I've been fascinated with genealogy for a while now. It wasn't until I started a family tree more than 40 years ago, that I realized how little I knew about my family history and their vital records. My family roots are in the Durry/Talbert, Durry/Martin families of Dallas County, Alabama and the Morgan/Garrett families of Perry County, Alabama and Wise County, Virginia.

When I discovered Findagrave.com, it was like a dream come true. Finally there is a way for regular people to create interment records on the lives of loved ones, friend or anyone else, and the records are kept. I learned how easy and how rewarding it is to become a voluntary findagrave contributor and it's free. The website is for recording burial records of those no longer with us. It is not for the living.

Records can be created to respectfully recognize, remember and pay tribute to anyone who has passed away, including family, friends, classmates, co-workers, military service members, church family and so on. There are people who have no records of them ever existing. They are completely omitted from any official records of birth, death or burial. Trust me, there are a lot of people out there that you can't find any records on. Findagrave helps us correct this oversight.

Findagrave.com is also the first website I've found that allows you to freely create and record memorials of anyone who has passed away and the records are kept in the U.S., Find a Grave Index and eventually linked to Ancestry.com. It doesn't matter if family members are in different cemeteries or in different states, even different countries, they can be linked and brought together at Findagrave.com

There are so many people, family and friends, who have passed away and their death records are not even included in the Social Security Death Index, State Death Indexes or any other local records. My father, Otha Morgan, of Selma, Alabama, was a good example of that omission. He was a hard worker on several jobs in Alabama all of his life for minimal wages. He had a social security number, paid income taxes every year, but the record of his death in 1998 is not even recorded in the Social Security Death Index or the Alabama Death Index. These indexes are suppose to be the official death record for the United States of America and each state in the union. All states in the United States of America are suppose to keep records of those who pass away in their states. Some records never get recorded by states, which is so sad. Findagrave.com helped us to recognize those people, who, when they pass away, they are not left out of the pages of our national or state history and vital records of birth and death. Findagrave allows you to create vital records that anyone can have access to.

I record memorial to respectfully recognize and to keep alive the memories of those who have gone before us. I enjoy finding records of burials, taking photos at cemeteries and recording them on Findagrave.com and ultimately to Ancestry.com, where so much family history can be recovered.

Find a grave is an excellent source of information for those seeking records of burials and even some photos of graves and burial locations. It is an honorable, respectful way to pay tribute to them. It's like taking a trip back in time to visit loved ones and friends who are no longer with us, even some people we've never met. It's a trip to the cemetery, but you can do it at home on your computer or on your cell phone miles away from the cemetery. This is especially nice for people who live out of the state, county or even the country where relatives and friends are interred. It is all done by Volunteers, who care enough to walk the grounds of cemeteries and take pictures to record vital records like these.

If there are negative issues or thoughts of not wanting a family member remembered like this, please consider the voluntary work that goes into gathering this information to honor your loved ones. Remember, it is the same kind of record that we look for the government to create. The only difference here is that we create the records ourselves.

Find a grave contributors are not paid for the memorials they create. It is all done by those who care enough to collect information from public sources, and walk the grounds of cemeteries all across the United States, even the world, and take pictures of graves to record these records. Now anyone, family, friend, classmate, co-worker or others may be able to locate the final resting places of loved ones or friends. Personally, I used to not like going to cemeteries, but now I see the history that lies among those grave markers.

Most cemeteries have section names and grave locator numbers. Some are easy to locate and some are not. A contributor that's promoting adding grave sections and numbers to all memorials, wrote, "This is Find A Grave and not Find a Photo." That may be partially true, but photos are very important, even without grave locators. There are people who may never get the chance to visit a cemetery where a loved one or friend is buried, and a photo of their grave, even without a grave locator number is a God send. One of my best friends and high school classmates, Lee A. Bowden, Mem# 17368266, died in the Vietnam War in 1968. I may never get to the cemetery in North Carolina where he is buried, but I can visit his grave whenever I want to. So grave locators are not that critical. I have photos of my parents' graves, Otha Morgan - # 169130169 & Lucy Durry Morgan - # 196150973, and I know where their graves are in the cemetery, but I do not know the cemetery sections or grave numbers to add to their Find A Grave memorials.

Some cemeteries are so huge and ever changing that it is almost discouraging to go and try to find someone buried there. An example of a huge, expanded, almost confusing cemetery is Oak Hill Memorial Park on Curtner Avenue, San Jose, California. The office workers and the groundskeepers are so helpful in finding anyone's grave you're looking for. They will actually come out and take you to a grave. I actually got lost in that cemetery just trying to find my way out.

I take pride in the memorials I submit. I strive to find important vital records to include in my memorials. Important vital records are, Names (Maiden names for women are very important), Dates and Places of Birth and Death, cemetery location and/or cremation information. I try to be as accurate as I can, but if there are errors found in my memorials, please let me know and I will correct them.

If there are any memorial transfer requests, I will graciously consider the transfer of any of the memorials I've contributed, except my own family and other that are dear to me. There are people on findagrave that do it to see how many they can do, that's not me and that's not the purpose of the website. Some findagrave contributors will not transfer memorials to anyone, they won't even accept messages from other findagrave contributors, that's not me. If you are related to anyone which I've created a memorial, please let me know and I will gladly transfer them to you. Good Luck.

