HELPING TO PRESERVE BURIAL HISTORY, ONE HEADSTONE AT A TIME!
**To all those b.s crazy people out there that create unnecessary, crybaby, drama over an online website, it's so sad that you behave that way, and may you reap what you sow !!!**

A GRAVE HOPPER'S PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
Please bless my journey to the cemetery today. Please keep me safe when I am there. I pray for all the souls of those who have passed on before me. I pray that I don't interrupt a funeral or funeral procession when I get to the cemetery. I really hope that no one is cutting the grass in the section that I want to photograph.
Dear Lord, please help me remain careful so that I don't trip over a headstone or knock over a loose headstone . Please guide me to areas that need to be photographed. I pray that I find the headstone(s) that I am looking for and that I don't lose my car keys in the cemetery (again). I pray for nice weather and that you help me keep my hands steady so that I can take clear pictures . I pray that I brought enough camera batteries with me. If I get 'turned around' , Dear Lord, please keep me on track so that I keep going in the direction that I need to. And when I am done, Lord please see me safely home and help me to realize that I am truly blessed.
AMEN!!
4/23/2020

After encountering a lot of different experiences while 'grave hopping' over the past 4 years, I recently started saying this prayer before going to a cemetery.
I hope that it inspires you to come up with a prayer of your own, or at least makes you giggle if you've had any experiences like mine.
________________________________________________________
**I do strive to have the most accurate information on the memorials that I create, to avoid the drama and online arguments regarding those who believe that they are 'right'. **
~~* To all Find A Grave contributors; when submitting edits for a memorial that I have created, please have the correct information. Edits with inaccurate information or no supporting information that are submitted for memorials that I have created will be declined.
~~ In regards to prefixes/suffixes for memorials , if it does not appear on the headstone or foot stone, I will not put it on the memorial.
~~ Please use the edit tab to submit additional info for a memorial. There is no need to waste time submitting edits and other suggestions for a memorial with the same information . Refer to the Find A Grave guidelines regarding edits if you are uncertain how to submit edits to the manager/creator of a memorial.
*~~REGARDING OBITS ~~ *
DO NOT waste the time to send me edits under the 'Suggest other corrections' heading with info that is an obituary!! Edits submitted for the bio section of a Find A Grave memorial that is an obit will also be declined.

**** This website is called Find A GRAVE , NOT Find An Obituary!! *****
Why is that so hard for some of you out there to understand???

I will not add unnecessary information on a memorial that I create, especially information regarding living individuals.
I have read obits that don't have correct info and incorrect burial information, so I don't refer to them nor do I add them to memorials that I create. I have also found footstones in a cemetery, the final resting place of deceased individuals that were cremated and had their ashes privately interred at a cemetery, but people that copy info from the obits and list the individual on Find A Grave as 'Cremated' ; location of ashes unknown. That info wasn't listed on the obit to keep the final resting place of the deceased person private.

***Unlike other people, I don't download pics of a deceased person from a funeral home website just to create & get "credit " for a Find A Grave memorial & pics on their profile page. As per the guidelines, photos that are added should be from your family photos (i.e. old black & white photos, Sephia photos, pics taken with a camera, professional photos, etc.) or pics that YOU took (i.e. headstone/footstone/family plot headstone, family plot marker) at burial plot in cemetery. Again, not really hard to understand if you have the ability to comprehend a simple rule.
**** Find A Grave is not a competition.!!! ***
There are no trophies/awards given to whomever creates the most online Find A Grave memorials. Unless I wasn't notified of that. LOL!!! And there is no financial compensation for the amount of memorials or pics that you add, again if there is and I wasn't notified of that either, I'll take my compensation in cash (for every memorial and headstone pic that I've added) so I can vacation this winter on the island of Kauai!!! HA HA HA HA HA !!!!! LOL!!


If you do have the correct birthplace, birth date, death date, and death place for a memorial that I have created, use the edit tab to submit that info if I do not already have it listed!
~~Mistakes do occur occasionally on memorials, so if you do send edits regarding incorrect information , please do it in a respectful manner. There is no reason to be rude! Sometimes links to other family members were an edit that was sent from another contributor and not the creator of the memorial.
~~ I will decline edits and requests to link family members with an unknown burial location. This website is called Find A Grave for a reason! As per the Find A Grave guidelines, memorials should only be created for deceased individuals with burial location details that are known!!

