Genealogy Even While on Vacation

I just got back from a family trip to Delaware, but genealogy wasn't far from my mind. We went to a playground, and my husband pointed out a cemetery just a half black away (he knows me so well). Of course, I had to take a look! I don't have any genealogy connections to Delaware, but I can still appreciate the family history present in every cemetery.

Epworth Methodist Cemetery,
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
(Photo taken by author)

Here's one of the headstones I saw, this one for a World War I veteran who died in 1955. The 1917 draft registration card for Daniel T. Simpler says that he was 23 years old and worked at a glove factory in Rehoboth Beach, Sussex County, Delaware.

According to his death certificate, Daniel was born in Georgetown, Delaware, became a carpenter, and died in the V.A. Hospital located in Caln, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His usual residence was in the Dewey Beach area of Delaware, which is why he was buried in nearby Epworth Methodist Cemetery. He was 62 and left behind his wife, Elsie.

Daniel, thank you for your service.



Search for Other Cemetery Sources

Yes, FindAGrave.com is our go-to source for cemetery records, but it's a long way from having every burial. There are other websites that can be used to search for relatives that may be missing from FindAGrave. Here are just a few, but you should try to find other sources that may be useful for your research:

National - The National Cemetery Administration of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides a Nationwide Gravesite Locator. A search for my father-in-law shows that he is buried at section 1, site 776 of the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Bridgeville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It also provides his rank, branch of service, birth date, and death date.

Regional - For the Pittsburgh area, the Catholic Cemeteries Association provides a Search Burial Records page for their 14 cemeteries: All Saints, Calvary, Christ Our Redeemer, Good Shepherd in Monroeville, Holy Savior in Gibsonia, Holy Souls in Coraopolis, Mt. Carmel in Verona, Our Lady of Hope in Tarentum, Queen of Heaven in McMurray, Resurrection in Moon Township, Sacred Heart in Monongahela, St. Mary, St. Joseph in North Versailles, and St. Stanislaus.

Both sets of my grandparents are in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, and I also have Stern cousins in Calvary Cemetery. All of them can be found by searching the Catholic Cemeteries Association, but only half of them are in FindAGrave. The Catholic Cemetery site seems to be up-to-date since a family burial from last September is in the database.

Individual Cemeteries - My 2nd-great aunt and her husband, Clara & Joseph Carr, are buried in Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Their burials weren't in FindAGrave until I added them. Grandview Cemetery provides an Interment Lookup page, as do many individual cemeteries, which could be helpful to your research. In addition to interment date, Grandview Cemetery also provides place of birth and age at death.

For each of these examples, no gravestone photographs are provided. However, they do provide section and lot information which can then be included in a photo request for FindAGrave's great volunteers. Including this detail will increase the chance that the grave can be found and your photo request will be fulfilled.

Article: Headstone Photographs

The Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania) posted this article over the weekend: "What's old is new again with gravestone photographs." One of the captions says, "Tombstone photos were popular in the early 1900s but are gaining new popularity. The photos started as an ethnic tradition but are becoming a more widespread tradition as a way to honor and remember loved ones."

I've seen these photographs during some of my cemetery walks, and they always make me stop and wonder about the person's life. The images below are from a headstone I saw in Melrose Cemetery located in Bridgeville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Sylvester Selva
Born June 24 1871
Died Sept. 30 1921
Leaving Wife and Children
(Photo taken by the author)

Use Veteran Burial Cards to Locate Graves

Overall, I haven't had much luck getting responses from cemetery offices with respect to the location of my ancestors' graves. Whether I use mail, telephone, or email, I rarely hear back from them. And, unfortunately, the relatives I wanted to locate weren't on FindAGrave.com.

I should point out that I've had a couple of positive experiences. I wrote a letter to two separate offices, which were not located on the cemetery properties, and received handwritten responses. One even provided a handmade map showing the specific location of my great-grandfather's grave, including the surnames of dozens of graves surrounding his.

Other than that, I've been disappointed with the lack of responses. I've called and was told someone would call me back. Nothing. I've emailed others. No responses. Perhaps they get inundated with requests for this type of information, but it can be pretty frustrating. So in many cases, I have just gone to the cemetery and started walking.

One I visited was Birmingham Cemetery a.k.a. Zimmerman Cemetery in the Carrick area of Pittsburgh. The death registration of my 2nd great-uncle, Jacob Nehren, indicated that he was one of my family members buried there. My sister and I didn't have any luck finding his grave, although we did find a cousin and his wife. It could be that Jacob didn't have a headstone, or that his stone from 1887 had been damaged or deteriorated after all of these years.

However, while reviewing some of the records I had gathered for Jacob, I noticed that his Pennsylvania veteran burial card on Ancestry.com provides details I wish I had seen before. It says his grave location is in Section D and Lot No. 17, and he has a marble G.A.R. headstone.

Time for another cemetery trip!

Note: Digital records for this cemetery, as well as the church records, can be found in the University of Pittsburgh's Library System. Included in this collection are PDFs of "ten reels of microfilm containing a constitution and journal, history, minute books, lists of members, memorial publications, baptismal, marriage, burial, and financial records from 1843-1977."

Related Posts:

• Research: Take Time to Help Others
• Don't Be Afraid of Cemeteries

Research: Take Time to Help Others

My sister and I visited Melrose Cemetery this month, in search of our great-aunt's second husband, William Triebsch, who died in 1944. Although on a very busy road, it's a peaceful spot in Bridgeville, which is south of Pittsburgh, PA. I haven't found much on the history of Melrose, but a contemporary newspaper indicated it was established in the 1880s. There are some entries in Find A Grave showing people who died before that year, so I don't know if the newspaper's date is incorrect or if those graves were moved later.

When I visit cemeteries, I also try to fulfill photo requests that are listed on Find A Grave. For Melrose Cemetery, there were only five requests. Two did not know the section, and I didn't have enough time to walk the entire property. But luckily my sister and I were able to find the other three headstones. Sadly, one was for a 15-year-old who had died in 1978. The person who requested the photo indicated that the deceased was his best friend when they were younger.

Remember to take a break from your own research to help others, especially when people may live far from a cemetery, courthouse, or library. On a beautiful day in October, I was able to find the headstones of my uncle and his parents and, with little effort, help others lessen the distance between them and a departed friend or family member.

Don't Be Afraid of Cemeteries

One of my favorite activities is to visit cemeteries. With my job and being a mom, I don't go very often, but I've dragged my sister to about 5 cemeteries in the Pittsburgh area. Very few of our relatives have headstones. But when we do find one, it's a beautiful moment.

For those of you who also love cemeteries and Pittsburgh, you have to check out this blog: Pittsburgh Cemeteries | The Art and Architecture of Death. There are photos of headstones from cemeteries located all over the Pittsburgh area, with new images added almost every day. I love this site!

If you have any questions about your family history, please contact me. I could spend all day digging for answers, so I'd love to help.