I've been fascinated with genealogy for a while now. It wasn't until I started a family tree more than 40 years ago, that I realized how little I knew about my family history and their vital records. My family roots are in the Durry/Talbert, Durry/Martin families of Dallas County, Alabama and the Morgan/Garrett families of Perry County, Alabama and Wise County, Virginia.

When I discovered Findagrave.com, it was like a dream come true. Finally there is a way for regular people to create interment records on the lives of loved ones, friend or anyone else, and the records are kept. I learned how easy and how rewarding it is to become a voluntary findagrave contributor and it's free. The website is for recording burial records of those no longer with us. It is not for the living.

Records can be created to respectfully recognize, remember and pay tribute to anyone who has passed away, including family, friends, classmates, co-workers, military service members, church family and so on. There are people who have no records of them ever existing. They are completely omitted from any official records of birth, death or burial. Trust me, there are a lot of people out there that you can't find any records on. Findagrave helps us correct this oversight.

Findagrave.com is also the first website I've found that allows you to freely create and record memorials of anyone who has passed away and the records are kept in the U.S., Find a Grave Index and eventually linked to Ancestry.com. It doesn't matter if family members are in different cemeteries or in different states, even different countries, they can be linked and brought together at Findagrave.com

There are so many people, family and friends, who have passed away and their death records are not even included in the Social Security Death Index, State Death Indexes or any other local records. My father, Otha Morgan, of Selma, Alabama, was a good example of that omission. He was a hard worker on several jobs in Alabama all of his life for minimal wages. He had a social security number, paid income taxes every year, but the record of his death in 1998 is not even recorded in the Social Security Death Index or the Alabama Death Index. These indexes are suppose to be the official death record for the United States of America and each state in the union. All states in the United States of America are suppose to keep records of those who pass away in their states. Some records never get recorded by states, which is so sad. Findagrave.com helped us to recognize those people, who, when they pass away, they are not left out of the pages of our national or state history and vital records of birth and death. Findagrave allows you to create vital records that anyone can have access to.

I record memorial to respectfully recognize and to keep alive the memories of those who have gone before us. I enjoy finding records of burials, taking photos at cemeteries and recording them on Findagrave.com and ultimately to Ancestry.com, where so much family history can be recovered.

Find a grave is an excellent source of information for those seeking records of burials and even some photos of graves and burial locations. It is an honorable, respectful way to pay tribute to them. It's like taking a trip back in time to visit loved ones and friends who are no longer with us, even some people we've never met. It's a trip to the cemetery, but you can do it at home on your computer or on your cell phone miles away from the cemetery. This is especially nice for people who live out of the state, county or even the country where relatives and friends are interred. It is all done by Volunteers, who care enough to walk the grounds of cemeteries and take pictures to record vital records like these.

If there are negative issues or thoughts of not wanting a family member remembered like this, please consider the voluntary work that goes into gathering this information to honor your loved ones. Remember, it is the same kind of record that we look for the government to create. The only difference here is that we create the records ourselves.

Find a grave contributors are not paid for the memorials they create. It is all done by those who care enough to collect information from public sources, and walk the grounds of cemeteries all across the United States, even the world, and take pictures of graves to record these records. Now anyone, family, friend, classmate, co-worker or others may be able to locate the final resting places of loved ones or friends. Personally, I used to not like going to cemeteries, but now I see the history that lies among those grave markers.

Most cemeteries have section names and grave locator numbers. Some are easy to locate and some are not. A contributor that's promoting adding grave sections and numbers to all memorials, wrote, "This is Find A Grave and not Find a Photo." That may be partially true, but photos are very important, even without grave locators. There are people who may never get the chance to visit a cemetery where a loved one or friend is buried, and a photo of their grave, even without a grave locator number is a God send. One of my best friends and high school classmates, Lee A. Bowden, Mem# 17368266, died in the Vietnam War in 1968. I may never get to the cemetery in North Carolina where he is buried, but I can visit his grave whenever I want to. So grave locators are not that critical. I have photos of my parents' graves, Otha Morgan - # 169130169 & Lucy Durry Morgan - # 196150973, and I know where their graves are in the cemetery, but I do not know the cemetery sections or grave numbers to add to their Find A Grave memorials.

Some cemeteries are so huge and ever changing that it is almost discouraging to go and try to find someone buried there. An example of a huge, expanded, almost confusing cemetery is Oak Hill Memorial Park on Curtner Avenue, San Jose, California. The office workers and the groundskeepers are so helpful in finding anyone's grave you're looking for. They will actually come out and take you to a grave. I actually got lost in that cemetery just trying to find my way out.

I take pride in the memorials I submit. I strive to find important vital records to include in my memorials. Important vital records are, Names (Maiden names for women are very important), Dates and Places of Birth and Death, cemetery location and/or cremation information. I try to be as accurate as I can, but if there are errors found in my memorials, please let me know and I will correct them.

If there are any memorial transfer requests, I will graciously consider the transfer of any of the memorials I've contributed, except my own family and other that are dear to me. There are people on findagrave that do it to see how many they can do, that's not me and that's not the purpose of the website. Some findagrave contributors will not transfer memorials to anyone, they won't even accept messages from other findagrave contributors, that's not me. If you are related to anyone which I've created a memorial, please let me know and I will gladly transfer them to you. Good Luck.