Online database of cemetery records
Find a Grave
|
Type of site
| Online database
|
---|
Available in
| English
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Dutch
Portuguese
Swedish
|
---|
Headquarters
| Lehi, Utah
, U.S.
|
---|
Owners
| Ancestry.com
(2013?present)
|
---|
Founder(s)
| Jim Tipton
|
---|
URL
| www
.findagrave
.com
|
---|
Commercial
| Yes
|
---|
Registration
| Optional
|
---|
Launched
| 1998
; 26 years ago
(
1998
)
|
---|
Current status
| Active
|
---|
Find a Grave
is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online
database
of human and pet cemetery records. It is owned by
Ancestry.com
. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present final disposition information as a virtual cemetery experience." Volunteers can create memorials, upload photos of grave markers or deceased persons, transcribe photos of headstones, and more. As of 2024
[update]
, the site claimed more than 238 million memorials.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
1995–2009
[
edit
]
Find a Grave was created in 1995 by
Salt Lake City, Utah
, resident Jim Tipton to support his hobby of visiting the burial sites of famous celebrities.
[3]
Tipton classified his early childhood as being a nerdy kid who had somewhat of a fascination with graves and some love for learning HTML.
[4]
He later added an
online forum
.
[5]
Find a Grave was launched as a commercial entity in 1998, first as a
trade name
[6]
and then incorporated in 2000.
[7]
[8]
2010–present
[
edit
]
In 2010, Find a Grave expanded to include graves of non-celebrities, in order to allow online visitors to pay respect to their deceased relatives or friends.
[9]
[10]
In 2013, Tipton sold Find a Grave to Ancestry.com, stating the genealogy company had "been linking and driving traffic to the site for several years. Burial information is a wonderful source for people researching their family history." According to a press release, Ancestry.com officials said they would "launch a new mobile app, improve customer support, [and] introduce an enhanced edit system for submitting updates to memorials, foreign-language support, and other site improvements."
[11]
In 2017, a beta website for a redesigned Find a Grave was launched at gravestage.com. From May 29 to July 10 of that year, the beta website was migrated to new.findagrave.com,
[12]
and a new front end for it was deployed at beta.findagrave.com. The new site became live at the end of the year, and the old site was deprecated and officially retired in 2018 the following year.
[2]
Content and features
[
edit
]
The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from around the world. American cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain
Google Maps
(with
GPS
coordinates supplied by contributors) and photographs of the cemeteries and gravesites. Individual grave records may contain dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs (of the grave marker, the individual, etc.), and contributor information.
[13]
Interment listings are added by individuals,
[14]
genealogical societies
,
[15]
cemetery associations, and other institutions such as the International Wargraves Photography Project.
[16]
Contributors must register as members to submit listings, called memorials, on the site. The submitter becomes the manager of the listing, but may transfer management. Only the current manager of a listing may edit it, although any member may use the site's features to send correction requests to the listing's manager. Managers may add links to memorials of deceased spouses and parents for
genealogical
purposes. Deceased children's memorials that are linked to their parents' memorials will appear on the parents' memorials as their children. They will also appear as siblings of other deceased children whose memorials have been linked to the same parents.
[17]
Links to external websites and email addresses are not allowed.
[18]
Any member may also add photographs and notations to individual listings; notations may include images of flowers, flags, religious, or other symbols, and often include a message of sympathy or condolence. Members may post requests for photos of a specific grave; these requests will be automatically sent to other members who have registered their location as being near that grave.
[19]
The website is often recommended as a resource for
genealogy research
.
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
Find a Grave also maintains lists of memorials of famous persons by their "claim to fame", such as
Medal of Honor
recipients,
[24]
religious figures,
[25]
and educators.
[26]
Find a Grave exercises editorial control over these listings.
[27]
Starting on May 18, 2023, memorials may also be marked with a "Veteran" tag but the definition of the term Veteran used by Find A Grave
[28]
differs from that used in many countries, including the
United States
.
Policies
[
edit
]
Website policy is to remove memorials or transfer their management at the request of an immediate family member.
[29]
In January 2022, following complaints, Find a Grave announced a new policy for memorials of recently deceased persons.
[30]
Under the new policy, any photos or personal information, including obituaries, are hidden for three months.
[31]
[32]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"Find a Grave"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on May 11, 2020
. Retrieved
January 2,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Original Find A Grave (1995-2018)"
.
Find a Grave
. August 20, 2018.
Archived
from the original on September 3, 2018
. Retrieved
September 3,
2018
.
- ^
"Find a Grave member: Jim Tipton"
.
Find a Grave
.
Ancestry.com
. 2007.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Episode 13: Jim Tipton Founder of Find-A-Grave"
.
Extreme Genes
.
extremegenes.com
. 2013. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022
. Retrieved
October 16,
2013
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Maynard, Meleah (February 16, 2000).
"Grave Matters: Minnesota's dead are only a click away"
.
City Pages
.
Minneapolis
and
Saint Paul, Minnesota
: Star Tribune Media Company LLC. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2012
. Retrieved
September 8,
2012
.
- ^
"Entity No. 2442925-0151"
. Utah Secretary of State. 1998. Archived from
the original
on January 19, 2012
. Retrieved
November 11,
2011
.
- ^
"Entity No. 4729413-0143"
. Utah Secretary of State. 2000. Archived from
the original
on April 6, 2012
. Retrieved
November 11,
2011
.
- ^
"Division of Corporations Entity File No. 3168328"
. Delaware Department of State. 2000. Archived from
the original
on July 21, 2011
. Retrieved
November 11,
2011
.
- ^
Silverman, Lauren (March 14, 2010).
"Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually"
.
Washington, D.C.
