I'm a genetic genealogist and Ancestry guru. I passionately work on my family tree and help others with theirs. I've helped some who were adopted find their natural birth parents by tracing DNA. It's been very rewarding. I enjoy being outside and taking photographs of grave markers and headstones from cemeteries to help others find their loved ones' graves. Some of the photos I take are not the best quality and I'm not offended if you add a better photo of a grave marker. Just let me know, and I'll delete mine. I don't always have the time or energy to haul shovels, trimmers, blowers, jugs of water, etc. to clean grave markers so they look prime for a photo which, I know, everyone is so deserving of. (Currently, I have a frozen shoulder which makes it even more difficult to do.) A lot of times I feel pressured to take as many photos as I can as the condition of the graves or the cemetery itself are poor where they seem to only mow the grass and don't trim the gravestones. Over time, these headstones become buried and are not viewable. (See note about that below.) Some cemeteries charge over $100.00 to find a particular grave and flag its location. That doesn't include cleaning it; just flagging it's location. The price also increases the older the grave is. So, if I can take a photo of it I feel as though you'll at least have confirmation of where your loved one is buried and what the marker may look like when and if you should want to visit the grave yourself.

I have volunteered at some cemeteries cleaning thousands of baby and veteran grave markers (and other graves) throughout the year. I enjoy doing the work and know that someone, somewhere will appreciate it.

My ancestors are predominantly from England and Scotland. I've traced my roots back to the 1500's. It's an ongoing process that has captured my curiosity going back to my youth. I'm a native of Michigan and currently reside here. MY PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHTED BUT I GIVE PERMISSION FOR YOU TO USE THEM ON YOUR PERSONAL, PRIVATE, NON-SEARCHABLE FAMILY TREE. THEY ARE NOT TO BE USED IN SOCIAL MEDIA, ANCESTRY AND OTHER ONLINE PLATFORMS. Some sites steal volunteer's photos and then profit off them by charging others to view them. I feel as though that's just wrong and don't give permission for my photos to be used in that way. Thank you for honoring my request.

PLEASE NOTE: Find a Grave is a website that lists grave and cremation information. You must know where your loved one or ancestor is buried to create a page. You can't create a page and list "Somewhere in Detroit or Somewhere in Michigan" as the burial location. This just makes a mess of the whole website and the efforts of those who are dedicated to find accurate information and list it here. You need to do the work and find where your specific person(s) are buried. As a helpful suggestion, find out where their parents, young child(ren), grandparents, spouse, etc. are buried and chances are the person you're looking for may be buried there, too. Call the city, county and/or cemetery to see if your specific person is buried there. Look for death records, obituaries, etc. Perhaps someone else in the family may know the details. Please don't ask me to add relationship edits to someone's page if the page itself is an 'unknown' burial location; I won't do it. It must be an accurate grave (or cremation) information as this is a grave website.

Thanks to the other volunteers who work hard transcribing, collecting data, taking photos, etc. to make this site what it is. It helps researchers all over the world.

OTHER TIDBITS OF INFO YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL: When you request a photo to be taken of a grave, please call the cemetery to find out the exact location the person is buried and if they have a grave marker or headstone. (Some cemeteries have info if there's a grave marker installed for that person, others do not.) Building family trees and finding where ancestors are buried have become more popular. Generally speaking, cemeteries don't want to help the average Joe find out where a grave is, they want to stay in business and make a sale and have employees to do just that. They will, out of courtesy, help family members find out where a loved one is buried. Typically, they aren't too eager to help someone who is unrelated call them all the time to find out where dozens, hundreds or thousands of people are buried. So, it's up to YOU to call and find out the information and have it properly listed on Find a Grave. You need a section number, lot number and grave number. NEARLY 90% of the photo requests (or more) DO NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION AND MOST LIKELY WILL NOT HAVE A PHOTO TAKEN OF THEIR LOVED ONE'S GRAVE. SO, IF IT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU, GET THE INFORMATION. IF IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, DON'T CREATE A PHOTO REQUEST. IF YOU LIVE OUT OF STATE OR OUT OF THE COUNTRY, MOST CEMETERIES - LIKE ANY BUSINESS - HAVE EMAIL. EMAIL THEM ASKING FOR THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION. HAVE BURIAL DATE (AT LEAST THE YEAR) ON HAND WHEN CALLING OR PROVIDE THAT IN THE EMAIL. Right now, there's over 1100 photo requests at one cemetery in Michigan. I'm probably the only person who does them and I live over a half hour away. It took me over 4 hours to find 2 grave markers in one day. Nearly all of the time their lot markers are buried with several inches of dirt and some have worn numbers that have eroded over time. It can be a daunting task. It is also deflating when you work hard to find particular graves and clean and photograph them and then never hear from the people who created the photo request. The reason why volunteers do this work is to feel as though they did something worthwhile and that their efforts are truly appreciated. So, consider what YOU can do to make their efforts easier in order to provide you with the photo you want.

