Society Saturday - Find a Grave and MORE at our December Workshop

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward


If you don't know yet, Root Cellar SGS offers a daytime workshop almost every month for it members-  they can discuss the good and bad of their research....... any breakthroughs or any brickwalls.......... this is a very casual informal unstructured/structured two hour gathering.  I was anxious and excited to share this month........I had some good breakthroughs with my New Zealand twig - my Great Grand Uncle Hudson LITTLE. His information has grown by leaps and bounds over just the month of December. It all started at the beginning of December with a free weekend with Find My Past, then several excellent finds with Google- I typed straight into Google a couple of sentences (one at a time) from Hudson's obituary and the information came right back to me - EXCELLENT finds.........and one with pictures. AND Google Earth,- I zoomed right into the Bunnythorpe Cemetery and the Apiti Cemetery both in New Zealand. What a great view.  Over to Find a Grave and located several gravestones in New Zealand including Hudson's. Checked out Ancestry.com for a couple of items but most of the information I had already found in Find My Past.  FamilySearch catalog was an excellent resource .......

I found several actual passenger lists and several complete probates through the FamilySearch catalog- these are the actual list and probates.  wow, I was very lucky and filled in a lot of blanks....... I am so jazzed about all the documents and information I located.  And I confirmed what I had with sources, YES I said SOURCES........ what a great feeling.

I have worked on my New Zealand family - Hudson Little - all month and you can see my progress on my blog.

Sometimes at the daytime workshop we change it up a little and in December we scheduled a FIND a GRAVE presentation for part of the time. We tried this a couple of months ago but the internet connection was not cooperating.......   we talked a lot but no live demo that time. This time was different, we connected and had our live demo- it sure makes a big difference.........

......a big thanks to Linda Sword Johnson. Good presentation and I know from the questions (and the excellent handout) that members were very interested in the basics of the website but also interested in all the extra's that come along with it. Who knew there is so much going on with tombstones!

Linda really suggested reading the FAQ (frequently asked questions). I am almost sure that any question you may have has been asked and answered. But it is a good starting point.

This is a FREE website. You can search without signing in. But if you want to add/edit a grave, a photo, or anything else you need to register. It is easy and painless. Reminder that there are gravestones and cemeteries around the world NOT just in the United States. When you do a search try various spellings and variations of the name. A fairly new feature is you are able to add and search for someone who may not have a physical place to rest........ ie: cremated, ashes scattered 'whereever', lost at sea, body donated to medical science, buried at sea, lost or destroyed and others............... cremation and ashes scatter 'whereever' seems to be done more and more, so it is nice to have a place to these too.

You can add to the website, when you register a contributors page is created for you. If you find a relative already on the website you can request the gravestone be transferred to you. If they aren't related they will probably honor your request. But if not, you can create a virtual cemetery (s) and show any gravestones in your virtual cemetery. It is a way of collecting your relatives together in one place, once you have your virtual cemetery you don't have to go looking for these gravestones again............ just continue to look for others.

Well I was very jazzed when I went home and got on my computer and went to Find a Grave, I registered and started searching for relatives. I have been researching New Zealand twig this month and found several gravestones of ancestors. I wrote down each of their memorial #'s (this number is a must if you want to email anyone else on the website)....... I sent a message to the lady that had taken the pictures of the gravestones I was interested in, included the information requesting the transfer of three accounts. She answered pretty quick and it was done. Let me introduce you to my Great Grand Uncle Hudson Little, his wife Hannah Sarah Doggett and their second grown son Arthur Louis Little all in Bunnythorpe Cemetery. New Zealand.........

But this lady didn't stop there, she included two really good New Zealand websites- one for BMD ($ -but you can search without paying) and the other is newspapers (FREE). I have both of them bookmarked for more research at another time.....  I found another ancestor and YES I have sent another request for transfer AND it happens to be the same lady. I guess I didn't mention that she lives in New Zealand.

So thanks Linda............ I invite everyone to come and visit my small corner  ( life is good )




Shop and Support Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society.
Click here for details.