:
National Public Radio
.
Archived
from the original on June 28, 2011
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
"At some point, I said, 'I am sick of drawing the lines of who is famous and who isn't. I'm just going to accept everyone,' " Tipton says.
- ^
"Find a Grave FAQ: What can I include in a non-famous bio?"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Ancestry.com Acquires Find A Grave"
.
Ancestry.com
.
Archived
from the original on October 7, 2013
. Retrieved
October 1,
2013
.
- ^
"Find A Grave ? the same and yet different!"
.
UpFront with NGS
.
National Genealogical Society
. July 10, 2017.
Archived
from the original on August 10, 2017
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Find A Grave Help"
.
Find A Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
Loudon, Bennett J. (September 2, 2011).
"Civil War history carved in stone in Pittsford"
.
Democrat and Chronicle
.
Gannett Company
.
Archived
from the original on September 18, 2020
. Retrieved
July 29,
2020
.
- ^
Moody, Sharon Tate (January 24, 2010).
"Find A Grave can shorten the search"
.
The Tampa Tribune
. Tampa Media Group.
Archived
from the original on January 13, 2012
. Retrieved
December 28,
2011
.
The entries with tombstone photographs obviously are reliable, but if the entry is based only on a paper record of the interment (without a photograph), it's easy to mistype the date, so you're bound to find errors.
- ^
"Find A Grave member: International Wargraves Photography Project"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Family Members"
.
Archived
from the original on June 4, 2023
. Retrieved
June 4,
2023
.
- ^
"Memorial Information"
.
Find a Grave
.
- ^
"Find A Grave Help: How do I request a grave photo?"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 18, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"
'Find A Grave' Cemetery Database Resources"
.
Highlander.com
. Parachute, CO. December 19, 2018. Archived from
the original
on December 2, 2020
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
- ^
"Searching the Cemetery: Find a Grave.com"
.
Rutherford Public Library
.
Rutherford, NJ
.
Archived
from the original on October 16, 2021
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
- ^
Dickerson, Melissa (2016).
10 Tips for Searching the Find a Grave website for your family history & genealogy
. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
ISBN
978-1534710405
.
OCLC
967966290
.
- ^
Pierre-Louis, Marian (July 11, 2015).
"4 Ways to Research in a Cemetery"
.
Legacy News Family Tree
.
Archived
from the original on April 15, 2021
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
- ^
"Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor Recipients"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Claim to Fame: Religious figures"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"Claim to Fame: Educators"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on December 23, 2017
. Retrieved
December 22,
2017
.
- ^
"What are the standards for a famous Bio?"
.
Find a Grave
. Ancestry.com.
- ^
"Designate this person as a veteran"
.
Find A Grave
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on June 12, 2023
. Retrieved
June 12,
2023
.
- ^
"Request to Manage"
.
FindaGrave.com
. Ancestry.com.
Archived
from the original on July 25, 2022
. Retrieved
June 8,
2022
.
- ^
Reid, Katie (August 25, 2019).
"How Ancestry.com's Find A Grave Encourages Bad Actors and Bad Data"
.
OneZero
. Medium.com.
Archived
from the original on May 19, 2022
. Retrieved
June 2,
2022
.
- ^
Neill, Michael John (March 31, 2020).
"FindAGrave Can Hold Off on the Recently Deceased"
.
Rootdig.com (blog)
.
Archived
from the original on September 27, 2022
. Retrieved
June 8,
2022
.
- ^
"January 11, 2022 Find a Grave Team Memorials for the Recently Deceased"
.
FindaGrave.com
. Ancestry.com. January 11, 2022.
Archived
from the original on June 2, 2022
. Retrieved
June 2,
2022
.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Brandels, Gayle (October 21, 2020).
"Some people visit cemeteries on Halloween. This man visits them all year to honor the dead he's never met"
.
The Washington Post: Inspired Life
.
Archived
from the original on November 29, 2020
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
- Cobbs, Chris (July 12, 2001).
"Web site attracts millions of grave-seekers"
.
Orlando Sentinel
.
Orlando, Florida
:
Tribune Publishing
.
Archived
from the original on December 8, 2012
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
- Colker, David (August 26, 1997).
"Web site answers grave concerns about stars"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
Los Angeles
.
Archived
from the original on October 8, 2018
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
(subscription required)
- Dehler, Tamie (October 13, 2007).
"Genealogy: 'Find a Grave' tremendous on many different levels"
.
Tribune-Star
.
Terre Haute, Indiana
:
Community Newspaper Holdings
. Archived from
the original
on May 14, 2011
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
- Eveleth, Rose
(August 28, 2014).
"The Volunteers of FindaGrave.com: Cemetery-loving hobbyists have uploaded millions of photographs of headstones from all over the United States"
.
The Atlantic
.
Archived
from the original on April 10, 2021
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
- Gammage, Jeff (August 1, 2005).
"Find VIPs (and others) who R.I.P. through online cemetery"
.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
.
Philadelphia
: Philadelphia Media Network.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2012
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
- Johnstone, Nick (July 14, 2004).
"Why I love ... findagrave.com"
.
The Guardian
.
London
.
Archived
from the original on September 14, 2014
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
- King, Peter (October 2, 2009).
"Tip: Find a Grave has info you're dying to know"
.
Newsday
.
Melville, New York
:
Cablevision
.
Archived
from the original on August 9, 2011
. Retrieved
September 28,
2011
.
(
registration required
)
- Mendelsohn, Daniel (June 1, 2017).
"Why Daniel Mendelsohn is Obsessed with Cemeteries"
.
Town & Country
. Hearst Magazine Media.
Archived
from the original on November 29, 2020
. Retrieved
November 22,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Official website
(in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Swedish)