter which site you subscribe to.

I will attempt to catalog the different types of sites also.  Each site specializes in or is better at one thing or another.  So if you are planning on spending money for a sites tools, you may want to wait around awhile and get some suggestions.

If you are on a limited budget, there is an amazing amount of information available.  You just have to know where to find it.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Genealogy

Some folks just have to have a book.  If you are one of those, you want to bend over the corners, like the smell of the new book, this is a good tool to have on your shelf.  

The original book by Christine Rose and Kay Germain Ingalls is available used.  A 2nd edition published in 2006 is also available.  If you have to have a copy on your iPad, there is an eBook version available.  Under $20.00.

The Generations Project

There is a new show on TV.  Every week they are going to follow real people as they search for there family history.  


You can find the new show on BYUtv.  Check your local listings for times and dates.  For more information visit www.byutv.org.  The first show of the new season.

• Xander and Carrie
  Airdate: March 29, 2011
• Xander and Carrie, whose twin boys were saved from a genetic disease by an anonymous bone-marrow donor, set out to test the relationship between genetic and genealogical ancestry while searching for the disease in their own family histories.
  
  
  
  

Start Today

Family history starts now.  One hundred years from now a descendent is going to want  information about family.  They may not even know your name.  What better gift to give than a few words about your history.  If they were to read it one hundred years from now it would be new again.  Would you like to read a story by your great great grandmother from one hundred years ago?  I would!  The stories are easy to write.

Twenty nine years ago today, I was in the hospital.  The doctor said “Try walking around for a while”.  The next doctor said “Try drinking some cold water”.  What kind of hospital is this?  So I get a glass of ice water, walk to the window, and see a great view from the seventh story window, but my wife still will not go into labor.  Doctors knew what they were talking about because we went from not being able to feel labor pains one minute to a ten on the richter scale the next.  “Hey can we get something for the pain?”.  “NOW?”  Fifty one minutes later she is born and our lives changed forever.  As the tears stream down and roll off my chin I held the most beautiful bundle of little girl for the first time.  Today, as I celebrate her mothers awesome work, I am in awe of what she has become.  Not because of her mother or father, not because of the country that has given her every opportunity, but because of the woman that she is inside.  Happy birthday my little girl!

Family history starts every day.  Keep it alive.  Ask your family members to tell you stories of the old days.  To develop a family tree is a great gift to pass on, the stories are priceless.

What Happened To Our Family History?

Family life has changed in the last seventy five years. What has changed?  Communication has changed everything.  We can find out what is happening around the world in the last five minutes but we can’t remember what happened yesterday.

Seventy five years ago you got news days or weeks behind.  But the family communicated.  They didn’t have much to talk about except, family history.  They would sit around and tell stories.  The parents were the window to the world.  Mom and Dad were told stories by there parents the same way.  They passed down, with embellishments, where they came from.  They heard about life in the old country, life on the farm, how hard life was.  They learned about family members and they learned where there grand dad grew up.

Fifty years ago we started watching television.  The family would get together on Sunday night and watch Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on NBC.  You guessed it, we didn’t talk much about what grandma used to do when she was little.  We spent every daylight minute outside playing with whatever we could find.  Do you remember the NBC Peacock?  Refresh your memory. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GohWSsFCkw).  To learn more about what we watched in the good old days, follow this link.  (http://www.information-entertainment.com/Television/tv60.html)

Thirty years ago we started playing games on computers.  Each kid got a TV in there room and it was pretty quiet around the kitchen table.  Coming in from school kids would blast through the door and yell, “Mom’s what’s for dinner.”, through there coat and lunch box on the floor on the way to watch TV in there rooms.

Twenty years ago kids started learning more from television and computers then parents.  Time was spent doing homework, watching television, and talking on the phone.  Playing outside was getting dangerous.  If you were lucky enough to live on a court you could play outside if you stayed close.  Everyone eating dinner together meant we all jump in the car and go to McDonald’s together.

Ten years ago televisions were on all day, a TV in every room and a computer next to the TV.  Home theaters were the rage.  Kids were actually spending time in front of the big screen with Mom and Dad watching American Idol.  Even the teenagers were coming back.  Sadly only for one or two programs.  Then back to there room where they had all the creature comforts.  If you could just install a toilet and a fridge, they would never have a reason to come out.

Today, if you can get in a word or two with your child you are competing with a text that just came in or there phone rings.  Mom I have to get Jimmy has notes from my English class.

So the last generation did not get the family history passed down to them and if they new anything they couldn’t tell you anyway because you have that damn communication device in your ear.

Should You Start A Family Tree?

I didn't even know I wanted to have a family tree.  I knew what a family tree was.  My Mom had an old bible that had a picture of a tree and places to write names along the branches of the tree.  She never filled out any of the names, so it wouldn't help.  (Where did that bible go anyway?)  It all started when my niece asked a question about our family history.  I had no idea what the answer was.  I didn't have anyone to ask.  Our family history was lost in time.  There could be thirty, maybe forty family members that were still alive.  Where to start?

The challenge was that we moved west fifty years ago.  Family three thousand miles away.  Names?  Why didn't I write some of those things down?  In those fifty years Mom told us stories.  Hard to remember what to get at the store much less remember a story from fifty years ago.

Alright let's get serious.  Twenty years ago I had the opportunity to visit my Aunt in Texas.  In the four hours at there house three were spent on there hobby.  Aunt Marion and Uncle Henry were very excited about researching our family tree.  (Not the bible)  (Keep up)  They had binders, books, file cabinets, a computer, and passion.  They spent vacations traveling around the country trying to locate records.  I'll just give them a call.  I wonder what there phone number is?  Who got Mom and Dad's old phone book that had all those notes in it?  Let your fingers do the walking. (You may have to be over forty years old to understand that.)  No phone book for Texas, okay then dial the area code and a 555-1212.  (You may have to be over 30 to get that one)  Okay 411, State? City? Name? "We got nothing".  Now what do I do?

I'm tired of typing and I still don't know if I need a family tree.  What I realized was that if I start a family tree today, the family that follows me will have at least have a place to start.  Your welcome!