Find a Grave

Find A Grave
URL	www.findagrave.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Online database
Registration	Optional
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Jim Tipton
Launched	1998
Alexa rank	3,685 (May 2013)
Current status	Active

Find A Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA² and incorporated in 2000.³⁴

History

According to the founder, Salt Lake City resident Jim Tipton⁵, the website was developed in 1995 to address the lack of any existing site that catered to his hobby of visiting the graves of celebrities. After some time, an online forum was created on the site.⁶As of May 2013, the site contained over 98 million burial records worldwide.⁷

Content and features

The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from all around the world. American cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain Google Maps (with GPS coordinates supplied by contributors) and photographs of the cemeteries. Individual grave records contain some or all of the following data fields: dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs (grave marker, the individual, etc.), and contributor information.⁸ A registered user may create memorials without any fact checking or review. Although an active user forum exists it is still possible that memorials are duplicated, incomplete or incorrect therefore, serious Genealogists should check alternate sources or personally visit grave sites. Find a Grave relies on the integrity of its registered users and has strict policies against the uploading of copyrighted material.

Interment listings are provided by individuals⁹ or genealogical societies.¹⁰ Major institutional contributors to Find A Grave include the US Veterans Department,¹¹ the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and American Battle Monuments Commission,¹² and the International Wargraves Photography Project.¹³

Contributors must register as members to submit listings, which are called memorials on the website. Upon submitting a listing, that member becomes the manager of the listing, but may transfer management. Only the current manager of a listing may edit the listing, although members and non-members may send correction requests regarding listings. Members and non-members can submit notations, which consist of images or pictures or flowers, flags, religious symbols, etc., which are posted on the individual listings. Managers of listings may post links to other listings of spouses and parents for genealogical purposes. Members may also request photos of graves which then other members can fulfill.¹⁴

Find A Grave also maintains links to memorials of famous persons such as Medal of Honor recipients,¹⁵ religious figures,¹⁶ and educators.¹⁷ Find A Grave exercises editorial control over these listings.¹⁸

Notes

^ "Findagrave.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
^ Utah Secretary of State Entity No. 2442925-0151 Retrieved November 11, 2011
^ Utah Secretary of State Entity No. 4729413-0143 Retrieved November 11, 2011
^ Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations Entity File No. 3168328 Retrieved November 11, 2011
^ "Find A Grave Contributor: Jim Tipton". Find A Grave. 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
^ Maynard, Meleah (February 16, 2000). "Grave Matters: Minnesota's dead are only a click away". City Pages (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota: citypages.com). Retrieved September 8, 2012.
^ "Find a Grave". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
^ Find A Grave: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) www.findagrave.com
^ Loudon, Bennett J. (August 30, 2011). "Civil War history carved in stone in Pittsford". Democrat and Chronicle (Gannett). Retrieved September 28, 2011.
^ Moody, Sharon Tate (January 24, 2010). "Find A Grave can shorten the search". The Tampa Tribune (TBO.com Tampa Bay Online). Retrieved December 28, 2011. "The entries with tombstone photographs obviously are reliable, but if the entry is based only on a paper record of the interment (without a photograph), it's easy to mistype the date, so you're bound to find errors."
^ Find A Grave: Member Record number 5 (1.9 million records)
^ Find A Grave: Member Record number 6 (750,000 records)
^ Find A Grave: Member Record number 46770518 (1.6 million records)
^ "Find A Grave FAQs: 'How do I submit a photo request?'". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
^ "Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor Recipients". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
^ "Claim to Fame: Religious figures". Findagrave.com. 1954-10-11. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
^ "Claim to Fame: Educators". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
^ "Famous Bio Guidelines". Findagrave.com. 1935-05-02. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

References

Colker, David (August 26, 1997). "Web site answers grave concerns about stars". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2011. (subscription required)
Johnstone, Nick (July 14, 2004). "Why I love ... findagrave.com". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
Cobbs, Chris (July 12, 2001). "Web site attracts millions of grave-seekers". The Orlando Sentinel (Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service). Retrieved September 28, 2011.
Gammage, Jeff (August 1, 2005). "Find VIPs (and others) who R.I.P. through online cemetery". The Philadelphia Inquirer (Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service). Retrieved September 28, 2011.
Dehler, Tamie (October 13, 2007). "Genealogy: ‘Find a Grave’ tremendous on many different levels". Tribune Star (Terre Haute, Indiana: TribStar.com). Retrieved September 28, 2011.
King, Peter (October 2, 2009). "Tip: Find a Grave has info you're dying to know". Newday (Melville, New York: newsday.com). Retrieved September 28, 2011. (registration required)
Silverman, Lauren (March 14, 2010). "Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually". NPR. Retrieved September 28, 2011.

External links

Official website

[alexa-1] "Findagrave.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-05-11.

[2] Utah Secretary of State Entity No. 2442925-0151 Retrieved November 11, 2011

[3] Utah Secretary of State Entity No. 4729413-0143 Retrieved November 11, 2011

[4] Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations Entity File No. 3168328 Retrieved November 11, 2011

[Jim-5] "Find A Grave Contributor: Jim Tipton". Find A Grave. 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2012.

[6] Maynard, Meleah (February 16, 2000). "Grave Matters: Minnesota's dead are only a click away". City Pages (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota: citypages.com). Retrieved September 8, 2012.

[7] "Find a Grave". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2013-05-11.

[8] Find A Grave: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) www.findagrave.com

[9] Loudon, Bennett J. (August 30, 2011). "Civil War history carved in stone in Pittsford". Democrat and Chronicle (Gannett). Retrieved September 28, 2011.

[10] Moody, Sharon Tate (January 24, 2010). "Find A Grave can shorten the search". The Tampa Tribune (TBO.com Tampa Bay Online). Retrieved December 28, 2011. "The entries with tombstone photographs obviously are reliable, but if the entry is based only on a paper record of the interment (without a photograph), it's easy to mistype the date, so you're bound to find errors."

[11] Find A Grave: Member Record number 5 (1.9 million records)

[12] Find A Grave: Member Record number 6 (750,000 records)

[13] Find A Grave: Member Record number 46770518 (1.6 million records)

[fag-14] "Find A Grave FAQs: 'How do I submit a photo request?'". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.

[15] "Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor Recipients". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

[16] "Claim to Fame: Religious figures". Findagrave.com. 1954-10-11. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

[17] "Claim to Fame: Educators". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

[18] "Famous Bio Guidelines". Findagrave.com. 1935-05-02. Retrieved 2012-05-31.

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Find a Grave Ultimate Study Guide