Published: October 13, 2007 06:35 pm            

Genealogy: ‘Find a Grave’ tremendous on many different levels

TERRE HAUTE — “Find a Grave” is a tremendous Web site on many different levels. It was originally created with the objective of setting up an area where visitors could find the burial locations of famous and infamous people like entertainers, explorers, writers, artists, composers, politicians, and criminals – and then view a picture of the celebrity’s grave. However, the content of the site has grown to include information on the burials of more than 18 million “ordinary” people in cemeteries around the world.

This is the place to check if you are looking for the burial place of an ancestor or relative. At “Find a Grave” you can do a search by name, or by cemetery and location. If you discover the grave you are looking for, you can leave a virtual memorial of flowers to the person. There may also be a photo of the grave for you to download. If you can’t find a particular grave listed in the database, but have the information yourself, you can add your family member to the list of interments for a particular cemetery. You can also contribute to the site by uploading a photo of the person or the gravestone to place on the site.

By registering and becoming member, you can keep a list of your favorite cemeteries and create a “virtual cemetery” made up of your family members. Members can also request a photo of a particular grave in a faraway cemetery. There are volunteers who will go out and take the requested pictures and then upload them to the Web site for you to view. You can also register as a volunteer to fulfill photo requests for cemeteries in your area. Registration and membership are free. This is definitely a useful tool in the search for the burial places of family members.

To check out this site, go to www.findagrave.com.

Queries

• I would like to find the parents of Asa Bell, born about 1811 in Virginia and died Feb. 28, 1872, in Sullivan County, Indiana. His wife was Phoebe McNamer. Benjamin Franklin Bell was the son of Asa and Phoebe. He was born in 1859 and died in 1923, both in Sullivan County, Indiana. He was married, first, to Sarah Morin on April 16, 1888, and had one child, Ike Virgil Bell. Benjamin and Sarah divorced and Benjamin moved to Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana, with his son, Ike. Benjamin married a second time, on Dec. 24, 1894, to Minnie Ford in Sullivan County, Indiana. Benjamin and Minnie had three children: Gladys Bell, who married Paul Mason; Flossie Bell, who married Ernest Mason (brother of Paul Mason); and William Bryan Bell, who married a woman named Masterson. If you have any information on this family, please contact Rose Deal, 200 SW Spartan Lane, Lake City, FL 32025, phone (386) 755-1520, e-mail fpbdeal@comcast.net.

• I am doing research on Martin Boyer, born in 1839 in Germany and died in 1925 in Bowling Green, Clay County, Indiana. His wife was Susan Glass, born in 1844 in Blair County, Pennsylvania, and died in 1908, also in Bowling Green. Some of the other names from that period are as follows: William Hixon Miles, 1833-1908, Bowling Green; Melissa Ellen Moss, 1837-1912, Bowling Green; William H, Aldendorf, 1865-1931, Poland, Clay County, Indiana; Barbara Ellen Anderson, 1863-1942, Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana; John Anderson, 1820-1889, Poland; and Sarah Cagle, born 1825 in North Carolina, and died 1888 in Clay County, Indiana. I would really love to have any Boyers, or any of the names mentioned, from the Clay County area, get in touch with me, I have 3,200 people in my family tree and would love to share it. Please contact Edward H. Boyer, 1851 Calvin Ave., Muskegon, MI 49442, e-mail edboyer@prodigy.net.

        

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