Find a Grave

File:Find A Grave logo.png

Find a Grave was created in 1995 by Salt Lake City, Utah, resident Jim Tipton to support his hobby of visiting the burial sites of famous celebrities.{{cite web |url=https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/1 |title=Member Profile: Jim Tipton |publisher=Ancestry.com |website=Find a Grave |access-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044457/https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/1 |url-status=live }} Tipton classified his early childhood as being a nerdy kid who had somewhat of a fascination with graves and some love for learning HTML.{{cite web |date=Oct 16, 2013 |url=https://www.extremegenes.com/blog/episode-13-jim-tipton-founder-of-find-a-grave-on-its-beginnings |title=Episode 13 – Jim Tipton, Founder of Find-A-Grave, On Its Beginnings |website=Extreme Genes |access-date=October 16, 2013 |archive-date=August 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812050436/https://www.extremegenes.com/blog/episode-13-jim-tipton-founder-of-find-a-grave-on-its-beginnings |url-status=dead }} He later added an online forum.{{cite news |last=Maynard |first=Meleah |title=Grave Matters: Minnesota's dead are only a click away |newspaper=City Pages |location=Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota |publisher=Star Tribune Media Company LLC |date=February 16, 2000 |url=http://www.citypages.com/2000-02-16/books/grave-matters/ |access-date=September 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928200532/http://www.citypages.com/2000-02-16/books/grave-matters/ |archive-date=September 28, 2012}} Find a Grave was launched as a commercial entity in 1998, first as a trade name{{cite web |url=https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=2442925-0151 |publisher=Utah Secretary of State |title=Entity No. 2442925-0151 |access-date=November 11, 2011 |date=1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119082706/https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=2442925-0151 |archive-date=January 19, 2012}} and then incorporated in 2000.{{cite web |url=https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=4729413-0143 |publisher=Utah Secretary of State |title=Entity No. 4729413-0143 |date=2000 |access-date=November 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406120559/https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action/details?entity=4729413-0143 |archive-date=April 6, 2012}}{{cite web |url=https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/controller |publisher=Delaware Department of State |title=Division of Corporations Entity File No. 3168328 |date=2000 |access-date=November 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721035421/https://delecorp.delaware.gov/tin/controller |archive-date=July 21, 2011}}

In 2010, Find a Grave expanded to include graves of non-celebrities, in order to allow online visitors to pay respect to their deceased relatives or friends.{{cite news |last=Silverman |first=Lauren |title=Tracking Down Relatives, Visiting Graves Virtually |date=March 14, 2010 |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124671879 |access-date=September 28, 2011 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Public Radio |quote="At some point, I said, 'I am sick of drawing the lines of who is famous and who isn't. I'm just going to accept everyone,' " Tipton says. |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231349/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124671879 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs?faqkeyword=famous#question-1743-259 |title=Find a Grave FAQ: What can I include in a non-famous bio? |website=Find a Grave |publisher=Ancestry.com |access-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044446/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs?faqkeyword=famous#question-1743-259 |url-status=live }}

In 2013, Tipton sold Find a Grave to Ancestry.com, stating the genealogy company had "been linking and driving traffic to the site for several years. Burial information is a wonderful source for people researching their family history." According to a press release, Ancestry.com officials said they would "launch a new mobile app, improve customer support, [and] introduce an enhanced edit system for submitting updates to memorials, foreign-language support, and other site improvements."{{cite web |title=Ancestry.com Acquires Find A Grave |url=http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2013/09/30/ancestry-com-acquires-find-a-grave/?hootPostID=4138bfc02be3bbeec497222fbff15920 |website=Ancestry.com |access-date=October 1, 2013 |archive-date=October 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007020329/http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2013/09/30/ancestry-com-acquires-find-a-grave/?hootPostID=4138bfc02be3bbeec497222fbff15920 |url-status=live }}

