Reflections of a GraveFinder -- They Were The Dash.

 

It is no secret that I love volunteering for BillionGraves.  I love that with so little effort and just a donation of my time, I can provide a resource for thousands of people searching for a record for their ancestor or loved one.  Pure and simple.  It’s me, my iPhone and a cemetery.   Step.  Point.  Click.  Move to the next headstone.  Step.  Point. Click.  And yet, it is not as simple as that.  There is the dash.

What do I mean by “the dash?”  I am sure by now you have heard it said that we all have two dates and a dash, and we better make that dash count.  What about those dashes I pass moment by moment as I individually photograph each grave?  Those dashes meant something to a lot of people.  What happened in those dashes affected the lives of others and should be remembered.

Over the past years I have photographed over 150 thousand headstones.  That is a lot of memorials.  Do I stop and think of each person as I move along?  Truthfully, no.  I sometimes zone out because the repetition of the process over a two to five hour timeframe can lead to one’s mind wandering.  But I do try to focus.  To me, it’s a matter of respect.

Each headstone has a name.  Sometimes, as I pass by, I state the name aloud and say hello.  I notice the religious symbol on the stone.  I read the epitaph. Sometimes there is a spouse buried there, as well.  Two feet to the left may be an infant child.  My heart melts and I get emotional as though suddenly this is my family and I am sharing in the loss.

There are the feelings of pride, too.  I have photographed in Arlington, Quantico and Gettysburg.  I have passed soldiers of all ranks and station.  Purple Heart recipients.  Some who died in war and others who lived very long lives.  In my heart, I thank them all for their service.  I say a silent prayer.

I see mementoes on or beside the headstones.  A case of beer and a pack of cigarettes.  Teddy bears.  Matchbox cars.  A rock.  A dime.  Sometimes even a black box, holding who knows what?  I don’t look inside.  It’s sacred.  All memories relating to the dash.

And sometimes I meet the families.  Typically, when I photograph a cemetery and mourners come to pay their respects, I will stop photographing.  I move away or go somewhere else in the cemetery so as to give the visitors privacy.  Sometimes I am so focused I don’t see the family members walk towards me, curious as to what I am doing here.  Did I lose a loved one, as well?  Did I know their father?  Mother?  Friend?  No.  I am here for record preservation purposes only.  After a brief explanation of why I am in the cemetery, the real interaction begins.  The family members want to share their experiences about their loved ones.  They want the stories told.  I’m here to preserve the dates.  They are here to remember the dash.

What I do is easy.  It’s just me, the iPhone and a cemetery.  Step. Point. Click.  Move to the next headstone.  But as volunteers for any genealogical project, may we pause to remember for whom we are doing this work?  What we do goes beyond record preservation.  May our work reflect our respect for the name engraved on the stone.  They are more than just a name and two dates.  They were the dash.

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BillionGraves Takes The Anxiety Out Of Searching For Loved Ones

Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking my friend, Cathi, to Quantico National Cemetery to visit her father's grave.   Six years ago Cathi had moved to Arizona and has been unable to visit her father's grave regularly.  As you can imagine, the cemetery is rather large, and since it had been awhile since Cathi had come by, her memory needed to be jogged as to where the actual grave was located.  She knew the Section but could not remember where the actual plot was.

I have been working with BillionGraves for a number of years.  I knew that using BillionGraves' app, which provides the GPS location for every gravestone photographed, we would find Cathi's father in a matter of moments.  After opening the app, we entered her father's name, William E. Mulroy.  Immediately, the record of his burial showed up, and by simply tapping on the map icon, we were given the exact location of his headstone in relation to where we were standing.

Cathi was amazed that the BillionGraves app provided the exact location of where her dad was, as well as the headstone information.  When a relative, and in this case, daughter, wants to visit the resting place of a loved one, time would rather be spent visiting the grave than looking for it.  Since the cemetery information center was closed for the day, Cathi worried that her anxiety would increase as she tried to find her dad's grave.  BillionGraves removed the anxiety and afforded her the opportunity to spend more time with her dad and memories.

BillionGraves is a worldwide grassroots program that allows for anyone researching their ancestors to find the cemetery and gravesite of their loved ones who have passed away.  The site is free to join and anyone can be a BillionGraves volunteer.  It is a simple process that will have you helping people around the world as fast as it takes to snap a photo.

There are several ways to volunteer with BillionGraves, the top two being photographing and transcribing.  To photograph headstones, simply grab your smart phone or ipad and download the BillionGraves app.  When you arrive to the cemetery of your choice, open the app and click on the camera icon.  You will see the name of the cemetery appear in the camera with the live image.  As you walk grave by grave, simply take a picture of each headstone.  When you are done photographing, you may upload the pictures immediately or wait until you get home.

After you upload the pictures you have taken, you will want to transcribe the photos.  Log into BillionGraves on your computer and on the dashboard you will see a Photos icon.  When you select Photos, you will have the option to select the photos you have taken.  Each picture you click on will give you a form to complete with the information from the headstone.  Should you choose not to transcribe the images, the photos will go into the BillionGraves database for another volunteer to transcribe.

Volunteering for BillionGraves is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the genealogy community. There are millions of individuals, like Cathi, searching for the headstones of their loved ones. Whether the search is for family history purposes or to reminisce and pay respects, being able to access the gravesite immediately allows for time to be well spent.

For more information regarding BillionGraves, visit BillionGraves.com.

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