Réginald Godin
Chargé de projets / Project Coordinator
CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE DU MONTRÉAL MÉTROPOLITAIN

Leave No Stone Unturned
. . . I don't believe I am the only one new to genealogy to overlook an old cemetery. My father's family members are all buried in a huge cemetery in Wisconsin. I could not find my great-great-grandparents there, and no relatives knew where else they could be buried. So, I began visiting every site I could find in Wisconsin. The other day, I found a site which listed cemeteries in that state. It turns out I had passed by this old cemetery every time I drove to the library or went to my cousin's house. If I had been more experienced I would have known to have a look at this old cemetery that is right in town. My great-great-grandparents were close by all this time. In October, I will be driving to Wisconsin to take pictures of their stones.

Lou

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
If you had a relative who served in one of the Commonwealth forces who died in World War I or World War II, there is an amazing site at: www.cwgc.org/ The Debt of Honour page tells what they have: "This Register provides personal and service details and places of commemoration for the 1.7 million members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First or Second World Wars. (A record of some sixty thousand civilian casualties of the Second World War is provided without details of burial location.) The cemeteries and memorials where these names are commemorated, in perpetuity, are located in around one hundred and fifty countries. This database makes it possible to identify the exact location, by cemetery plot or memorial panel, where any given name is commemorated."

These places of commemoration are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. My mother knew that her uncle had died in World War II, but that was all she knew. One quick search netted the following information: "WILLIAM HENRY MOZLEY, Private, 4868464, 2/5th Bn., Leicestershire Regiment, who died on Wednesday, 13th October 1943. Age 22. Additional Information: Son of William and A. Mozley. Commemorative Information Memorial: CASSINO MEMORIAL, Italy Grave Reference/Panel Number:Panel 6."

It then proceeds to give us very explicit directions to the Memorial site right down to where panel 6 is. There is a button at the bottom of the page that allows you to print off a Record of Commendation that lists the information on the honoured dead, which will allow us to have a paper record of the information. This is an amazing project that touched me deeply, and is very easy to get results with, all I knew was his name and that he died in WWII and luckily Mozley is not a common name. If it had been the Brown side I might have required more information, but it would be well worth it.

Caroline W. Brown

Divine Guidance in Cemeteries
I have been in many "new-to-me" cemeteries which look enormous. I drive in if it a large cemetery or walk in if it is small one and silently say, "Ok, lead me to your grave." I can't tell you how many times it has worked for me! (Except on my Irish branch. It seems that the Irish are as secret about their grave sites in death as they are about sharing their family stories when alive . . . at least in my family!

Bergetta Monroe Burnsville, MN

GPSing Too Hard to Find Cemeteries
Our son has been a GPS (Global Positioning System) enthusiast and has been "geocaching" for the past few months. Geocaching is looking for hidden treasures that have previously been deposited in hard-to-find locations by someone else. They give the coordinates and if one is lucky they can locate something, take something from the cache, and put something in place of what they have taken. Knowing my interest in genealogy, our son said he would like for me to get the GPS coordinates for some hard-to-find cemeteries where our progenitors have been buried. We're going to Maine this summer and I will be able to collect this information so that others will be able to find our relatives without having to do it the hard way. Some of the cemeteries are back in the woods without any clue to their location. Since my husband is also a GPS fanatic, he will be much more willing to help me locate cemeteries when we make our pilgrimage to Maine. I think this is a terrific suggestion.

Charlotte Sadler

Check Out Surrounding Graves
I just found out that my father, whom I thought had shared everything he knew, knew who his grandmother was! How exciting, right? Not quite. I was showing pictures of a recent gravesite visit to my mother, and she asked where my father's grandmother's headstone was. I didn't know what she was talking about. It turns out that the headstone at the foot of the bush that I assumed wasn't related to us was (not a common name)! Now I have to find a way to get back there and get the information from that headstone. The tip? Always get information on all the headstones around your family site, even if they don't match. You just never know!

Rick Seiden

Plant Spring Perennials in the Fall
I research my family graves year round. However, in the fall I return to each newly discovered grave and plant several daffodils and crocus. This is my thank you to them. I like the idea of knowing each grave had fresh flowers at least once a year. The daffodils and crocus will multiply and spread for many years, like we have done in our ancestor's eyes.

Doreen McKenna Powers

Funeral Homes Can Help With Cemetery Information
My mother and I recently went on a genealogy trip to a small town to find some graves in local cemeteries. I found information on the Internet that indicated which cemeteries contained the graves, but when we drove by the cemeteries listed, the task of locating specific graves was daunting. Mom called the local funeral home and asked for the names and phone numbers of the custodians of the cemeteries. She contacted them and they were able to steer us in the right direction. In fact, one gentleman was nice enough to meet us at the cemetery first thing the next morning and lead us right to the graves we were looking for. As a child of the city, I would never have thought of contacting the funeral home for such information.

Kathie Amdahl

Photos Help Record Cemetery Information
Gathering and recording information from cemetery headstones was once a chore I both hated and enjoyed. Keeping all the information orderly and easy to find presented the greatest problem, but not any more. I now carry my 35mm camera with me. The first photos I take are the cemetery entrance, the church if there is one, and any other relevant distinguishing matter. Then, I take close-up shots of every headstone that pertains to my research, plus a wide angle to show the location of the stones. I make notes of any problems, finding certain stones and printing the notes onto the back of the developed photograph. Also, for the headstones that are almost impossible to read I copy onto notes exactly every character I can make out and then place this information onto the back of the photo. All these photos are placed into archival quality plastic sleeves and placed into a ring binder. Within the binder, the cemeteries are arranged alphabetically with the first page of each cemetery section beginning with a page of directions to the cemetery, location within the county and state and a state map with the general location noted. Another help I have discovered. When searching for old cemeteries, call a funeral home within the county. My experience has been that they give clear directions or direct me to someone who can.

Carolyn Denny

Gift of Markers for Ancestors
I finally found the resting place of my great-grandparents and three of their children. Great-grandmother had a stone, which no one else did. Great-grandfather had died in the Civil War, so I ordered him a headstone. I found some other relatives and added stones for the children for whom I had found birth and death dates. It made me feel good to be able to do that. I wish more people would try and put some kind of a marker out for their deceased relatives. I have several other family members that need markers and I hope that some day before my time here is gone, I can put markers on the other relatives that do not have stones.

Patricia Bowen McDevitt

From the Mouth of Babes
. . . I have been reading and using your newsletter for several months now. You recently had an article about tombstones. This reminded me of a trip my mother, daughter, and two grandchildren took several years ago to eastern Kentucky. While visiting a cemetery trying to find information on one side of the family, my grandson, who was about four-years-old, said he figured out what the cemetery was all about. You write your name on a rock and then you die.

Hope this gives someone a smile,
Marsha Sanstra