In 2017, a beta website for a redesigned Find a Grave was launched at gravestage.com. From May 29 to July 10 of that year, the beta website was migrated to new.findagrave.com,{{cite web|url=http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2017/07/find-grave-same-and-yet-different.html|title=Find A Grave – the same and yet different!|date=July 10, 2017|website=UpFront with NGS|publisher=National Genealogical Society|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810171610/http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2017/07/find-grave-same-and-yet-different.html|url-status=live}} and a new front end for it was deployed at beta.findagrave.com. The new site became live at the end of the year, and the old site was deprecated and officially retired in 2018 the following year.{{cite web|date=August 20, 2018|access-date=September 3, 2018|title=Original Find A Grave (1995-2018)|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192415894/original_find_a_grave|website=Find a Grave|archive-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903050010/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192415894/original_find_a_grave|url-status=live}}

The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from around the world. American cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain Google Maps (with GPS coordinates supplied by contributors) and photographs of the cemeteries and gravesites. Individual grave records may contain dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs (of the grave marker, the individual, etc.), and contributor information.{{cite web| url=https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs| publisher=Ancestry.com| website=Find A Grave| title=Find A Grave Help| access-date=December 22, 2017| archive-date=December 18, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218234903/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs| url-status=live}}

Interment listings are added by individuals,{{cite news | last=Loudon | first=Bennett J. | title=Civil War history carved in stone in Pittsford | newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle | publisher=Gannett Company | date=September 2, 2011 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56313576/article-on-about-cemeteries/ | access-date=July 29, 2020 | archive-date=September 18, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918064854/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56313576/article-on-about-cemeteries/ | url-status=live }} genealogical societies,{{Cite news | last=Moody | first=Sharon Tate | title=Find A Grave can shorten the search | newspaper=The Tampa Tribune | publisher=Tampa Media Group | date=January 24, 2010 | url=http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2010/jan/24/tr-find-a-grave-can-shorten-the-search-ar-52374/ | quote=The entries with tombstone photographs obviously are reliable, but if the entry is based only on a paper record of the interment (without a photograph), it's easy to mistype the date, so you're bound to find errors. | access-date=December 28, 2011 | archive-date=January 13, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113230059/http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2010/jan/24/tr-find-a-grave-can-shorten-the-search-ar-52374/ | url-status=live }} cemetery associations, and other institutions such as the International Wargraves Photography Project.{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46770518 | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave | title=Find A Grave member: International Wargraves Photography Project | access-date=December 22, 2017 | archive-date=December 23, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223043839/https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46770518 | url-status=live }}

Contributors must register as members to submit listings, called memorials, on the site. The submitter becomes the manager of the memorial, but may transfer management to another member. If a memorial's manager becomes inactive on the platform, their account will retain management of the memorial until after a year of inactivity, at which point management is automatically transferred to Find a Grave's account, from which any member can transfer management of the memorial to their own account. Only the current manager of a memorial may edit it, although any member may use the site's features to send correction requests to the memorial's manager; a suggested edit that is not manually processed by the manager within three weeks is automatically accepted. Managers may add links to memorials of deceased spouses and parents for genealogical purposes. Deceased children's memorials that are linked to their parents' memorials will appear on the parents' memorials as their children. They will also appear as siblings of other deceased children whose memorials have been linked to the same parents.{{cite web | url=https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Family-Members?r=667&ui-knowledge-components-aura-actions.KnowledgeArticleVersionCreateDraftFromOnlineAction.createDraftFromOnlineArticle=1 | title=Family Members | access-date=June 4, 2023 | archive-date=June 4, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604181126/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Family-Members?r=667&ui-knowledge-components-aura-actions.KnowledgeArticleVersionCreateDraftFromOnlineAction.createDraftFromOnlineArticle=1 | url-status=live }} Links to external websites and email addresses are not allowed.{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/s/article/Memorial-Information#_What_information_can | title=Memorial Information| website=Find a Grave}}

Any member may also add photographs and notations to individual listings; notations may include images of flowers, flags, religious, or other symbols, and often include a message of sympathy or condolence. Members may post requests for photos of a specific grave; these requests will be automatically sent to other members who have registered their location as being near that grave.{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs#question-1749-289 | title=Find A Grave Help: How do I request a grave photo? | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave | access-date=December 22, 2017 | archive-date=December 18, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218234903/https://www.findagrave.com/list-faqs#question-1749-289 | url-status=live }}

