Lesson 9

Famous Last Words

Did you know that the dead can tell you stories? They can't really but their tombstones can. Think quick: what kind of information would you expect to find on a tombstone? Of course, you find the name of the person who died and usually birth and death dates. You may also find the names of the person’s parents, spouse or children, or where the person died.

This information is invaluable when you’re trying to confirm or find out birth, marriage or death dates. Sometimes, especially in cases where vital records have been destroyed or don’t exist, a tombstone is the best information available. This is particularly true for women, who often don’t show up on early vital or census records. Some people considered their tombstones as a final chance to have the last word. 

 You can find  amusing epitaphs at www.alsirat.com/epitaphs/. 

It’s these kinds of surprises that make cemetery searches uniquely fun.

There are various kinds of cemeteries. Some are civic, while others are connected to a church or other place of worship. These records may be kept in civic repositories or at the church associated with the cemetery.

Finding a Tombstone

Look at the tombstones from the following site:

Tombstone Pictures by Cemetery

Recording of a Cemetery

FOR AN ANCESTOR

If you know where an ancestor is buried and his approximate date of death, you can check online resources to see if someone has already posted the information available on your ancestor’s tombstone.

Interment .net has over 3 million entries world wide.

The Virtual Cemetery contains entries submitted by other researchers.

Perhaps the most complete index of online cemeteries can be found at Cyndi’s List, http://www.cyndislist.com. 

Before you go, check out these helpful tips for successful cemetery searching:

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maggieoh/tomb.html will get you to Maggie Stewart-Zimmerman’s page, which lists tombstone carvings and their meanings. For example, she notes that a butterfly may signify an early death while oak leaves or acorns mean maturity or old age.

http://www.mindspring.com/~mooregen/tombstone.html. If you want to preserve the information found on a tombstone, you may wish to make a rubbing of it. Pat Dupes-Matsumoto’s site teaches you how to properly make rubbings.

Questions to Consider

1. In what ways can a cemetery help you in your family search?

2. What information can you find about cemeteries online?

3. How can you preserve the information found on a tombstone?

What I have learned

Cemeteries are great places to learn vital information about your ancestor. A tombstone can provide dates as well as clues to information about other family members. While many cemeteries are posting information online, most cemetery research is still done on site, through compiled records, or by writing a letter to the cemetery's office. In lesson 10 you will learn about Census Records and how they can help you in your search.

To Lesson 10