Journey Home Genealogy

Irish Genealogical Research | Dwight Radford

Call Today! 801.699.2450

Or send us an Email

Cemetery Databases Online

22 Jul By

Genealogists have created some amazing printed cemetery transcripts. However, what if your cemetery of interest has not been transcribed, indexed and published? Often an Internet search will provide a transcription of the tombstones or the burial registers online. These can also be amazing but what if the cemetery transcript cannot be found through a simple Internet search?

Question Database Contents

I begin my search in three major websites dedicated to tombstone research. I use Interment.net, Find A Grave, and BillionGraves. These are remarkable websites, and can act as a launching point for deeper research efforts. However, be aware you still may not find what you are seeking. Even when you do there are some hard and fast questions you need to ask.

  • Have all the tombstones been transcribed in the cemetery? Often these databases are partial listings.
  • Was all the information from the tombstone included in the extract? It’s difficult to judge without seeing the stone.
  • Is there a picture to accompany the transcript? Where available on these websites, they can be especially helpful.

Contacting Cemeteries

In cemeteries that have section, lot and plot numbers, you can contact the cemetery itself and see if any other information exists or if they can provide a picture of the tombstone. I have discovered that it is important to always offer a donation if there is no charge. The staff is going out of their way to answer genealogy requests, which takes them away from their pressing duties of operating a cemetery and dealing with bereaving families.

In urban cemeteries it is common for many people to be buried in one plot, but possibly only one or two tombstones were ever erected. With the grave coordinates the cemetery staff should be able to tell you if anybody else is buried in the plot. These could be relatives or friends from Ireland. Then again, they could have no connection other than someone bought space in the plot for a needed burial.

Cemetery research can be as wild as it is fascinating. It can reveal much about our ancestors and the community in which they lived and died.

If you would like help with your genealogy please call 385-214-0925.

British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia

23 Aug By Leave a Comment

The British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) seeks to preserve graves from the Red Sea to the China Coast. Their website: www.bacsa.org.uk provides a wealth of information. It may be from the cemeteries and tombstones they are documenting you find that long Irish relative or that illusive birth place in Ireland carved on a tombstone.

Not only does the BACSA document the “British” cemeteries, but those from other European colonies. The East India Company had competition from Denmark, France, and The Netherlands. The BACSA estimates on the Indian Subcontinent alone there are more than 2 million graves of European merchants, military, civil servants, Anglo-Indians and their families.

The Society documents the locations of the cemeteries, transcribes the inscriptions and photographs the tombs and tombstones. They publish their findings. To date, they have sponsored over 100 projects utilizing the support of the locals to restore and conserve these graveyards.

The BACSA Archive is housed at the British Library in London: www.bl.uk/.  It contains folders on the majority of cemeteries in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan with some from Afghanistan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East. Some of the graveyards documented no longer exist making the BACSA collections invaluable.

The “BACSA Search” feature allows you to search their published books under one unified index. You can narrow your search by country or graveyard or simply conduct a broader search. A list of their publications can also be found on the Society website.

This is a worthy organization which is often the only advocate for these historic sites. They not only encourage new members, but also they have a form online to inform travelers the correct information to seek if they find a graveyard or are visiting one in South Asia. You can help in the preservation process!

 

Geographic Places Preserved on Irish Tombstones

20 Apr By Leave a Comment

One wonderful aspect of Irish family history research is tombstones. This comes from two perspectives. The first is that on immigrant tombstones, you will find birthplaces carved into the stones. From my experience these are usually Roman Catholic tombstones. If a parish of birth is given, it’s almost always a Catholic parish, not a civil parish. Townlands can also be found, as well as the nearest large market towns. Even if you only find a county of birth, that can revolutionize your research. These can also be found among Protestant families, but my experience has been they aren’t nearly as common.

When you find a published transcript of a cemetery or online extraction, don’t always assume the person listing the information, included everything on the tombstone – such as birth places. If you have doubts, then always confirm an extraction to be everything on the stone.

The other angle is that emigrants commonly send money back to Ireland to have tombstones erected on behalf the family. Carved is the name of who purchased the stone, and where that person resided. The same cemetery can have a staggering array of stones listing places where family emigrated. I’ve seen places in Australia, Canada, England and the United States. However, I’ve also seen Brazil, South Africa and India. Such stones can be found in both Catholic and Protestant graveyards. Irish cemeteries are also being transcribed and published or placed online. If in doubt, double check the accuracy of the transcription.

Blog