Find-a-Grave's Percent Photographed
As part of my daily work, I use the information posted at Find a Grave to learn, not just about my own ancestors, but those cemeteries, local and distant in which I am photographing gravestones. I have not shared as many as I should since I am posting them to my blog for people to find.
I have had great experiences with having my own gravestone requests fulfilled. I am always very thankful not to have to drive huge distances to take photographs that are meaningful to my own family work.
This is a photograph of a family cemetery in Mystic-Groton Connecticut where I have fourth great grandparents buried. It is on privately owned land.
I have photographed it and put those photos at the beginning of this blog. These photo were taken with permission of the family and it was with this cemetery that I started my blog because family lives next door (on the side you can't see here) and they came out of the house as I was photographing. They were very nice and allowed me to take the photos. They mailed me the plot map. They told me ONLY descendants can be buried here. It was a wonderful experience. I realize now that if they hadn't been nice, I might have been arrested for trespassing. Yikes.
I see that Find-a-Grave reports that this cemetery is 95% photographed. The names of those who took photos are not familiar to me. They could be family, I don't know. I do know that after I took photos, there was a death and a private burial. The family told me that when they went to the town hall to give them a list of those who were buried there (in later years), they had to pay the burial fees. I did warn them about that. I wonder why the funeral home didn't tell them? They keep this private burial ground mowed and cleaned. Imagine being charged with the upkeep of a cemetery next door to your home?
I suggest that you return to your own ancestral cemeteries (virtually at Find a Grave) and look to see if there are new photos or information there. Report back to me about what you learn! Thanks!
1 comment:
Hi Midge, I think sometimes people are afraid to make contact with officials (town officials especially) of cemeteries that are small, old, not kept up, or on private land for fear that they themselves may be charged a fee for upkeep of the graves. I generally make a smallish donation of $100 to the local volunteer historical society of a small town in VT where some ancestors are buried (volunteers then go mow that cemetery in Spring). I was never asked for this money, however.
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