~~When notifying a contributor of a memorial that they created is a duplicate, do it in a respectful manner. Duplicate memorials are unintentional and typically a result of inaccurate or no known burial information by the first creator of a memorial, misspelling of first and/or last names, the name and/or dates on the headstone don't exactly match the death record, and/or the cemetery name was merged with another cemetery name. Or the obit that you copied from a funeral home website/obit from a newspaper contains errors. And sometimes the headstone/footstone of a deceased individual does not have the same last name that someone copied from an obit; usually this is found with deceased females that have been married several times.
Keep in mind when creating memorials, that death records/certificates and even obituaries can contain inaccurate burial information and inaccurate personal information.
In the past year, I have come across several individuals that have been buried in a cemetery and years later re -buried in another cemetery. Check burial records when they are available at a cemetery.
And again, if the burial location is unknown and/or you do not have a pic of the headstone or burial records, don't create a Find A Grave memorial!! Again, not a hard concept to understand, especially when that is stated in the Find A Grave guidelines !!

~~What started as a search for the burial places of my husband's ancestors (and my family members in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland) on Find A Grave, has turned into a passionate commitment in (hopefully) helping as many people that I can that are seeking the final resting place of their ancestors and distant relatives.

*~~To all F.A.G. contributors that have added memorials for my relatives THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are appreciated more than words can ever express! *~~
** And to the contributors of Find A Grave that actually do the "leg work" and go to cemeteries and take photos of headstones, THANK YOU!! You are awesome and make Find A Grave even more special!!
** A Find A Grave memorial is not complete without the photo of the headstone; it just looks incomplete !! **

Memorials on Find A Grave are made by volunteers who are not compensated in any way for what they contribute. Please at least have the decency to thank contributors that have traveled to a cemetery at their own expense to take pics of the headstone(s) !

HELPING TO PRESERVE BURIAL HISTORY, ONE HEADSTONE AT A TIME!
**To all those b.s crazy people out there that create unnecessary, crybaby, drama over an online website, it's so sad that you behave that way, and may you reap what you sow !!!**

A GRAVE HOPPER'S PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
Please bless my journey to the cemetery today. Please keep me safe when I am there. I pray for all the souls of those who have passed on before me. I pray that I don't interrupt a funeral or funeral procession when I get to the cemetery. I really hope that no one is cutting the grass in the section that I want to photograph.
Dear Lord, please help me remain careful so that I don't trip over a headstone or knock over a loose headstone . Please guide me to areas that need to be photographed. I pray that I find the headstone(s) that I am looking for and that I don't lose my car keys in the cemetery (again). I pray for nice weather and that you help me keep my hands steady so that I can take clear pictures . I pray that I brought enough camera batteries with me. If I get 'turned around' , Dear Lord, please keep me on track so that I keep going in the direction that I need to. And when I am done, Lord please see me safely home and help me to realize that I am truly blessed.
AMEN!!
4/23/2020

After encountering a lot of different experiences while 'grave hopping' over the past 4 years, I recently started saying this prayer before going to a cemetery.
I hope that it inspires you to come up with a prayer of your own, or at least makes you giggle if you've had any experiences like mine.
________________________________________________________
**I do strive to have the most accurate information on the memorials that I create, to avoid the drama and online arguments regarding those who believe that they are 'right'. **
~~* To all Find A Grave contributors; when submitting edits for a memorial that I have created, please have the correct information. Edits with inaccurate information or no supporting information that are submitted for memorials that I have created will be declined.
~~ In regards to prefixes/suffixes for memorials , if it does not appear on the headstone or foot stone, I will not put it on the memorial.
~~ Please use the edit tab to submit additional info for a memorial. There is no need to waste time submitting edits and other suggestions for a memorial with the same information . Refer to the Find A Grave guidelines regarding edits if you are uncertain how to submit edits to the manager/creator of a memorial.
*~~REGARDING OBITS ~~ *
DO NOT waste the time to send me edits under the 'Suggest other corrections' heading with info that is an obituary!! Edits submitted for the bio section of a Find A Grave memorial that is an obit will also be declined.

