Gemeteries & Gravestone Genealogy Work

Cemeteries can be one of the best places to do genealogy work.

Why?  Because information is "carved in stone" and often you'll find relationships even by proximity in the cemetery that can provide hints and clues.

One of my favorite online cemetery resources is Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com - also on the sidebar of the webpage).  Find A Grave contains virtual memorials of individual graves, photos of headstones and family members, obituaries, timelines and even has family relationships linked to other cemeteries - a sort of virtual / tangible family tree if you will.  You can request photos of gravesites if they are missing, or add photos if you wish and even leave a virtual flower or message if you wish on the memorials online.  You can volunteer and respond to photo requests and go locate graves that are on Find A Grave and then upload them for other genealogists around the world so they can do their work and I've found this work very satisfying. You can create a free "account" or login/register and create a profile and connect with other genealogists through this work.

You can search cemeteries with it, but beware, not all cemeteries are in it, neither are all interments.  While I've had tremendous success with Find A Grave, sometimes I have to do my own work.

So how do you find where someone is buried in the first place?

Well, you can search Find A Grave for starters - provided you got the name and location right. 

If you know where in the world the person died, I've had tremendous success working through obituaries in the newspapers through the Genweb Obituaries as well as through the Oregonian Archives found at the Multnomah County Library Online here in Oregon (need a library card for it). Other times, I've just had to be persistent with Google until I "dug something up."

Obituaries are fantastic because they contain *so* much information in a narrative format including married names of daughters, occupations, places of birth, previous marriages, ,military service, emigrations and lastly - places of burial. 

Unmarked grave next to spouse

Even when you find a place of burial, not all graves are marked.  Oftentimes you'll find family members were poor and so they were interred without a headstone and the place recorded but otherwise, there's nothing there.  Sometimes stones get overgrown with grass and sink below the surface, other times they are vandalized or disintegrate due to ice/snow making them shatter and other times if the cemetery is anywhere near where flooding is a possibility, entire cemeteries can be moved/destroyed/buried by a flood (That's always interesting to work with).  Other times, the cemetery its self may be manually relocated with some loss of stones / documents in the process.

Sometimes I have found headstones by poking into the ground with my weed fork (See cleaning headstones) and then excavated and lifted them up to the surface and carefully re-placed them on top of the grave (make sure you follow etiquette when you do this - *don't* break a stone - *don't* leave a mess - *don't* interrupt or distract from a funeral or grieving visitors).

My recommendation is if you know where someone is buried and there's no marker, for documentation purposes, take a photo of the place anyways just so you know you got the photo and don't keep thinking you've never researched the spot.  An unmarked but known patch of grass can be meaningful as well to some people.  Or, if the spouse's (or other family member's) headstone is still standing and the person of interest's headstone is nowhere to be found, but geography of the cemetery indicates that they may have been buried next to them, take a photo of that gravestone with the space next to it.

abandoned cemetery

There are a few different types/conditions of cemeteries though.

There are abandoned cemeteries - their name aptly describing them.  Often on private land, or even government land, overgrown and forgotten, often undocumented, have fun with these.  I personally recommend saying a prayer when working with one of these because its about the only way to find your way around - and I have.

Untended cemeteries don't have a groundskeeper so to speak, they may be fenced off and occasionally mowed and be on private or government land, but they don't have an office or maintenance or sprinkler systems or anything, and may only (if you're lucky) have records in the form of an old forgotten book chained to some part of the cemetery - shot in the dark on these.  However, to visit these you might/might-not have to obtain permission from the land owner.  Be polite, do your research, follow etiquette and you should have no troubles with these. Usually I'm able to walk right into these without needing to ask permission.

Other cemeteries have groundskeepers and are constantly managing the land and have a records office and may even have hours when they are open or shut like Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.  Some may only allow flat headstones so they can just mow the place without having to go in between gravestones.

Some of the larger cemeteries may have records they allow you to search online, others like some Jewish Cemeteries may require you to have a membership to search interments.  Others may be on tribal lands and have their own special rules for access.  Others may not have any online records (hence the usefulness of Find A Grave et. al) and require you to go to the office during working hours, drop your names off and come back in two hours after they find them.  Sometimes, if the interment is a child and is recent, they will not disclose the grave location without immediate family permission.  I've not yet had any charge me to look up an interment. 

