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Something to be wary of is that find a grave does not appear to have authentication steps.
Last week I did some quick research for a local site I donate time to. I located a death record that said burial at xyz cemetery. After posting the death cert info (only my transcription), I thought I should take a look on find a grave and see if there were any family members buried in that cemetery.
Not 5 minutes after I posted the death info the question asker posted that very burial on find a grave. He did not have time to verify anything I had posted & just submitted it as fact.
I was stunned. So I have concerns about the accuracy of the postings on find a grave. I would use it as any online forum...a clue to be verified by documentation. The photographs are a great resource and some researchers are very thorough with their support documents.
Well, it's possible that the individual didn't live near the cited cemetery and confirming the burial would have been difficult. If the cemetery was no longer active and therefore there was no office to contact, the only option would be to ask someone living near the cemetery to confirm the burial and the best way to do that would be to post the burial on Find A Grave and request a photo of it. This is why implementing any kind of authentication steps to the website would be difficult - because many cemeteries are no longer active or have lost paper records and some gravestones are hard to read, etc.
But I did pointed out earlier in this topic that you have to be careful about the accuracy on Find A Grave. Harder to read gravestones often get transcribed incorrectly, even when a photo of them is provided. Just like with any record we come across in genealogy, we have to understand what the record is and assess the accuracy of it. Find a Grave is no different.
I have a three times great grandmother whose maiden name was transcribed from her stone as Glazier, when it is clearly Glaze.
That produced a brick wall, to which another mis-transcription contributed: her maiden name on her marriage record was transcribed as Glass, not Glaze. I would never have figured it out if her sister had not married her husband's brother. Finally locating her grave (it's on private property) confirmed it.
Just like with any record we come across in genealogy, we have to understand what the record is and assess the accuracy of it. Find a Grave is no different.
Exactly! Most records are suspect, simply because forms that were filled out... from birth certificates, death certificates, draft registration cards, census forms, and forms for headstone engravers… were filled out by people who just didn't recollect the information accurately/consistently, or the information was written down by someone else who mis-heard/mis-spelled. My own father's birth certificate had his last name wrong and it was never corrected!
Quote:
Originally Posted by suzy_q2010
Even easy to read stones get mis-transcribed.
I have a three times great grandmother whose maiden name was transcribed from her stone as Glazier, when it is clearly Glaze.
I know I've come across memorials that I created and think "How did THAT happen?". Very embarrassing, no matter how careful you are. Something to watch out for -- the setting on your computer that automatically fills in forms. Handy on Find a Grave when you're creating memorials for a whole family of "Glaziers", but not when the next person is named "Glaze"!
I have used Find A Grave but you do have to be careful about the accuracy - especially with old gravestones that are hard to read, I have found some people transcribed them incorrectly.
But I have gotten some useful info from it and added entries of my own.
I haven't made any new entries, but I have submitted edits when I could add information, make corrections, or connect family members.
I used it once to find Frank Sinatra's grave in Palm Springs. You'd be shocked at how nondescript it is! The cemetery only permits regular flat markers.
There are many issues with find-a-grave, from the accuracy of what is on the tombstone, the transcription error of those transcribing it, to the attitude of many who post the information. Over the decades I have visited 100s of cemeteries and up until late I found the office staff and caretakers immensely helpful. But lately I find a far more muted reception and now am often asked how I am related to the deceased and if I am from Find-A-Grave. The feeling seems to be that some people are making money from Find-A-Grave and are rude, demeaning, and demanding of the caretaking staff.
In the end, I think Find-A-Grave content providers are creating a problem for the earnest family genealogist.
Overall, I have found FindAGrave helpful in some of my research, but I have not bothered to sign up or contribute. I like seeing photos of toomb stones of my ancestors and appreciate others who have taken the time to make photos and share them online.
There are many issues with find-a-grave, from the accuracy of what is on the tombstone, the transcription error of those transcribing it, to the attitude of many who post the information. Over the decades I have visited 100s of cemeteries and up until late I found the office staff and caretakers immensely helpful. But lately I find a far more muted reception and now am often asked how I am related to the deceased and if I am from Find-A-Grave. The feeling seems to be that some people are making money from Find-A-Grave and are rude, demeaning, and demanding of the caretaking staff.
In the end, I think Find-A-Grave content providers are creating a problem for the earnest family genealogist.
I strongly disagree - I have made some BIG discoveries in my tree thanks solely to Find A Grave. I would be lost without them and the dedicated genealogists there who make it possible. I have not come across any cemetery staff who are suspicious of Find A Grave - in fact, I have come across several who actively support it.
Only occasionally but I have added information and pics to the site in the past.
Cemeteries can be interesting. I once met a professional stonecutter in the old Rock Creek Cemetery of Washington D.C. His was a family-owned company that worked with the seasons from Georgia into New England. He told me he loved working in cemeteries of large cities because, even among all the traffic, sirens and crowds, the cemeteries always offered a very quiet place to work and a lot of solitude.
The feeling seems to be that some people are making money from Find-A-Grave and are rude, demeaning, and demanding of the caretaking staff.
That's odd. How does someone "make money from Find-A-Grave"?
Anyone who is rude or demanding while doing genealogy research is a moron. I have made a lot of useful connections by being friendly, extremely non-demanding, and grateful for whatever info is given (or appreciative of the person's time even if they have no info).
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