| Genealogy Research in the Cemetery |
Every serious genealogist eventually ends up in the cemetery, looking for clues and tombstones of their ancestors. A wealth of information can be found in graveyards. To make your trip to the final resting place of your loved ones a fruitful one, you will need to be properly equipped and prepared.
If you are trying to locate a cemetery, you should contact the local public library, local genealogical society, or the city or county engineer to get a map of the local cemeteries. Funeral directors are also a big help in locating cemeteries.
Once in the cemetery, be respectful of the property. Vandalism and aging have led to many cemeteries being in disrepair. Some cemeteries have been abandoned and may be difficult to locate and to research. Make sure that you are environmentally responsible while doing your research.
A good piece of equipment to take along is a pair of binoculars. It will save you countless steps and make locating graves a lot easier. Be sure and look for CSA Iron Crosses (Confederate State of America) usually found at the food of the grave) and GAR markers (Grand Army of the Republic) which are usually smaller and may be found by the headstone or footstone.
It will save a lot of time and trouble if you take a handheld video camera or a 35 mm camera with you. A disposable camera works well, too. Take pictures of individual stones. It's a good idea in a small family cemetery to take pictures of all headstones or at least those close by your known ancestors. As your research progresses, you may find that some or all of those nearby are in your direct or indirect line and find the information very helpful.
A word of caution: don't do as I did. I traveled 800 miles to visit a family cemetery and took photos of almost all the graves. Upon reaching home, I was horrified to discover that I had not had film in my camera! And, to make matters worse, I had not taken notes. I had thought that the photo would be all I need. Be sure and back up your photos with notes. Number the pictures on a piece of paper so that you can match up the pictures to the information in case you can't read the headstone in the photograph. Sometimes you might get a double exposure, dark, or greenish color in your photos and not be able to make out the information. A digital camera is an alternative. You can tell instantly if you got a good shot of the headstone and if the information is legible.
Materials to take to the Cemetery
