Find A Grave

Findagrave is pretty cool if you want to track down famous and non famous grave sites.

They have information on many historical figures final resting places as well as everyday people's grave site information that is entered into the sites database.

You can enter anyone whether famous or not and post pictures and even leave messages and flowers as a visitor to the graves.

You can join the site and become a contributor and vote on the fame scale for celebrities as well.

So, if you want to know where Jimi Hendrix or Marlon Brando are resting in peace, this is the site to go to. Huge database and some very interesting information and in most entries you can even see pics of the graves, memorials and the cemeteries.

I was banned recently for disagreeing with some of the lifer/lurker types on the discussion board. No cursing, no personal attacks on any specific individual... just disagreeing with them.

Beware of this site. And trust me, they read this message board. They quote it all the time and make fun of the people who post here. They know exactly who you people are, and they wish they could ban you here too -- but this is beyond their reach. And it gets to them.

Trust me -- you can get their goat here. We're not talking about a group of mature adults here, we're talking about a bunch of Mall Cops (my apologies to Mall Cops everywhere).

This is not a "genealogical register for burials". It is a website that offers virtual "memorials" for the deceased. These people are not genealogists. No real and professional genealogist would be associated with a site that offers an "upgrade this memorial" or "remove these ads" link. It's disgusting and it exploits the dead and their surviving family members. The owner of this sight is making millions of dollars off of death and people's grief. The people that post these pictures and information on the deceased DO NOT have the permission of family members to create "memorials" for their loved ones. The only people that have the right to preserve the memory of an individual are the people that knew and loved them. Not weird, morbid, lurkers that go into cemeteries stepping on graves to increase a number by their name on the findagrave.com website.

Bias At Work! - Findagrave.com is a site that invites you to upload photos of loved ones, or the famous, and write a biography as well. Problem is that when it comes to the famous BEWARE! There seems to be a little club of writers and photo grabbers working together not allowing others to pay homage to the people they loved and the so called "administrator's" of the site that only allow the members that they call "friends" to post biography's and photos. It's very disappointing that they claim to be a friendly site when in fact they are not. This site should also beware that the copyrighted photo's posted on there site WILL BE made known to the proper holders!

Used and abused, added thousands of photos and memorials sponsored 10 memorials when my account was suspended (by a biased administrator)all my hard work remained. Jim Tipton profits from those of use that visit and photograph cemeteries. His administrators play favorites and will favor their friends over other members. My contributions put thousands of dollars in Jim Tipton's pocket and all I got was harrassed, abused and bullied by a administrator and her friends. DO NOT JOIN FIND A GRAVE AND NEVER CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING YOU WILL REGRET IT IF NOT NOW EVENTUALLY!

I went to find a grave recently because I was considering the option of putting up a memorial for my mother, who passed away 3 months ago. She had a dual gravestone with my father, and they had just inscribed her tombstone with her death date and I wanted to share this with family members who cannot get to the cemetary. I then discovered that some person that I have never met posted a memorial for her a year ago - before she even died, leaving her death date as "?" Of course I can "contribute" to the page if I want to make "corrections," which means I don't have control over my own mother's memorial page. I am attempting to get hold of a live person to remove this page and I am getting no response. If they don't respond soon, I guess I will be forced to move on to the Better Business Bureau or some other agency. So far, I have read on their FAQ that "the dead have no rights to privacy," and "we may remove a page on the request of the family, but this is done on a case by case basis." I don't think I will get much response from them. I find this entire site rude, insensitive, and a barrier in my healing process.

MY STEP SON PASSED AWAY IN JANUARY OF 2009. HIS MOTHER TOLD ME OF THIS WEBSITE. AT FIRST WAS WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE NOTES REGARDING OUR SON. AFTER 22 YEARS OF MARRIAGE MY HUSBAND WENT BACK TO HIS EX-WIFE THE MOTHER OF MY STEP SON AND SHE HAD THE STEP SONS SITE BLOCKED SO I COULD NO LONGER ENTER NOTES TO HIM. ALSO MY HUSBAND AND I HAD LOST OUR OWN SON IN 93 AND SHE HAD THEM BLOCK MY SONS ACCOUNT SO I COULD NO LONGER LEAVE NOTES. HER FRIEND IS THE OWNER OF THE WEBSITE AND SEEMS THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT WITH OTHER LOVED ONES SITES IF THE EX-WIFE ASKS HER TO. THIS SITE IS BOGUS TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LOVED ONES AND CANT ACCESS THE SITE BECAUSE OF SPITEFUL PEOPLE AND THEIR FRIENDS

Volunteers are called "gravers" and the hobby is "graving." I have been a graver for about six years. My experience with Find a Grave has always been positive.

I have two different sets of in-laws in my local cemetery, including my husband. My son has eight grandparents there counting the greats and the steps. My parents are in a bookshelf at a distant cemetery, they made their own arrangements. If they were here, I would take care of them too. But with FaG I was able to create memorials for them, their parents and siblings, etc. This has been a good family tree tool. Also for the remembrance of friends. If you know the data, you can enter it yourself. Then you can request a photo and usually get one. FaG volunteers will take the photos and post them. You can link parents to the children, build your own virtual cemetery, and keep them all together. Leave them virtual flowers and write notes. I have always liked cemeteries, especially the old ones. And genealogy. But now, with all the great new technology, it only takes hours to do what it used to take years and dollars to do, by hand. Combine digital photography and the Internet, now with Broadband, whoopie, I'm in hog heaven. I can take 100 photos on two AA batteries which I get 4/$1.00 at my local Dollar Store!

Findagrave is a wonderful site. I have been using it for years and the only problem I have EVER had is with people who come to the site and try and make their own rules. Findagrave has clear and understandable rules contained in their FAQ section. If you follow them, you enjoy your experience. If you don't... you get the consequences. You know... those lessons you learned in Kindergarten.

Contacting FAG and getting action is not hard. If you take the time to read the FAQ you will find right where you need to write to get help. But don't expect help in 10 minutes. Have a little patience.

The HUGEST mistake made by newcomers is thinking that Findagrave is about Genealogy. Sorry folks - its a "Grave Registration Website" It has cool features that help in genealogy. But if a memorial meets the basics for grave registration it is all that is required by the site. Name, Dates and location folks. Everything else is gravy.

Funny but findagrave has thousand and thousands and thousands of contented happy users. And here we have a few disgruntled, angry people who did not obey the rules or did not bother learning the rules or tried to play games and get around the rules. Check out Findagrave for yourselves. Read the FAQ. Make your own decisions based on your own usage and needs of a Grave Registration website.

So now Mr Mature can tell me that I am not allowed to post anything positive here because this website is for reveling all the horrific and awful things that all the controlling and spiteful people at Findagrave do. Bet he can't resist another childish rant!