A Rabbit's Tale - March 19, 2009

Names in Stone: Another Way to Preserve Cemetery Records

By JoLyn Day

As Graveyard Rabbits, we are always looking for ways to fulfill our mission of preserving cemeteries and their priceless records. We are restoring and cleaning headstones; researching and publishing valuable information; photographing headstones; and transcribing the records of entire cemeteries.

There is now a new website that gives us an additional option. It’s called Names In Stone – Cemetery Maps.

Names In Stone is a website designed to be a repository for burial records and maps for multiple cemeteries. It is for any cemetery of any size, in any condition, public or private, maintained or unmaintained, that would like to make their maps and records available online.

It’s great for researchers and genealogists, because it serves as a central location of both burial records and actual grave locations. It provides a public service to those wanting to find a grave, those wanting to research burial information, and those who may want to honor the dead by decorating a grave with real or virtual flowers.

There are a lot of terrific cemetery websites out there – is this any different? It is different—because it has both maps showing individual graves and records for those graves all in the same place.

You can search a listing of multiple cemeteries, view actual grave locations on a map, and then see the record for a deceased person by clicking on the grave. You can also see who is buried next to whom, which helps establish family relationships and solve family research mysteries. It's almost like really walking through the cemetery!

An exciting feature for Graveyard Rabbits is the website’s online mapping capability. Using these unique mapping tools, you can create your own online interactive cemetery maps! This is a great way to preserve headstone information and grave locations, especially for lost, abandoned, and nearly forgotten small cemeteries.

On the Names In Stone website, cemeteries are divided into two classifications―Class A and Class B.

Class A cemeteries are large cemeteries, usually well over 200 graves that are managed by a public agency, like a city or cemetery district, or by a private entity like a funeral home or church. These cemeteries are mapped by the managing organization.

Class B cemeteries are small cemeteries, usually less than 200 graves, that are often cared for by families or volunteers. These are the cemeteries that we can map.

There are two steps to mapping a cemetery on Names In Stone. The first step is completed at the cemetery, by drawing the grave layout on graph paper and transcribing the headstone information onto Headstone Information Sheets (see page 4 of Class B Mapping Recommendations).

The next step is to create the cemetery map on the computer. This is done by finding the cemetery’s location on a satellite map, then drawing the border and placing each individual grave on the map. Using the information collected at the cemetery, burial information is added to each grave. Headstone photos and other digital images - like obituaries, death certificates, and family photos - can also be attached to each burial record.

Names In Stone has three membership levels: a free limited membership, a complete monthly membership for $7.95, and a complete yearly membership for $39.99. With the free membership, you can build your own cemetery maps, access all cemetery and burial records on the website, upload images and other information, print maps and records, and discuss burial records with other users in the forum. For a nominal fee, you can also add virtual decorations to graves.

Additional benefits that come with a paid membership are the ability to save a list of search criteria, flag records of interest, save a list of cemeteries of interest, and then receive automatic email notifications when records are changed or new records are added that pertain to your searches. Paid membership also includes a discount for virtual grave décor.

The website launched in December and already has over 50 cemeteries, with new cemeteries being added regularly. Maps are being added by large cemeteries and their managing organizations―and genealogists, historians, and hobbyists are mapping small cemeteries. Even Boy Scouts are mapping cemeteries for their Eagle Scout Service Projects.

I recently mapped our small family cemetery in Idaho on Names In Stone. Take a look!

And why not give cemetery mapping a try? It’s a great way to preserve priceless cemetery records and make them available for people to research!

Test Mapping Project

The Names in Stone team is continually working to make its site more user-friendly, especially for people who want to map cemeteries. To further this effort, they are conducting a test project, which will allow users to have a mapping experience and then give input into how the website might be improved.

They are seeking 50 people to participate in the Test Mapping Project. This would be a great opportunity for the Graveyard Rabbits to add cemeteries to the growing collection of cemetery maps, and to give feedback on how it worked and what improvements you’d like to see.

Click here for more information on the Test Mapping Project. If you’d like to participate, send an email to gravemappers@gmail.com.

All Names in Stone screenshots used by permission.