Many countries have a Memorial Day or similar holiday, when people visit cemeteries, monuments, and memorial sites to find ancestor resting places or the burial sites of others they wish to remember. In this way, they pay respect to and honor the dead. If you are planning on visiting such a site, there is a new set of free FamilySearch tools you should try out.
Learn All About the People Buried in a Cemetery—Using Your Phone
Headstones in cemeteries are monuments to the deceased, but they can only tell us so much. Memories often dim as the years go by, and if we didn’t know the deceased or didn't know them well, sometimes all that we remember are the words carved into the headstone. Imagine if instead, you could visit a cemetery or monument and, as you are reading names of the deceased, you could also look at photos, read stories, and listen to recordings about their lives.
Using the new cemetery sites feature being developed on FamilySearch, you can now find a list of people from the FamilySearch Family Tree that are connected to a cemetery or monument you are visiting (or plan to visit). You can even see which of them are related to you (if you have a family tree on FamilySearch). Clicking on the names you are interested in may then bring you to a biography, photos, records, and more. As long as you have data or internet connection, you can access this feature from anywhere, any time.
Try it for yourself! Click on the button below and search for the name of a cemetery or monument site, or choose one from the map.
The cemetery sites feature is new and still being developed. For a tutorial of what's available right now, see our walkthrough below.
Relatives in Cemeteries
Perhaps you want to visit a memorial site, but you aren't sure which one to go to? With a free FamilySearch account, you can get a list of which cemeteries your relatives are buried in, according to the records in the shared Family Tree. You can even see how many relatives are buried in each cemetery. This is a useful feature if you want to visit multiple sites or need to prioritize which ones you visit.
While viewing your list of cemeteries, you can click on the name of each relative that is buried or memorialized at that location and read what has been shared about them on FamilySearch. If you have fond memories or photos of that person, you can also upload those straight onto FamilySearch from wherever you are. You could even record your thoughts or pass your phone around in a group and record family memories, right there as you are visiting your relative's gravestone.
Finding relatives in cemeteries using FamilySearch requires at least some basic information in your family tree. Get started with your family tree for free, courtesy of FamilySearch.
More About Using the Cemetery Sites Feature
When you visit the cemeteries sites page, you will see a map of the world and a search bar. On the map, blue circles with numbers inside represent different cemeteries, memorial sites, and historic sites in a given area. You can use the map to look at different sites or use the search bar to search for a name and see if a particular cemetery or site is included in the database. (More are being added as the database grows.)
Using the Map
As the user zooms in using the map, the circles separate into smaller numbered circles, showing how many cemeteries are in a smaller area. Ultimately, the circles become markers that pinpoint individual cemeteries.
You can click on the filter button above the map to narrow down the location you are browsing. You can also filter by site type.
Clicking on a marker on the map brings the area into focus and shows you just what cemetery is represented by the marker.
Exploring a Site
When you click on the name of a cemetery or other site, it will take you to a details page. There, you can see helpful information the database might have about the cemetery and a list of people from the Family Tree that are recorded as being buried or honored there. If you are signed in to FamilySearch, you can even see how many relatives you might have in that cemetery or site, based on your family tree.
You can learn more about each person listed by tapping their name, or you can search for specific names or surnames using the search bar. You can also use the filter to toggle between seeing everyone at that site vs. just your relatives.
Logged out users can see a public profile for each person that may include biographical information, family members, a timeline, and photos and stories. How much shows on this page depends on how much has been shared on FamilySearch about that person that is publicly available. More information about the person can be added by signing in and editing the person's profile.
If you are signed in while visiting the cemeteries site page, even more information is available. When you click on a name, the familiar FamilySearch box will pop up that shows the person’s summary. From there, you can choose to see your relationship with the person by clicking on the relationship icon at the bottom, or you can instead view their full person page or family tree.
Sharing the Cemeteries Site Experience
At the top of each cemetery or site details page, there are a number of share icons designed to help you send the page to friends and family. If you are all visiting the same cemetery or if you wish to share the experience, just pick a social media, email or link icon and click on it. The link icon gives you both a share link and a QR code to pass along.
More about the Relatives in Cemeteries Feature
For a list of cemeteries your relatives are buried in, use the relatives in cemeteries page. You'll first be prompted to log in and will then see a map with markers. The markers on this map specifically show the cemeteries that might have your relative's final resting place, according to the data in the FamilySearch Family Tree.
You can use the map to select cemeteries you are interested in or type in a location to see a list of cemeteries from that location. When you expand the information for a cemetery, you can see which relatives are buried or honored there and learn more about them.
When looking at a relative, you have the option to click view relationship, view photos and stories, or find their specific headstone location using the links to Find a Grave and Billion Graves. Although you can easily see when they were born and when they died through the relatives in cemeteries feature, you can also click the person's name to see the FamilySearch summary box and then view all of their profile information from there.
When looking at a person's page on FamilySearch, it is very easy to add a photo, story, or recording as a memory. Simply go to the Memories tab for the person and click on the Add Memory button (desktop) or tap the Plus icon (app).
Tips for Finding Your Ancestor's Headstone
If you haven't visited a cemetery or memorial site before, you may be wondering how to even find someone's headstone once you are there. Here are a few quick ideas for finding your ancestor's specific resting place:
- Check the Find a Grave and BillionGrave links for GPS coordinates, map information, or a plot number.
- As mentioned in the tutorials above, the FamilySearch cemeteries tools sometimes have links to the Find a Grave and BillionGrave information for a gravesite. Find a Grave and BillionGraves are large databases of gravesites that sometimes provide GPS coordinates associated with the grave (usually embedded when someone took a photo). On these sites, look for a map link or coordinates link that can show specifically where the headstone is.
- Cemeteries are sometimes organized by blocks, lots, and sections. If you see a plot number for your ancestor on one of these websites, you can try comparing the plot number to a map on the cemetery's website or looking around the site for section markers.
- Look at the cemetery's website for guidance.
- The official website for a cemetery might have the best information on how to navigate the location. Cemetery and memorial sites can vary widely with how they are organized and how best to travel through them. The FamilySearch cemeteries sites tool will often provide you with a link to the cemetery's website, or you can try looking them up with a search engine.
- On the cemetery's website, look for maps, tutorials, or other information that may show you how to navigate the cemetery. Some memorial sites can be quite large, so this may be a big help with knowing just what section of the cemetery to visit.
- Call ahead and ask site staff, or visit the site's physical office.
- Not all cemetery and memorial sites are open to the public, but some have regular staff you can talk to or an office location to visit. If you aren't sure where your relatives' headstone is, try giving them the name of your relative and seeing if they can help you locate their resting place. Some sites have directories for just this purpose.
We hope these tools are helpful to you and your family as you are remembering your deceased relatives and loved ones. We'd love to hear your experiences, so don't hesitate to share in the comments below!
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