**** This website is called Find A GRAVE , NOT Find An Obituary!! *****
Why is that so hard for some of you out there to understand???

I will not add unnecessary information on a memorial that I create, especially information regarding living individuals.
I have read obits that don't have correct info and incorrect burial information, so I don't refer to them nor do I add them to memorials that I create. I have also found footstones in a cemetery, the final resting place of deceased individuals that were cremated and had their ashes privately interred at a cemetery, but people that copy info from the obits and list the individual on Find A Grave as 'Cremated' ; location of ashes unknown. That info wasn't listed on the obit to keep the final resting place of the deceased person private.

***Unlike other people, I don't download pics of a deceased person from a funeral home website just to create & get "credit " for a Find A Grave memorial & pics on their profile page. As per the guidelines, photos that are added should be from your family photos (i.e. old black & white photos, Sephia photos, pics taken with a camera, professional photos, etc.) or pics that YOU took (i.e. headstone/footstone/family plot headstone, family plot marker) at burial plot in cemetery. Again, not really hard to understand if you have the ability to comprehend a simple rule.
**** Find A Grave is not a competition.!!! ***
There are no trophies/awards given to whomever creates the most online Find A Grave memorials. Unless I wasn't notified of that. LOL!!! And there is no financial compensation for the amount of memorials or pics that you add, again if there is and I wasn't notified of that either, I'll take my compensation in cash (for every memorial and headstone pic that I've added) so I can vacation this winter on the island of Kauai!!! HA HA HA HA HA !!!!! LOL!!


If you do have the correct birthplace, birth date, death date, and death place for a memorial that I have created, use the edit tab to submit that info if I do not already have it listed!
~~Mistakes do occur occasionally on memorials, so if you do send edits regarding incorrect information , please do it in a respectful manner. There is no reason to be rude! Sometimes links to other family members were an edit that was sent from another contributor and not the creator of the memorial.
~~ I will decline edits and requests to link family members with an unknown burial location. This website is called Find A Grave for a reason! As per the Find A Grave guidelines, memorials should only be created for deceased individuals with burial location details that are known!!

~~When notifying a contributor of a memorial that they created is a duplicate, do it in a respectful manner. Duplicate memorials are unintentional and typically a result of inaccurate or no known burial information by the first creator of a memorial, misspelling of first and/or last names, the name and/or dates on the headstone don't exactly match the death record, and/or the cemetery name was merged with another cemetery name. Or the obit that you copied from a funeral home website/obit from a newspaper contains errors. And sometimes the headstone/footstone of a deceased individual does not have the same last name that someone copied from an obit; usually this is found with deceased females that have been married several times.
Keep in mind when creating memorials, that death records/certificates and even obituaries can contain inaccurate burial information and inaccurate personal information.
In the past year, I have come across several individuals that have been buried in a cemetery and years later re -buried in another cemetery. Check burial records when they are available at a cemetery.
And again, if the burial location is unknown and/or you do not have a pic of the headstone or burial records, don't create a Find A Grave memorial!! Again, not a hard concept to understand, especially when that is stated in the Find A Grave guidelines !!

~~What started as a search for the burial places of my husband's ancestors (and my family members in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland) on Find A Grave, has turned into a passionate commitment in (hopefully) helping as many people that I can that are seeking the final resting place of their ancestors and distant relatives.

*~~To all F.A.G. contributors that have added memorials for my relatives THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are appreciated more than words can ever express! *~~
** And to the contributors of Find A Grave that actually do the "leg work" and go to cemeteries and take photos of headstones, THANK YOU!! You are awesome and make Find A Grave even more special!!
** A Find A Grave memorial is not complete without the photo of the headstone; it just looks incomplete !! **

Memorials on Find A Grave are made by volunteers who are not compensated in any way for what they contribute. Please at least have the decency to thank contributors that have traveled to a cemetery at their own expense to take pics of the headstone(s) !