The website is often recommended as a resource for genealogy research.{{cite web |title='Find A Grave' Cemetery Database Resources |url=https://highlander.com/blog/genealogy/find-a-grave-cemetery-database-resources/ |website=Highlander.com |access-date=22 November 2020 |location=Parachute, CO |date=December 19, 2018 |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202191709/https://highlander.com/blog/genealogy/find-a-grave-cemetery-database-resources/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |title=Searching the Cemetery: Find a Grave.com |url=https://www.rutherfordlibrary.org/2020/05/18/searching-the-cemetery-find-a-grave-com/ |website=Rutherford Public Library |access-date=November 22, 2020 |location=Rutherford, NJ |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016040341/https://www.rutherfordlibrary.org/2020/05/18/searching-the-cemetery-find-a-grave-com/ |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Dickerson |first1=Melissa |title=10 Tips for Searching the Find a Grave website for your family history & genealogy |date=2016 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |isbn=978-1534710405|oclc=967966290}}{{cite web |last1=Pierre-Louis |first1=Marian |title=4 Ways to Research in a Cemetery |url=https://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2015/07/4-ways-to-research-in-a-cemetery.html?cid=6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b#comment-6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b |website=Legacy News Family Tree |access-date=November 22, 2020 |date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415101957/https://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2015/07/4-ways-to-research-in-a-cemetery.html?cid=6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b#comment-6a00d8341d219b53ef01b7c7adb9c4970b |url-status=live }}

Find a Grave also maintains lists of memorials of famous persons by their "claim to fame", such as Medal of Honor recipients,{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/28 | title=Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor Recipients | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave | access-date=December 22, 2017 | archive-date=December 23, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044452/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/28 | url-status=live }} religious figures,{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/16 | title=Claim to Fame: Religious figures | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave | access-date=December 22, 2017 | archive-date=December 23, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044459/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/16 | url-status=live }} and educators.{{cite web | url=https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/20 | title=Claim to Fame: Educators | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave | access-date=December 22, 2017 | archive-date=December 23, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223043556/https://www.findagrave.com/claim-to-fame/20 | url-status=live }} Find a Grave exercises editorial control over these listings.{{cite web | url=https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Famous-Biography-Standards | title=What are the standards for a famous Bio? | publisher=Ancestry.com | website=Find a Grave }}

Starting on May 18, 2023, memorials may also be marked with a "Veteran" tag, but the definition of the term Veteran used by Find A Grave{{cite web| url=https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Designate-this-person-as-a-veteran| publisher=Ancestry.com| website=Find A Grave| title=Designate this person as a veteran| access-date=June 12, 2023| archive-date=June 12, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612104236/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Designate-this-person-as-a-veteran| url-status=live}} differs from that used in many countries, including the United States.

Website policy is to remove memorials or transfer their management at the request of an immediate family member.{{cite web |title=Request to Manage |url=https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Request-to-Manage |website=FindaGrave.com |publisher=Ancestry.com |access-date=8 June 2022 |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725050501/https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Request-to-Manage |url-status=live }} In January 2022, following complaints, Find a Grave announced a new policy for memorials of recently deceased persons.{{cite web |last1=Reid |first1=Katie |title=How Ancestry.com's Find A Grave Encourages Bad Actors and Bad Data |url=https://onezero.medium.com/the-digital-undertakers-inside-the-obsessive-community-racing-to-put-the-dead-online-f3199147e968 |website=OneZero |publisher=Medium.com |access-date=2 June 2022 |date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519031951/https://onezero.medium.com/the-digital-undertakers-inside-the-obsessive-community-racing-to-put-the-dead-online-f3199147e968 |url-status=live }} Under the new policy, any photos or personal information, including obituaries, are hidden for three months.{{cite web |last1=Neill |first1=Michael John |title=FindAGrave Can Hold Off on the Recently Deceased |url=https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=9835 |website=Rootdig.com (blog) |access-date=8 June 2022 |date=31 Mar 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927214231/https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=9835 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=January 11, 2022 Find a Grave Team Memorials for the Recently Deceased |url=https://news.findagrave.com/2022/01/11/memorials-for-the-recently-deceased/ |website=FindaGrave.com |publisher=Ancestry.com |access-date=2 June 2022 |date=11 January 2022 |archive-date=June 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220602231024/https://news.findagrave.com/2022/01/11/memorials-for-the-recently-deceased/ |url-status=live }}

