Genealogists know that gravestones can give them a lot of good information about their relatives and ancestors. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that every genealogist is going to find it convenient to take a trip to the cemeteries that their ancestors are buried in. One solution to this problem is to go online, and visit virtual cemeteries instead.
There are many reasons why a genealogist might be unable to make a trip to visit the graveyard that his or her ancestors are buried in. Those cemeteries might be located far away from where the genealogist lives, in another state, or even another country. The expenses involved in traveling that far could be cost prohibitive. There is also the problem of trying to get approval from an employer to take some days off to make that trip.
Other genealogists could have health issues that make it difficult for them to visit a cemetery. Those that have trouble walking, especially on uneven ground, could find it very difficult to navigate a cemetery. Most graveyards are not set up to properly accommodate people who use wheelchairs, (especially the older cemeteries). Some genealogists may be suffering from a particularly bad allergy season, and will need to avoid walking through a large space that is covered in grass, and filled with flowers.
Instead, genealogists who have internet access can visit virtual cemeteries. You can visit them anytime of the day or night, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home.
Here are a few virtual cemeteries to check out:
Find A Grave might very well be the most well known resource for genealogists who are searching online for information that is on the gravestone of their ancestor. I would recommend starting here.
Gravestone Photographic Resource Project has images of gravestones from the United States and about a dozen other countries. This site has several ways that you can search through it.
RootsWeb has a section of their website called “Graveyards & Gravestones”. It has photographs of over 2,300 gravestones.
Genealogy.com also has a virtual cemetery. You can use this website to search for the gravestone of your ancestors, or to upload the photos you took of their gravestones.
Interment.net is another great resource for online cemeteries. They have burial records from thousands of cemeteries located all across the world.
These are just a few of the online cemetery resources that can be found on the internet. If you know what cemetery your ancestors are buried in, you may want to do a search to see if it has a website. There is potential that the information found on the graves in that cemetery has been digitized.
Image by Effervescing Elephant on Flickr