SIDE NOTE: If you're wondering where a spouse or child of a loved one may be buried, chances are they might be buried at the same cemetery. Always do a search at the same cemetery of where a loved one is buried for other family members. You just may find them but their relationship connection hasn't been made yet on Find a Grave. And ---- if you don't find them, that doesn't mean they're not buried there. Always contact the cemetery. They'll know who is buried there.

ANOTHER HELPFUL SUGGESTION: :) When you tend to your loved ones' graves, try to trim the grass just around the perimeter of the grave marker/headstone. When you remove the entire grass and it's roots to make it look nice and "framed" with dirt, you're actually making the area more susceptible to the grave marker shifting and sinking. The grass is what actually holds it in place. No one ever really tells us that. I did the same thing and 'framed' my parents grave marker and have noticed how it has sunk over time. Water gets underneath it, the soil shifts with the added weight of the grave marker on top, and in areas where it snows and freezes, the freezing and thawing of snow and ice compounds it and makes it shift and sink. So, try to just trim the grass around the perimeter of the grave marker so the placement of it will last longer and it won't sink. When it sinks, it's easily covered with grass clippings and leaves and before you know it, will be totally covered with grass and will not be viewable. Hope this helps. :)

I'm a genetic genealogist and Ancestry guru. I passionately work on my family tree and help others with theirs. I've helped some who were adopted find their natural birth parents by tracing DNA. It's been very rewarding. I enjoy being outside and taking photographs of grave markers and headstones from cemeteries to help others find their loved ones' graves. Some of the photos I take are not the best quality and I'm not offended if you add a better photo of a grave marker. Just let me know, and I'll delete mine. I don't always have the time or energy to haul shovels, trimmers, blowers, jugs of water, etc. to clean grave markers so they look prime for a photo which, I know, everyone is so deserving of. (Currently, I have a frozen shoulder which makes it even more difficult to do.) A lot of times I feel pressured to take as many photos as I can as the condition of the graves or the cemetery itself are poor where they seem to only mow the grass and don't trim the gravestones. Over time, these headstones become buried and are not viewable. (See note about that below.) Some cemeteries charge over $100.00 to find a particular grave and flag its location. That doesn't include cleaning it; just flagging it's location. The price also increases the older the grave is. So, if I can take a photo of it I feel as though you'll at least have confirmation of where your loved one is buried and what the marker may look like when and if you should want to visit the grave yourself.

I have volunteered at some cemeteries cleaning thousands of baby and veteran grave markers (and other graves) throughout the year. I enjoy doing the work and know that someone, somewhere will appreciate it.

My ancestors are predominantly from England and Scotland. I've traced my roots back to the 1500's. It's an ongoing process that has captured my curiosity going back to my youth. I'm a native of Michigan and currently reside here. MY PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHTED BUT I GIVE PERMISSION FOR YOU TO USE THEM ON YOUR PERSONAL, PRIVATE, NON-SEARCHABLE FAMILY TREE. THEY ARE NOT TO BE USED IN SOCIAL MEDIA, ANCESTRY AND OTHER ONLINE PLATFORMS. Some sites steal volunteer's photos and then profit off them by charging others to view them. I feel as though that's just wrong and don't give permission for my photos to be used in that way. Thank you for honoring my request.

