Find a Grave explained

Find a Grave
Headquarters:Lehi, Utah, U.S.
Commercial:Yes
Type:Online database
Registration:Optional
Language:English
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Dutch
Portuguese
Swedish
Owners:Ancestry.com (2013–present)
Founder:Jim Tipton
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., the site claimed more than 238 million memorials.[1]

History

1995 - 2009

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.[2] Tipton classified his early childhood as being a nerdy kid who had somewhat of a fascination with graves and some love for learning HTML.[3] He later added an online forum.[4] Find a Grave was launched as a commercial entity in 1998, first as a trade name[5] and then incorporated in 2000.[6] [7]

2010 - present

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.[8] [9]

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."[10]

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,[11] 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.[12]

Content and features

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

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

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Find a Grave . Find a Grave . Ancestry.com . 2 January 2023 . May 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200511163705/https://www.findagrave.com/ . live .
  2. Web site: 2007 . Find a Grave member: Jim Tipton . . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044457/https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/1 . live .
  3. Web site: 2013 . Episode 13: Jim Tipton Founder of Find-A-Grave . . Extreme Genes . October 16, 2013 . August 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812050436/https://www.extremegenes.com/blog/episode-13-jim-tipton-founder-of-find-a-grave-on-its-beginnings . bot: unknown .
  4. News: Maynard . Meleah . Grave Matters: Minnesota's dead are only a click away . . . Star Tribune Media Company LLC . February 16, 2000 . September 8, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120928200532/http://www.citypages.com/2000-02-16/books/grave-matters/ . September 28, 2012.
  5. Web site: Entity No. 2442925-0151 . Utah Secretary of State . November 11, 2011 . 1998 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120119082706/https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=2442925-0151 . January 19, 2012.
  6. Web site: Entity No. 4729413-0143 . Utah Secretary of State . 2000 . November 11, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120406120559/https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=4729413-0143 . April 6, 2012.
  7. Web site: Division of Corporations Entity File No. 3168328 . Delaware Department of State . 2000 . November 11, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721035421/https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/controller . July 21, 2011.
  8. News: Silverman . Lauren . Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually . March 14, 2010 . 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. . June 28, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231349/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124671879 . live .
  9. Web site: Find a Grave FAQ: What can I include in a non-famous bio? . Find a Grave . Ancestry.com . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044446/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs?faqkeyword=famous#question-1743-259 . live .
  10. Web site: Ancestry.com Acquires Find A Grave . Ancestry.com . October 1, 2013 . October 7, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131007020329/http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2013/09/30/ancestry-com-acquires-find-a-grave/?hootPostID=4138bfc02be3bbeec497222fbff15920 . live .
  11. Web site: Find A Grave – the same and yet different!. July 10, 2017. UpFront with NGS. National Genealogical Society. August 10, 2017. August 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170810171610/http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2017/07/find-grave-same-and-yet-different.html. live.
  12. Web site: August 20, 2018. September 3, 2018. Original Find A Grave (1995-2018). Find a Grave. September 3, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180903050010/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192415894/original_find_a_grave. live.
  13. Web site: Find A Grave Help. Ancestry.com. Find A Grave. December 22, 2017. December 18, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171218234903/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs. live.
  14. News: Loudon . Bennett J. . Civil War history carved in stone in Pittsford . . . September 2, 2011 . July 29, 2020 . September 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200918064854/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56313576/article-on-about-cemeteries/ . live .
  15. News: Moody . Sharon Tate . Find A Grave can shorten the search . . Tampa Media Group . January 24, 2010 . 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. . December 28, 2011 . January 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120113230059/http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2010/jan/24/tr-find-a-grave-can-shorten-the-search-ar-52374/ . live .
  16. Web site: Find A Grave member: International Wargraves Photography Project . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223043839/https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46770518 . live .
  17. Web site: Family Members . June 4, 2023 . June 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604181126/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Family-Members?r=667&ui-knowledge-components-aura-actions.KnowledgeArticleVersionCreateDraftFromOnlineAction.createDraftFromOnlineArticle=1 . live .
  18. Web site: Memorial Information. Find a Grave.
  19. Web site: Find A Grave Help: How do I request a grave photo? . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 18, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171218234903/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs#question-1749-289 . live .
  20. Web site: 'Find A Grave' Cemetery Database Resources . Highlander.com . 22 November 2020 . Parachute, CO . December 19, 2018 . December 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202191709/https://highlander.com/blog/genealogy/find-a-grave-cemetery-database-resources/ . dead .
  21. Web site: Searching the Cemetery: Find a Grave.com . Rutherford Public Library . November 22, 2020 . . October 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211016040341/https://www.rutherfordlibrary.org/2020/05/18/searching-the-cemetery-find-a-grave-com/ . live .
  22. Book: Dickerson . Melissa . 10 Tips for Searching the Find a Grave website for your family history & genealogy . 2016 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform . 978-1534710405. 967966290.
  23. Web site: Pierre-Louis . Marian . 4 Ways to Research in a Cemetery . Legacy News Family Tree . November 22, 2020 . July 11, 2015 . April 15, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210415101957/https://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2015/07/4-ways-to-research-in-a-cemetery.html?cid=6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b#comment-6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b . live .
  24. Web site: Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor Recipients . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044452/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/28 . live .
  25. Web site: Claim to Fame: Religious figures . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044459/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/16 . live .
  26. Web site: Claim to Fame: Educators . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave . December 22, 2017 . December 23, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223043556/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/20 . live .
  27. Web site: What are the standards for a famous Bio? . Ancestry.com . Find a Grave .
  28. Web site: Designate this person as a veteran. Ancestry.com. Find A Grave. June 12, 2023. June 12, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230612104236/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Designate-this-person-as-a-veteran. live.
  29. Web site: Request to Manage . FindaGrave.com . Ancestry.com . 8 June 2022 . July 25, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220725050501/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Request-to-Manage . live .
  30. Web site: Reid . Katie . How Ancestry.com's Find A Grave Encourages Bad Actors and Bad Data . OneZero . Medium.com . 2 June 2022 . 25 August 2019 . May 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220519031951/https://onezero.medium.com/the-digital-undertakers-inside-the-obsessive-community-racing-to-put-the-dead-online-f3199147e968 . live .
  31. Web site: Neill . Michael John . FindAGrave Can Hold Off on the Recently Deceased . Rootdig.com (blog) . 8 June 2022 . 31 Mar 2020 . September 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220927214231/https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=9835 . live .
  32. Web site: January 11, 2022 Find a Grave Team Memorials for the Recently Deceased . FindaGrave.com . Ancestry.com . 2 June 2022 . 11 January 2022 . June 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220602231024/https://news.findagrave.com/2022/01/11/memorials-for-the-recently-deceased/ . live .

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