BONUS - some of the larger cemeteries not only have the files of the interments but will sometimes carry additional information related to the cause of death, death certificates, the funeral service and other info and will provide you with copies of them at your request.

Oftentimes families will purchase a large plot ahead of time to be buried at.  So you'll head off to a quadrant and may find one giant monolithic headstone where the names of family members are etched each time someone dies with smaller or headstones or none if they stack the coffins on top of each other in the ground.  I've not yet had family who have been wealthy enough to purchase a tomb complete with glass French Doors with everyone's coffins neatly stacked inside, though I've been to plenty of mausoleums in this work - both indoors and out. Mausoleums are nice because the photography is always easy as the sites don't weather as badly as gravestones do, though getting a photo of the final resting place can be challenging if the place is fifteen feet up in the air on the side of the wall.

Depending on the age of the cemetery (out west we generally don't go back beyond the 1830's - unlike back east or even in Europe) even if it is manned, some parts of the cemetery may not have been documented (or lost records in a fire/flood) and so they may not know where an interment is.  However again, if you know a spouse/family member, and they have a blank space next to the spouse, with a bit of prayer and consideration, sometimes you can make that leap of faith.  If you document it, document your leap-of-logic/deduction in your notes.

If you're going to go to the cemetery and have to work with office staff, be sensitive to and respect any differences in religion (I never bring mine up), be polite, ensure you go early enough to allow them time to help you out.  If you're planning on doing any photography, I recommend going early enough in the day that the light is good, and while you're there?  Photograph a few other headstones as well and create a memorial/ load them up into Find A Grave for someone else down the road.

I recommend, if possible, taking your children with you as it can be a great family outing.  However, ensure that children are socially appropriate to the setting in all instances (mine run around in the abandoned cemeteries or as long as nobody else is there and they don't step on the headstones and show respect to the place) and make sure your work doesn't detract from the setting or any events that may be taking place in the cemetery that day.

Don't forget to look at the backs of the stones as well for any information contained on them (if they are standing upright obviously)!

If you feel really motivated, compile a spreadsheet of graves and cemetery layout if the cemetery doesn't have records and you can submit this to Find A Grave for that cemetery or even publish it on a genealogy blog.

Lastly, one of the greatest assets again is that headstones often contain additional family relationships or even personal info (military service) on them so they can really be a great boon to your work!  Don't just look at the gravestone you came for, look at the graves around them - often you'll find graves of infants who died in between censuses that you've never found before who are part of your ancestry.  Actually, very often you'll find far more of these than you would expect.  Try to learn the history of the cemetery you're working in before you go as well.  Many of them have a history that is associated with certain areas of their layout that will provide clues into other aspects of your work, such as the influenza pandemic that hit Portland in the early 1900's with many of the flu victims being buried in a particular part of the cemetery just in order to keep up with the burials.

While working in cemeteries is one of the gravest works I do with genealogy, I also find it one of the most satisfying because I get to work with something tangible and know that my ancestors and their friends stood where I am standing and I know why they were there and when it happened, and it gives me a bit of time to reflect on the plan of salvation.

Enjoy your work.

Photographing & Working With Headstones

Generally, transcribing info in genealogy makes us prone to making errors and perpetuating them, or changing information over time like a modern game of "telephone" where each repetition of the message changes what was originally said until the original is lost.   This is why scanning and photography - especially of headstones - is so valuable.  We capture the original information that is present.

Headstones are particularly valuable because the amount of work and checking that goes into the information on them is generally a bit more extensive than other sources.

( IF you have the right person.  IF they have a headstone.  IF you know where they are buried. )

Sometimes headstones only contain nominal information (initials, "Baby Hollinger") but when combined with cemetery records, obituaries, death certificates and the likes, they provide tangible "proof" that is less susceptible to error than documents and are a valuable resource to genealogy.


A suggestion when you go to a cemetery.  GO PREPARED!