PLEASE NOTE: Find a Grave is a website that lists grave and cremation information. You must know where your loved one or ancestor is buried to create a page. You can't create a page and list "Somewhere in Detroit or Somewhere in Michigan" as the burial location. This just makes a mess of the whole website and the efforts of those who are dedicated to find accurate information and list it here. You need to do the work and find where your specific person(s) are buried. As a helpful suggestion, find out where their parents, young child(ren), grandparents, spouse, etc. are buried and chances are the person you're looking for may be buried there, too. Call the city, county and/or cemetery to see if your specific person is buried there. Look for death records, obituaries, etc. Perhaps someone else in the family may know the details. Please don't ask me to add relationship edits to someone's page if the page itself is an 'unknown' burial location; I won't do it. It must be an accurate grave (or cremation) information as this is a grave website.

Thanks to the other volunteers who work hard transcribing, collecting data, taking photos, etc. to make this site what it is. It helps researchers all over the world.

OTHER TIDBITS OF INFO YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL: When you request a photo to be taken of a grave, please call the cemetery to find out the exact location the person is buried and if they have a grave marker or headstone. (Some cemeteries have info if there's a grave marker installed for that person, others do not.) Building family trees and finding where ancestors are buried have become more popular. Generally speaking, cemeteries don't want to help the average Joe find out where a grave is, they want to stay in business and make a sale and have employees to do just that. They will, out of courtesy, help family members find out where a loved one is buried. Typically, they aren't too eager to help someone who is unrelated call them all the time to find out where dozens, hundreds or thousands of people are buried. So, it's up to YOU to call and find out the information and have it properly listed on Find a Grave. You need a section number, lot number and grave number. NEARLY 90% of the photo requests (or more) DO NOT HAVE THIS INFORMATION AND MOST LIKELY WILL NOT HAVE A PHOTO TAKEN OF THEIR LOVED ONE'S GRAVE. SO, IF IT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU, GET THE INFORMATION. IF IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, DON'T CREATE A PHOTO REQUEST. IF YOU LIVE OUT OF STATE OR OUT OF THE COUNTRY, MOST CEMETERIES - LIKE ANY BUSINESS - HAVE EMAIL. EMAIL THEM ASKING FOR THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION. HAVE BURIAL DATE (AT LEAST THE YEAR) ON HAND WHEN CALLING OR PROVIDE THAT IN THE EMAIL. Right now, there's over 1100 photo requests at one cemetery in Michigan. I'm probably the only person who does them and I live over a half hour away. It took me over 4 hours to find 2 grave markers in one day. Nearly all of the time their lot markers are buried with several inches of dirt and some have worn numbers that have eroded over time. It can be a daunting task. It is also deflating when you work hard to find particular graves and clean and photograph them and then never hear from the people who created the photo request. The reason why volunteers do this work is to feel as though they did something worthwhile and that their efforts are truly appreciated. So, consider what YOU can do to make their efforts easier in order to provide you with the photo you want.

SIDE NOTE: If you're wondering where a spouse or child of a loved one may be buried, chances are they might be buried at the same cemetery. Always do a search at the same cemetery of where a loved one is buried for other family members. You just may find them but their relationship connection hasn't been made yet on Find a Grave. And ---- if you don't find them, that doesn't mean they're not buried there. Always contact the cemetery. They'll know who is buried there.

ANOTHER HELPFUL SUGGESTION: :) When you tend to your loved ones' graves, try to trim the grass just around the perimeter of the grave marker/headstone. When you remove the entire grass and it's roots to make it look nice and "framed" with dirt, you're actually making the area more susceptible to the grave marker shifting and sinking. The grass is what actually holds it in place. No one ever really tells us that. I did the same thing and 'framed' my parents grave marker and have noticed how it has sunk over time. Water gets underneath it, the soil shifts with the added weight of the grave marker on top, and in areas where it snows and freezes, the freezing and thawing of snow and ice compounds it and makes it shift and sink. So, try to just trim the grass around the perimeter of the grave marker so the placement of it will last longer and it won't sink. When it sinks, it's easily covered with grass clippings and leaves and before you know it, will be totally covered with grass and will not be viewable. Hope this helps. :)