When you look at FindAGrave, what do you see? Skilled genealogists bring their sceptism. I see opportunity.
Step 1:
There is usually a tombstone photo, birth and death information (more than is engraved on the stone), names of the wife, children, parents and siblings and sometimes a short or long narrative added by someone. The problem is, of course that none of the information added can be relied upon, except what you can see with your own eyes….the tombstone engraving.[1]
After determining if the document passes the “smile test,”I look for clues that indicate other records and I try to get to the original! But this assessment is something I do with every document I find–death certificates, newspaper clippings, authored works, etc., not just FindAGrave.
Step 2:
I start with the assumption that they could be right, but, I check all other sources before I believe it. I have to be careful of confirmation bias at this point. Just because one genealogist says it is true, or 55 genealogists say it is true, doesn’t make it true. Genealogists don’t get to vote–that one outlier may be the right one. I consider the relationships as possible but not proven and only “trust” the engraving–but it could be wrong as well.
But, they are clues! I cannot dismiss them outright. And, they may fill in some gap you have been working on or lead you to a better answer then you were holding on to..
Step3:
I check to see if anything in the narrative leads me to other records. This is the most critical question you can ask yourself every time you look at a document. Does that census record indicate land ownership–if so, get the land deeds. Does that newspaper article indicate a prison stay–if so, get the prison records. A document will often “begat” others.
Step 4:
Who is involved? Who was the photographer, the submitter? Who left flowers? If these are relatives, I want to talk to them. Is the submitter a grave competitor, someone who just wants to submit more graves than someone else? Or, were they systemically doing just this cemetery? Or, is this the one from this cemetery that they added? Sometimes I can tell and sometimes I cannot.
I collect all sources in your database that support (or don’t) support a fact. I may have 12-15 that give e a person’s date of birth, for example. I then can choose which on is the best one for my use, but only if I have all of them can I make that determination. So I copy that FindAGrave citation at the bottom and stick it in my database for birth and death.
[You do know that FindAGrave gives a good citation at the bottom, don’t you? Scroll to the bottom. If you just select and paste, it will have background shading, be centered and add an odd size font. If you want to get rid of all that formatting, just copy it to your clipboard like you usually do. When you paste it use this combination: Cmd + Option + Shift + V (yes, it is twister for fingers). This works on a MAC and I believe it works on a PC also. This will give you the citation without all the additional formatting.]
As Tom Jones says, “don’t commit source snobbery,” and too quickly dismiss that weaker source[2]. Instead, look for the clues that might aid your research and find people who may be relatives or a new collaborator.
What is the mostqnteresting fact–true or false– you have found on a FindAGrave site?
Happy Hunting!
Jill
What I have done since the last posting: I don’t have any presentations until February so these waning days of January are spent doo scrolling (who have they shot today?) or working on the Book II, but editing some of the articles that I got to 99%. The editor is working on the final review of the Book I articles and hopefully the final will be to the printers in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I have some work to do on future presentations including my beta workshop on self-publishing.
[1] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148194922/timothy-harrington: accessed January 26, 2026), memorial page for Timothy Harrington (1808–25 Oct 1854), Find a Grave Memorial ID 148194922, citing Calvary Cemetery, Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, USA; Maintained by Aavedt (contributor 47229161).
[2] Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA, “Perils of Source Snobbery,” OnBoard 18 (May 2012); Board for Certification (https://bcgcertification.org/skillbuilding-perils-of-source-snobbery/)
Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal 