This is Part 2 of our post on Dec 16 about the revised FindaGrave.com website. Here Ted Bainbridge tells us about finding a cemetery.
Don't forget that the Genealogical Society Victoria holds a very large collection of headstone transcriptions from almost 800 Victorian cemeteries compiled by our volunteers over many years . With the gradual degradation of some headstones these records may now be the sole source of that information. These records are being scanned and can be checked in the GSV's online Cemeteries Database. https://www.gsv.org.au
I hope you have enjoyed our re-launched Blog this year and please add your comments and re-post to your friends. * Bill Barlow. Editor, Family History Matters at GSV.
Hunting A Cemetery
by Ted Bainbridge.
The next most common use of findagrave is hunting cemeteries. There are three ways to find a cemetery: https://www.findagrave.com/
- On the main menu click “cemeteries” and type a name in the box provided. (This is an auto-fill box. Use it as above.) Click “search”. A hit list appears. Click the name of the cemetery you want. That cemetery’s page of information appears.
- On the main menu click “cemeteries” and type a place in the other box. (This also is auto-fill.) Click “search”. A hit list appears. Click the name of the cemetery you want. That cemetery’s page appears.
- On the main menu click “cemeteries” and type a place in the appropriate box. (This is an auto-fill box. Use it as above.) Don’t click “search” or press the “return/enter” button. Instead, look at the map. If the map doesn’t show any location markers, click the ‘+’ button near its lower right corner. Zoom in or out and pan in any direction until you see the area you want. Click any marker to see the name of that cemetery, then click the name to see its information page.
Favourite Cemeteries
If you registered as a member, you can create a list of your favorite cemeteries. Go to the information page of the cemetery you want to put on your list. Near the top right corner of that page, click “add favorite” and proceed.
You can create virtual cemeteries by linking interesting individuals to a collection that you create. (For examples, you might link all of your Blankenship relatives’ information pages to a group called “My-Blankenships”, or you could gather all your relatives who served in the Civil War.) Go to the page of a person you want to add to a virtual cemetery. Near the top right corner of that page, click “save to”, click “virtual cemetery”, and then proceed. At this location you can create a new v.c. or add this person to an existing v.c.
Other Features
The main menu at the top of findagrave’s home page includes an item called “famous”, which allows a search for a famous person, as was described above. That menu also has an item called “contribute”, which people use to add information to findagrave’s database.
Between the home page’s background photograph and the button for tutorials is a large white space that offers links for these items:
- read about a random person
- famous graves
- newly added graves
- most popular graves
- add a memorial
- upload photos
- transcribe photos
- forums
- search cemeteries
- browse cemeteries
- search grave records
- browse grave records
- famous people
- log in
- memorials
- cemeteries
- contribute
- famous
- help
- about
- forums
- store
- language
- mobile apps
- privacy statement
- terms of service
- end feedback.
Most people probably can ignore most or all of those items, but feel free to explore and experiment as you like.
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