My Newfoundland roots run extremely deep, it was (and still is) very important to me to walk in the footsteps of my Forefathers and Foremothers. I have sat in churches my ancestors were baptized in, married in, where their funerals were held, and I have walked through cemeteries where they are buried, touched their grave marker and taken a photo for prosperity. To say genealogy is my passion, would be an understatement.

Twenty-one years ago, I purchased several CD's from Stonepics (noted in my profile picture) as a way to enhance my research, since some of the cemeteries were very old and quite remote.

Approximately four years ago, I dug out said CD's I had long tucked away and basically forgotten about, to review the data they contained. I took it one step further and uploaded some (not all) of the photos to Find a Grave. To be clear, some of the cemeteries contained on the CD's I have personally visited, took my own photos and uploaded them here. For example, in 2023 alone, I took 4,122 photos of headstones in various communities' right across the Island.

Creating memorials on Find a Grave is not about how many memorials I own, or how many pictures I upload; it IS about preserving and remembering those who walked before me.

Fast Forward to December 2023 and I noticed Stonepics has made available their entire database - downloadable for free; however, it comes with a disclaimer that photos are for personal use only. Perhaps it has become a moot point with so many volunteers uploading their own photos.

Which brings me to my next point: who owns these images? Can photos of headstones truly be copyrighted by someone other than family? Do I own the images I purchased? While I do not know the answer to these questions, I will delete any photo when/if asked by a representative of Stonepics, if I am able. In fact, I have recently deleted a number of photos from memorials created by members who do not visit cemeteries, but rather gleam information from other sources such as NGB, obituaries and even Stonepics.
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Uploading pictures to this site and adding just the birth and death year and adding nothing else on the memorial or linking spouses, is the lazy way out. If you upload photos, you should add all the information on said headstone...

also,

if you do not physically visit a cemetery, and just create memorials, I feel you are responsible for adding information on the headstone, i.e., inscriptions; DOB, DOD and linking memorials to family members listed on such headstone when someone uploads photos to those memorials. After all, this site is called "Find a Grave", not "find an obituary".
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Please use the edit button to notify of me of any edits, or request a transfer of a memorial. I will transfer any memorial, even if they are distant cousins, or not related at all.

My Newfoundland roots run extremely deep, it was (and still is) very important to me to walk in the footsteps of my Forefathers and Foremothers. I have sat in churches my ancestors were baptized in, married in, where their funerals were held, and I have walked through cemeteries where they are buried, touched their grave marker and taken a photo for prosperity. To say genealogy is my passion, would be an understatement.

Twenty-one years ago, I purchased several CD's from Stonepics (noted in my profile picture) as a way to enhance my research, since some of the cemeteries were very old and quite remote.

Approximately four years ago, I dug out said CD's I had long tucked away and basically forgotten about, to review the data they contained. I took it one step further and uploaded some (not all) of the photos to Find a Grave. To be clear, some of the cemeteries contained on the CD's I have personally visited, took my own photos and uploaded them here. For example, in 2023 alone, I took 4,122 photos of headstones in various communities' right across the Island.

Creating memorials on Find a Grave is not about how many memorials I own, or how many pictures I upload; it IS about preserving and remembering those who walked before me.

Fast Forward to December 2023 and I noticed Stonepics has made available their entire database - downloadable for free; however, it comes with a disclaimer that photos are for personal use only. Perhaps it has become a moot point with so many volunteers uploading their own photos.

Which brings me to my next point: who owns these images? Can photos of headstones truly be copyrighted by someone other than family? Do I own the images I purchased? While I do not know the answer to these questions, I will delete any photo when/if asked by a representative of Stonepics, if I am able. In fact, I have recently deleted a number of photos from memorials created by members who do not visit cemeteries, but rather gleam information from other sources such as NGB, obituaries and even Stonepics.
********************
Uploading pictures to this site and adding just the birth and death year and adding nothing else on the memorial or linking spouses, is the lazy way out. If you upload photos, you should add all the information on said headstone...

also,

if you do not physically visit a cemetery, and just create memorials, I feel you are responsible for adding information on the headstone, i.e., inscriptions; DOB, DOD and linking memorials to family members listed on such headstone when someone uploads photos to those memorials. After all, this site is called "Find a Grave", not "find an obituary".
********************
Please use the edit button to notify of me of any edits, or request a transfer of a memorial. I will transfer any memorial, even if they are distant cousins, or not related at all.