1.  Buy a 1 gallon weed-killer sprayer.  You can get them at Wal-Mart for about $10.  You want the kind that will pressurize.  Mark it "WATER ONLY.  FOR TOMBSTONE CLEANING", so you will not accidentally use it for fertilizer or other chemicals.

2. Stiff bristle brush, NYLON.  The same kind you would use to clean your carpet.

3.  Shaving cream.  Cheapest kind, without gels and colognes in it.

4.  Squeegee  The rubber kind.  You want it to be flexible not stiff plastic.

5.  4-5 gallons of water (milk jugs with the screw on caps work well).

6. Camera with batteries, spare batteries, film, spare film or empty memory chip.

7.  Garden hand shovel – sturdy – able to lift small buried headstones and grave markers or able to shovel dirt off the edges or cut back the sod that overgrows the headstones.

8.  Manual grass clippers (heck - bring a gas-powered weedwhacker if you want to but it can be a bit unwieldy and draw unwanted attention or interrupt funerals).  This is for trimming back grass from the edge of a headstone for photographing it.

9. Weed fork hand tool – used for probing for buried headstones that aren't visible anymore or finding the edges that you can't see anymore or....pulling up weeds!.   

10.  Small tarp or sheet of plastic if you don't want to kneel in the dirt.

11. Five gallon bucket for carrying everything in.

(Additionally, if you wish to go beyond simply scrubbing a wet headstone, there is D2 Headstone Cleaner which can clean and preserve a headstone over time.  Instructions on how to use it can be found HERE. )

Take a photo before you even begin doing any work on the headstone, and then take a photo after every individual step in the event that one stage may provide a better photo than a further stage.  I've had headstones that I obtained better photos of as they were originally, than compared to after I cleaned them off. 

Brush off any dirt or mud using your hand or a brush. If the tombstone looks like it might be hard to read, mist it with water.  This sometimes is the only thing needed to make the information readable on the camera.

If misting it with water doesn't look sufficient, squeeze a SMALL amount of shaving cream on either the tombstone on the back of the squeegee and spread it on the tombstone.  Using the back of the squeegee helps keep the shaving cream from piling up on the gravestone.  This can help you see what is engraved on the tombstone for photographing.

Take a picture! (Step 1 – get close.  Step 2 – get closer! Step 3 – get closer! Step 4 – take picture! Step 5 – step back)  Later on, download the picture and file it and label it so you can find it!


Photographing headstones with the sun shining right on them can diminish the usefulness of the photos depending on how the stone is carved.   Additionally, being partially shadowed by trees can make reading a stone difficult.

Depending on the arrangements you may want to wait a while and allow the light to change before taking a photo for documentation purposes. Sometimes you may just want to do it on a different day.  Keep your shadow off the stone if you can.


After taking the picture of the tombstone, the shaving cream must be COMPLETELY WASHED OFF.  It will take less water if you brush it a little with the brush and then use the sprayer to wash it off.

It is very important to not leave the shaving cream on the tombstone.  Over a very short time it will attract particles from the air that will damage the stone.  That is why the pressurized sprayer comes in handy.  If use jugs of water to wash it off, it could take several gallons.  By using the sprayer, you can clean 5-10 stones with only a gallon of water.  There is enough pressure to clean off the cream but not enough to hurt most stones.

Under NO circumstances do you use bleach, flour, corn meal or any kind of acid on the stone. 

.

