A Guide to Cemeterying

Guide to Cemeterying .... It's an Art!

Some stones are
easier to capture
than others

Digging up the dirt on your ancestors can be a very satisfying adventure, but experience has taught me some valuable lessons I'd like to share.

Preparation:

• Check the Internet - many cemeteries can be found with partial lists of the inhabitants.  Find-a-Grave is one good site to try.
• Some cemeteries are listed with GPS coordinates - a gift you can be sure.  One cemetery I visited had a book near the entrance showing where everyone was buried - fantastic!
• If your genealogy software can do it, print a report showing who you think is in each cemetery.  
• Don't forget that many of your female ancestors were buried with their husband's families, so you would want to know the married name, as well.
• Speak to everyone you can find in the area -  everyone we spoke to was very helpful.  Cemetery staff are particularly helpful, if you can find them. 

Tools and Supplies:

Take a picture of the Cemetery Sign

• Your camera and plenty of batteries are the first order of business. If it's a rechargeable - make sure it's fully charged before you set out. A backup camera would be a good idea.  And your camera phone will do in a pinch.
• Bug spray - the older the cemetery, the more bugs and they can spoil your fun pretty fast.
• A full spray bottle with a touch of vegetable based food colouring.  The food colouring is helpful in reading the white stones - and it washes right away with the next rain.
• A soft bristled battery operated toothbrush - easy on the stone but very effective for removing lichens and mosses that can obliterate the words.
• Flashlight - sometimes the lighting needs a little help.
• A folding umbrella - sometimes there is too much light.
• Binoculars - for checking out distant stones.
• Newsprint and charcoal or a soft pencil.  You want to use them for getting dates and names - not for copying the entire stone.
• Scissors to trim away grass and weeds from the base of the stone.
• Sturdy knife for cutting away thick moss.
• Water for drinking.
• Pad and Pen for notes.
• Whisk broom for clearing away grass clippings.
• Masking tape for securing newsprint to the stone when doing a rubbing.

At the Cemetery:

Take a picture of the whole cemetery

• On arrival, take a photo of the sign at the entrance and a wide angle view of the whole cemetery.
• Plan your search by working row by row, but it you are searching only for old graves, you will want to begin at that end of the cemetery.  Don't forget, though, that people are not always buried where you think they might be.  So check newer graves, as well.
• Check your light.  If the sun is shining directly on the stone, use your umbrella to create a little shade.  If there's no sun, you will usually get a better photo and you can use your flashlight at an angle if you need a bit more light.
• Take at least two photos of the legible stones and at least three of the less clear ones.
• Take shots at several angles, if the stone is hard to read.
• For the difficult to read stones, use your newsprint and charcoal to try and get the information from the stone by doing a rubbing.  Also, make lots of notes about what you CAN read.
• Make sure your photos are of the tombstone only.  While the background scenery may be interesting, that's not what you are there for.
• Check all sides of the tombstone.  Some families are buried back-to-back or wagon-wheel style.
• Check your list to make sure you are not missing anyone you know should be there.
• Leave no stone unturned.

When you get home:

• Create a folder for each cemetery on your computer
• Export photos from that cemetery from your camera into its folder
• Using a tool such as Picassa, enhance the photos as best you can and rename them.  I use a naming convention which is Surname, First Name, Maiden Name, Death Date.

Above all, enjoy your self.  Cemeteries are often beautiful places and many (although I don't know why) have lovely views.

How many skeletons are in your closet?