{{portal|Internet}}

• Canadian Headstones
• Interment.net
• Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness
• Tombstone tourist
• United States National Cemetery System's nationwide gravesite locator

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• {{cite news |last1=Brandels |first1=Gayle |title=Some people visit cemeteries on Halloween. This man visits them all year to honor the dead he's never met |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/10/21/cemetery-find-a-grave-photo-halloween/ |access-date=November 22, 2020 |work=The Washington Post: Inspired Life |date=October 21, 2020 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129172231/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/10/21/cemetery-find-a-grave-photo-halloween/ |url-status=live }}
• {{cite news |last=Cobbs |first=Chris |title=Web site attracts millions of grave-seekers |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, Florida |publisher=Tribune Publishing |date=July 12, 2001 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8326287_ITM |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-date=December 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208124228/www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8326287_ITM |url-status=live }}
• {{cite news |last=Colker |first=David |title=Web site answers grave concerns about stars |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles |date=August 26, 1997 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB82ADCB84FB85C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-date=October 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008095855/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB82ADCB84FB85C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status=live }}{{Subscription required}}
• {{cite news |last=Dehler |first=Tamie |title=Genealogy: 'Find a Grave' tremendous on many different levels |newspaper=Tribune-Star |location=Terre Haute, Indiana |publisher=Community Newspaper Holdings |date=October 13, 2007 |url=http://tribstar.com/history/x1155714617/Genealogy-Find-a-Grave-tremendous-on-many-different-levels |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514163325/http://tribstar.com/history/x1155714617/Genealogy-Find-a-Grave-tremendous-on-many-different-levels |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |access-date=September 28, 2011 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Eveleth |first1=Rose |author-link=Rose Eveleth |title=The Volunteers of FindaGrave.com: Cemetery-loving hobbyists have uploaded millions of photographs of headstones from all over the United States |journal=The Atlantic |date=August 28, 2014 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-volunteers-of-findagravecom/379254/ |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410223140/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-volunteers-of-findagravecom/379254/ |url-status=live }}
• {{cite news |last=Gammage |first=Jeff |title=Find VIPs (and others) who R.I.P. through online cemetery |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Philadelphia Media Network |date=August 1, 2005 |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9535304_ITM |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209140151/www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9535304_ITM |url-status=live }}
• {{cite news |last=Johnstone |first=Nick |title=Why I love ... findagrave.com |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=July 14, 2004 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2004/jul/14/features11.g2 |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-date=September 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914190726/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2004/jul/14/features11.g2 |url-status=live }}
• {{cite news |last=King |first=Peter |title=Tip: Find a Grave has info you're dying to know |newspaper=Newsday |location=Melville, New York |publisher=Cablevision |date=October 2, 2009 |url=http://www.newsday.com/business/retirement/tip-find-a-grave-has-info-you-re-dying-to-know-1.1471344 |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809081347/http://www.newsday.com/business/retirement/tip-find-a-grave-has-info-you-re-dying-to-know-1.1471344 |url-status=live }}{{Registration required}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Mendelsohn |first1=Daniel |title=Why Daniel Mendelsohn is Obsessed with Cemeteries |journal=Town & Country |date=June 1, 2017 |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a9951427/love-of-cemeteries-findgrave/ |publisher=Hearst Magazine Media |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129105340/https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a9951427/love-of-cemeteries-findgrave/ |url-status=live }}

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• {{official website|https://www.findagrave.com/}} {{in lang|en|fr|de|es|it|nl|pt|sv}}

{{Volunteered geographic information}}

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Category:1995 establishments in Utah

Category:2013 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Acknowledgements of death

Category:American genealogy websites

Category:Cemeteries

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Category:Genealogy databases

Category:Internet properties established in 1995

Category:Online person databases