Obituary: George Trask & Harriet Trask Vaugn

June 9, 1912; Oregonian, p 9 

"Two Pioneers Dead"
Bay City, Or., June 8

   When the death of George Trask, a pioneer of Tillamook County, was announced Wednesday, June 5, a sadness was cast over many relatives and friends who had known him and held him in great respect.
   But when, 21 hours later, his sister Mrs. Warren U. Vaughn, succumbed from the shock of her brother's death, the whole county was saddened.
   The immediate cause of Mr. Trask's death was cancer.  At the time of his death, which occurred at 1 A.M., he was at the home of David Martiny in Tillamook.
   When the Trask family moved from Clatsop County to Tillamook, 60 years ago.  George was the baby and his sister, Harriet, only 9 years old.  Their father, Elbridge Trask, a native of Maine, came West with the American Fur Company in 1839 and settled on the Clatsop County coast, where, after a few years' trapping and hunting, he brought his family south and established his home by taking up a donation land claim along the river that now bears his name.
   Here it was that an eventful life began, for George and Harriet, which, after 60 years of faithful love, ended on the same day.
   October 13, 1858, Harriet married Warren U. Vaughn, a prosperous young farmer who had located a few years prior to their marriage on a donation claim of 300 acres adjacent to the present limits of Bay City.  Twelve children survive their mother.  In the early days of pioneering, many hardships were endured by the brave couple.
   Doctors were scarce in the early days, and it was then that the kind-hearted Harriet Vaughn became known throughout the entire settlement.  Many of the leading citizens of Tillamook County received their first ministrations from her hands.  Leaving her own children in the care of their father, she would travel many miles in stormy weather to care for some neighbor's family.
   Several years ago Mrs. Vaughn lost her sight, and since then has spent most of her time at the homes of her several children, all of whom are now married.  Mrs. Ida M. Martiny resides at Tillamook.  Amos N. Vaughn lives on the old homestead, which is still held intact.  Mrs. Lydia J. Haskins, Mrs. Alice A. Woodward, Mrs. Cecelia E. Bodyfelt and Mrs. Myrtle J. Holden live at Tillamook; Mrs. Anna E. Jacoby and George O. Vaughn at Bay City, Mrs. Clara M. Cory at La Fayette, Or.; Guy C. Vaughn at South Prairie, Warren B. Vaughn at Tillamook, and Mrs. Lena L. Goodspeed on the homestead.  Mrs. Vaughn's illness was of short duration.  She was confined to her bed less than a week.  The shock of her brother's death was too great. The funeral of Mr.Trask was held at Fairview Cemetery, Bay City, Thursday, and of Mrs. Vaughn was buried today.

 

(Retrieved from: https://sites.google.com/site/oregonpioneerobituaries/tillamook-county/george-trask

Homer Sperry Wood

Obtained via Ancestry.com

HOMER S. WOOD

 

Homer S. WOOD, the efficient postmaster of Independence, to which

office he was appointed in 1916, is widely and favorably known in this

section of Oregon, where he has spent the greater part of his life.

He is a native of Oregon, his birth having occurred at Brownsville, in

Linn County, December 30, 1877.  His parents, John H. and Addie E.

(SPERRY) WOOD, are natives of Missouri and of Brownsville, Oregon,

respectively.  In 1875, when a young man of twenty years, the father

started across the plains with ox team and wagon for Oregon as a

member of a band of emigrants and on reaching this state settled at

Brownsville, where for twelve years he followed the carpenter's trade.

Since first coming to Oregon he has made two trips to the east but has

always returned to his home in the northwest, having great confidence

in the future of this section of the country.  Following his residence

in Brownsville he removed to Albany, where he remained for two years,

after which he spent a short time in Portland.  He then went to

Hardman, Oregon, and for two years engaged in the raising of sheep,

subsequently resuming work as a carpenter, following his trade at

Heppner for two years, after which he went to Arlington, Oregon, and

there conducted a furniture business until 1898.  In that year he took

up land in Gilliam county, Oregon, which he cleared and developed and

to which he has since added by purchase being now the owner of over

nine hundred acres of valuable and productive land, upon which in 1920

he raised a wheat crop which netted him forty thousand dollars.  He

has been very successful in the conduct of his business interests and

is classed with the substantial and progressive agriculturists of his

part of the state.   He has taken an active and prominent part in

political affairs and in the '90s was the democratic candidate for

state representative from his district but met defeat at the polls.

He is now seventy-four years of age and his wife has reached the age

of sixty-five.  They have a large circle of friends who entertain for

them the highest regard and respect.

