How Do You Find a Grave?
There are a number of online tools and directories for locating the graves of family members, friends or ancestors, including Find A Grave. This resource can either be accessed directly at findagrave.com or via Ancestry.com, where there are also a number of related online tools.
Graves can be found by entering the known details of the deceased, including their names, dates of birth and death, the details of any single life event, and the names of their spouse and family members. Results are described as virtual cemetery experiences complete with images of grave markers, biographies and volunteer-submitted details or comments. This resource is internationally supported by volunteers who are known as Gravers. The resource lists over 110 million graves and memorials.
For those looking for the graves of veterans in the United States, the National Cemetery Administration offers a useful online nationwide gravesite locator. Updated daily, the site incorporates records from a number of different sources and is far more comprehensive than Find A Grave for finding those of veterans. Unfortunately, the database does not go further back than 1997. Details required for using this tool include only the deceased’s last name as a minimum. If no information can be found, it is possible to mail a detailed request for information to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This service usually takes around four weeks.
