What Can I Do at NAMES IN STONE?

A lot of us are waiting for better weather before we can get out and do some serious cemetery mapping....

Now is a great time to visit and explore the Names in Stone website and find out what it has to offer.

SEARCH THE MULTI-CEMETERY DATABASE:

The best way to search the Names in Stone database is to enter the last name of the deceased person you are searching for. If your results are many, you can refine your search by adding more specific information. You can also select a cemetery to search if you know where that person is buried.

VIEW A CEMETERY LIST:


You can select a state or province and see what cemeteries are already added to the database. You can also view a list of recently added cemeteries.



BUILD YOUR OWN CEMETERY MAP:

With unique on-line mapping tools, anyone can create a cemetery map. The website guides you through the process, which is very easy. Check out their Class B Cemetery Mapping Recommendations and explore the Grave Mappers blog for more mapping tips. It's a great way to preserve cemetery records.



LEARN ABOUT MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS:

There are three levels of membership options -

• Free Limited Membership - search for cemetery burials; view and interact on the website; upload images and attachments to burial records; participate in forum-style discussions; print maps and records; and create your own cemetery maps.


• $39.99/year Complete Yearly Membership - all of the above plus: save lists of cemeteries and records of interest and important research criteria; receive email updates when records and cemeteries are added pertaining to your list; use the database as a research assistant; receive discounts on grave decor.


• $7.95/month Complete Monthly Membership - same as yearly membership for one month at a time.

ADD IMAGES AND ATTACHMENTS TO BURIAL RECORDS:


You can add headstone photos, and other photos and images to a burial record. You can also participate in forum-style discussions about burial records, sharing knowledge and information.






DECORATE A GRAVE:


For $9.95, you can decorate a grave with virtual flowers and other images that last three months. This is a headstone photo on Names in Stone that I decorated myself with virtual flowers. It's fun to find your ancestors' graves, especially those you are unable to visit personally, and decorate them. Complete members get a discount on grave decor.




At Names in Stone, there's something for everyone who is interested in cemeteries and genealogy. Grave Mappers invites you to take a look!


Names in Stone screenshots used by permission.

WHY MAP CEMETERIES?

In the 'About This Site' section of Names in Stone, there is a great story about a man and his search for his ancestors - and the role cemeteries can play in that search.

"A dear friend of ours tells the story of how a single visit to a small cemetery led to the discovery of many ancestors he had long been looking for.

"His research took him across the country to rural Alabama. His destination was the Bethel Cemetery located in the northeast corner of Butler County.

"After loading his research materials in the rental car, he began the hour drive from Montgomery to the Bethel Cemetery, wondering if his trip would be successful. Evening was closing in and he hoped that he would be able to locate the cemetery and glean the information needed.

"A few miles before his destination, he noticed the small Sandy Ridge Cemetery off the side of the road. He knew this wasn’t the Bethel Cemetery, but for some reason he felt he needed to pull over and explore.

"Much to his surprise, he found the headstones of a husband and wife whose names he recognized from prior research, but had never known where they were buried. What happened next made the entire trip worth it. There, nestled in the grass next to the couple, was the small headstone of a child—their child, who had died in his infancy. He was elated to find this information on the little boy, and to fill in missing pieces to the family puzzle.

"He continued on to the Bethel Cemetery and there, with the help of local historians, was able to find the headstones of many other family members—answering many more questions."

This is such a great story - it's the kind of experience we all hope for. Unfortunately, we don't get as many opportunities as we'd like to travel around the country - or the world - to visit cemeteries. And if you are like me, it really would be around the world. I would have to travel to cemeteries in Utah, Virginia, Delaware, Vermont, Illinois, Idaho, England, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and more to trace my roots. I would absolutely love it!

But it's not going to happen anytime soon. And that's where Names in Stone comes in. Although nothing beats a real cemetery visit, Names in Stone gives us the opportunity to virtually visit cemeteries - and it really is almost like being there. That's because it isn't only an alphabetical listing of burials. And it isn't just cemetery maps. It is a growing collection of interactive cemetery maps - which means that the record for every grave is attached right to the map. You can access that record just by clicking on the grave.

How is this like visiting the cemetery? Because now you can virtually walk up and down the rows of a cemetery and actually see who is buried next to whom. Just like the man in the story - if you can see the placement of burials, you can often establish family relationships and solve family mysteries in the process.

The best way to visit Names in Stone is to search for the name of a deceased person. You don't have to wander through the cemetery to find who you're looking for. Just enter the name in the search field. When you find the correct person, click to view the cemetery map. This will take you to that person's record - and to their grave on the map! Next you can click on the grave and find out information about that person - and click on the surrounding graves and learn even more.

There are many great cemetery websites out there, but I think Names in Stone is the next generation of cemetery websites. And it will become a more and more useful research tool as cemeteries are added to the site.

That's where GRAVE MAPPERS comes in. We need your help to populate the Names in Stone database. There are many small family cemeteries, abandoned cemeteries, and cemeteries in obscure places that only a few people remember anymore. If these cemeteries are mapped at Names in Stone, the records are preserved and become available for everyone to research.

Take a look at one of the newest cemeteries available at Names in Stone - Creedmoor Community Cemetery in Texas. Thanks to a Texas Grave Mapper for your hard work!

One Good Reason to Map Cemeteries

Here's a video that speaks for itself - another great reason to get our cemeteries mapped on Names in Stone!

Ike Scatters Caskets - Watch it on YouTube

Welcome to GRAVE MAPPERS!

Everyone who visits cemeteries knows that the priceless information on headstones is not permanent. These headstones are very vulnerable to the effects of weather, time, and even vandalism. For many small cemeteries, headstones are their only records. That's why genealogists, historians, and hobbyists have spent countless hours transcribing information from headstones and monuments throughout the world. They know how critical it is to save that information in a safe, permanent place.

At Grave Mappers, we are committed to this effort. And we are excited about the launch of a new website called NAMES IN STONE.

NAMES IN STONE is a different kind of online cemetery repository. Not only is it a growing collection of cemetery maps, but it's a place where anyone and everyone can create a cemetery map—a map that has the records of each grave attached right to it! To access grave records on these interactive maps, you just click on the grave and the information pops up on your screen. You can link headstone photos and other digital images to the graves. And on the community forum, you and others can add information about the cemetery and the people who are buried there.

We invite you to join Grave Mappers and help us in this exciting new project: creating online interactive cemetery maps! Together we can document these aging cemeteries and headstones, preserve their records permanently, and share them with the world!

Grave Mappers wants to hear your experiences as you map cemeteries at NAMES IN STONE. Please share your stories and photos with us and we'll include them in our blog so you can inspire others in their mapping quest. Contact us at:

gravemappers@gmail.com