 

Their son, Homer S. WOOD, was reared at Arlington and there attended

the public schools, later pursuing a three years' course in the Oregon

Agricultural College at Corvallis, but previous to this had been

employed for five years in the depot at Arlington, where he learned

telegraphy.  In 1901 he took up a homestead in Gilliam county but

after proving up on his claim he sold it to his father.  Subsequent to

his graduation from college he became connected with the firm of

Balfour, Guthrie & Company, acting as their wheat buyer in Oregon and

Washington.  He remained in the employ of that company for a period of

eight years and then purchased sixteen acres of land near Vancouver,

Washington, which he continued to cultivate until 1909.  In that year

he removed to Independence, where he began work at the carpenter's

trade, which he had learned in young manhood, and was active as a

contractor and builder until 1916, when he was appointed by President

Woodrow Wilson to the office of postmaster of Independence and is now

serving in that capacity, his term of office expiring in 1924.  He is

proving most capable as a public official, discharging his duties

promptly, faithfully and efficiently.  He is also cultivating

twenty-two acres of land adjoining the city, of which twelve acres are

devoted to the growing of hops, and he likewise is engaged in raising

pure bred white Leghorn chickens, his residence being within the city

limits. He is leading a busy, active and useful life and his

enterprise, diligence and determination have been potent factors in

the attainment of the prosperity which he now enjoys.

 

On the 20th of July, 1902, Mr. WOOD was united in marriage to Miss Eva

ROBINSON, a daughter of Asa V. and Angie (OSBORN) ROBINSON, the former

a native of Kentucky and the latter of Oregon.  The father came to

this state about 1849, settling in southern Oregon, where he resided

for several years and then removed to Independence.  Here he engaged

in the drug business and successfully conducted his store for many

years, passing away in 1915, while the mother's demise occurred three

years later, or in 1918.  Mr. and Mrs. WOOD have become the parents of

three children, namely:  Winona, aged seventeen, who is a student in

the State Normal school at Monmouth; Dorothy, who is fourteen years of

age and is a high school student; and Dale, aged twelve, now attending

the public schools.

 

Mr. WOOD gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and in

religious faith is a Baptist, while fraternally he is identified with

the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs, the Eastern Star,

and is also a Chapter Mason.  He is regarded as one of the leading

citizens of the community in which he makes his home and his

progressiveness has been a potent element in its continued

development.

 

History of Oregon, Biographical, Vol. II, The Pioneer Historical

Publishing Company, 1922, Pages 232-233.

Almos H. Reynolds Story

Birth:	Oct. 21, 1808 Madrid St. Lawrence County New York, USA
Death:	Apr. 21, 1889 Walla Walla Walla Walla County Washington, USA
Father: Nicholas REYNOLDS b: 12 APR 1777 Mother: Mary WRIGHT b: 24 DEC 1783 Spouse: Lettice Jane MILLICAN

ALMOS H. REYNOLDS was born in Madrid. St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 21st of October, 1808, being the son of Nicholas Reynolds, who was a native of the state of Vermont, and who was a millwright by trade. After a temporary residence in several localities the family removed to Aurora, Erie county, New York, where Almos was reared and educated, becoming a millwright by occupation, having learned the trade under the direction of his father.

In the year 1838, he removed to the west, residing for a time in Illinois, whence he moved to Iowa. He was a resident of Davenport, the latter state for the greater portion of the time up to the year 1850, when he made his way across the plains to California. In the succeeding year he crossed the mountains to Oregon, and here he devoted his attention to mill building. In May, 1859, Mr. Reynolds became a resident of Walla Walla and with the upbuilding and progress of the Garden City his name was most conspicuously identified, and here he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred on the 21st of April, 1889.

He was a man of strictest integrity in all the relations of life, was endowed with market business and executive ability, and was signally successful in temporal affairs, being known and recognized as one of the leading citizens of the county, where he was held in the highest esteem as one of the valued and honored pioneers of this state. He erected many mills throughout the territory of Washington, two of them in the immediate vicinity of Walla Walla. He also built, and for several years owned, the woolen mills at Dayton, now the county seat of Columbia county.

He was associated with Dr. J. H. Day in the establishing of the first banking business in Walla Walla, the same being a private institution, conducted under the firm name of Reynolds & Day. He later became one of the principal stockholders of the First National bank, in whose organization he was largely instrumental. He was public spirited and ever maintained a lively interest in all that conserved the progress and substantial upbuilding of the city and county where he passed many years of a useful and honorable life.

