Cemeteries....where else would you find your dead relatives?

Guest Blogger, Lisa Rienerth, Library Associate, Medina Reference

Friendsville Cemetery - Westfield Twp.

Woodlawn Cemetery - Wadsworth

Using gravestones and cemetery records can be extremely helpful when doing your family research.  They can provide information on a relative who lived and died prior to the state or county recording vital records; it may lead you to other vital records; and it is always good to have one more source to provide the proof for your research. Plus it is one of the few physical connections you will have with a deceased ancestor.

There are a few hurdles you may need to overcome when doing this type of research. First, the gravestone only provides the birth and death date, but you have to remember, this information, though carved in stone, may be incorrect. Tombstone carvers make mistakes. Also, it may be hard to find the final resting place of your ancestor and even if you do find it, the stone may be unreadable due to age and other damage.

Don't let these reasons discourage you. The following instructions will help with these hurdles.

Let's start with an online search.

Two websites that I use are Findagrave.com  & Billiongraves.com. These sites depend on members to upload memorials and photos.  Finding your relative on one of these sites can be a tremendous help. Even if there isn't a photograph of the tombstone, the information given for the memorial is helpful and it provides a name of the cemetery where you may find even more records. There is usually a map of where the cemetery is located, which is helpful especially with the small and out-of-the-way cemeteries.



Look for other online sources. Sometimes the cemetery is large enough to have their own online database and sometimes the city, county or state may have one. Sometimes I just google the name of the city/county/state with the word "cemeteries" and see what comes up. I just found Ohiogravestones.org, a site for the State of Ohio, the other day.

Different online genealogy sites can also be helpful. The main two I use are FamilySearch.org & AncestryLibrary Edition (through your local library). These type of sites are adding more and more cemetery records to their databases and digitized images. They also will link to other sites like Findagrave and Billiongraves.

If you don't know where or when your ancestor died, you can use the U.S. Census to narrow down your search. This is another source you can find on online genealogy sites like the ones I mentioned above (this type of research was covered in the MCDL Genealogy Blog on 3 April 2019). If you find them in the census records and follow them through the decades, whenever you come to a year they are no longer listed, this may be a clue to where and when they died. For example, George Smith was found in the 1850, 1860 & 1870 U.S. Census in Montgomery County, Ohio. He is not located in the 1880 U.S. Census in Montgomery County, Ohio or anywhere else. This may be a clue that he died between 1870 & 1880 in Montgomery County, Ohio. This isn't a definite answer, but it does zero in your research to a smaller area.

Another online source is Archive.org. This site will help you find transcribed cemetery records and find where the cemeteries are located.

Findlay Republican Courier - Newspaperarchive.com

Obituary and death records can also be found online through genealogy sites and databases.

You can search for obituaries in many of the newspapers that Kathy Petras talked about in her 7 August 2019 Blog. Sometimes the place of burial is mentioned in the obituary.

The more recent 20th century death records are more apt to have the cemetery listed than the pre-1900 records.

 




Cemetery records can also be found in libraries, archives, historical societies or government offices. You need to research the area where you believe your ancestor died and see which repositories are in the area and what types of records are kept there. For example, the Medina Library has a Tombstone Inscriptions book compiled by the Medina County Genealogical  Society. It is nice to have, because some of the transcribed tombstones are no longer readable.








The Western Reserve Historical Society is a local repository that owns not only local published cemetery records, but also out of state records. You can do an online search of their collection to see if they may have what you are looking for.

Trip Preparation

After using the above resources you should have a good idea of where you ancestor is buried. Now it is time to prepare for your visit to the cemetery. You may not be going to the ends of the world, but you need to take a few items to make the visit a successful one.

For more ideas on what to take, check out Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon Debartolo Carmack.

O.k....you are packed and ready to go! Here are a few things to remember when you arrive...

Shaw Cemetery - Lafayette Twp.

• Treat the area with respect and be careful of the markers.

• Do not try to excavate or fix the marker.

• When walking among the stones be careful where you step. The ground is not always level. 

Guilford Center Cemetery

Photograph more than just the tombstone....

Take one of the surrounding area to help you find the stone again if necessary.

Mound Hill Cemetery, Seville 

Take one of the tombstones around the one you found, these could be family members.

No headstone!?

You have walked the whole cemetery and you didn't find a tombstone...yet you know the person you are looking for is buried there....or you found the headstone, but you can't read it due to the fact that it is over 100 years old and the carvings have been worn smooth.

Do Not Fear! There are other places you can look! 

The Sexton, the person who looks over the cemetery and its records, may have the information you need. Even if you find a readable headstone, these records may give you even more information than what is on the tombstone. 

There is usually an office on the grounds of the cemetery. If there isn't one or you don't know if there is a sexton or not, go to the city or county offices. The Parks & Recreations office can usually tell you where those records are located or they may have them. If there isn't a Parks & Rec office, just check with the City Hall, they may at least be able to point you in the right direction.

Fostoria Fountain Cemetery, Ohio

The sexton or cemetery records may give you more than a name and dates. Sometimes it list other family members and sometimes cause of death.

Wilson Family Cemetery
Findagrave.com added by Medina County Graves, ID # 47506344

If the cemetery is affiliated with a church, contact the church to see if they keep the records. If it is a private family cemetery, you may need to get permission to search.

When you get home after your successful cemetery trip don't forget to download, identify & update as soon as possible! If you wait too long you will forget the details.

Searching for my ancestors in cemeteries is one of my favorite types of research. I hope you enjoy it and may all your searches be successful!


Sources:

All Medina County cemetery photographs, unless otherwise noted, were taken by me, Lisa Rienerth.

AncestryLibraryEdition, census records

Solether obituary, Findlay (Ohio) Republican Courier, 3 February 1966, page 24; digital images, Newspaperarchives.org.

FamilySearch.org, Ohio deaths, 1908-1953

Medina County Genealogical Society, Tombstone Inscriptions from the Cemeteries in Medina County, Ohio, 1983 (Evansville, IN: Whipporwill Publications, 1984).

Fostoria Fountain Cemetery, cemetery records, Fostoria, Hancock County, Ohio.


Bibiliography:

Findagrave.com

Ohiogravestones.org

Archive.org

Western Reserve Historical Society catalog (http://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/search)

Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon Debartolo Carmack