The marriage of Mr. Reynolds was solemnized on the 23d of May, 1861, when he was united to Miss Lettice J. Clark, maiden name Millican, the widow of Ransom Clark, who first crossed the plains to Oregon with Fremont, in 1843. Mrs. Clark was a resident of Walla Walla at the time of her marriage to Mr. Reynolds, and this city still continues to be her home. She is held in the highest esteem as one of the venerable pioneers of the county. By her marriage to Mr. Clark she became the mother of three cliildren, Charles, born August 29, 1846; William, April 9, 1857; and Lizzie, August 19, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of two sons, Harry A., who was born October 14, 1863, and who is now one of the prosperous agriculturists of the county: and Allen H., of whomm more extended mention is elsewhere made.

Source: Lyman's History of Old Walla Walla County (1909) (Public Domain)
Vol I Page 310
Author: William Denison Lyman, 1852-1920
History; Columbia County (Wash.)
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., S.J. Clarke Publishing Company

Lettice jane Millican Clark Reynolds Story (1830-1911)

Birth:	Oct. 3, 1830
Death:	Jun. 10, 1911
Father: Elijah Millican Mother: Lucinda Wilson Crisp Spouse #1: Ransom Campbell Clark Spouse #2: Almos H. Reynolds

(I don't remember the source of this story as I got it when I was new to genealogy but here it is directly from my notes)
Lettice Jane Millican Clark (Mrs. Ransom) whose picture is on the cover, was born in Missouri in 1830.  She came west in 1843 in a wagon train led by the Applegate Brothers.  Her family took up a Donation Claim near Lafayette, Oregon. 

She was married in 1845 to Ransom Clark who had also come across the plains in 1843 with Lt. John C. Freemont's expedition.  They lived in various places in Southern Oregon, among them was Linn County where they operated a hotel.

Later, Mr. Clark located a Donation Claim in the Walla Walla Valley on the Yellowhawk and Russell Creek Rivers, but because of Indian trouble white people were not allowed to settle here immediately, and he died before he had time to prove up on his claim.

After the Indian trouble had subsided, Mrs. Clark with her twelve-year old son Charles, and two younger children came to the Walla Walla Valley from Oregon and took up residence in the log cabin which Mr. Clark had built.  (This cabin is now located in the Pioneer Village section of Fort Walla Walla Museum complex).

Mrs. Clark operated the farm until 1861, when she was married to Almos H. Reynolds and moved into the town of Walla Walla.  At the time of her death in 1911, she was planning to move back into the cabin on Donation Claim. 

***********************************************************************************
The marriage of Mr. Reynolds was solemnized on the 23d of May, 1861, when he was united to Miss Lettice J. Clark, maiden name Millican, the widow of Ransom Clark, who first crossed the plains to Oregon with Fremont, in 1843. Mrs. Clark was a resident of Walla Walla at the time of her marriage to Mr. Reynolds, and this city still continues to be her home.

She is held in the highest esteem as one of the venerable pioneers of the county. By her marriage to Mr. Clark she became the mother of three cliildren, Charles, born August 29, 1846; William, April 9, 1857; and Lizzie, August 19, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of two sons,Harry A., who was born October 14, 1863, and who is now one of the prosperous agriculturists of the county: and Allen H., of whomm more extended mention is elsewhere made.

Source: Lyman's History of Old Walla Walla County (1909) (Public Domain)
Vol I Page 310
Author: William Denison Lyman, 1852-1920
History; Columbia County (Wash.)
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., S.J. Clarke Publishing Company 

Tillamook County Marriages - 1896-1900

I found a link to the OR Genweb project with all the marriages in Tillamook for the above listed years.

Of interest to me was the marriage of Martha A. Walling & Isaiah F. Gould (8 Feb 1896) with Martha being known as "Ma Gould" at least in my research on the topic, however this appears to be a result of her first initials "M.A." which can be seen on her headstone.

Thanks to someone who landed on my page dropping me a line (thank you!), I was provided the info for the divorce of Martha & Isaiah in 1902.

Also, I found the marriage of John M. Millican and Ida F. Walling, though I haven't found her grave yet, he is buried in the Multnomah Park Cemetery.