Fequently Asked Questions
- What is the gravestone photographic resource project?
- How often is the index updated?
- Can I get a copy of a tombstone memorial photograph?
- Why are there so few photographs for some churchyards?
- How can I find out if there are any entries in the resource for a particular name?
- How can I see if there are different spellings of a name held within the resource?
- How can I help the gravestone photographic resource project?
- Why are there no cemeteries from my country indexed?
- Why don’t the dates on the index match the dates I already know about?
- Why are there not more records for gravestones from the 1900’s?
- Why are there no dates on some records?
- How can I found out who else is researching families within a particular cemetery?
- How can I get a particular cemetery added to the project’s database?
- How can I find out if anyone else has requested the photograph I am interested in?
- Why is there no charge?
What is the gravestone photographic resource project?
The gravestone photographic resource project is an attempt to provide a much needed on-line genealogical resource for family historians.
The project aims are as follows:
- to digitally photograph grave monuments that are currently legible
- to extract all legible personal information (name, age, date of birth, date of death, relationship) from each image
- to publish all legible personal information on an internet database and make this data freely available
- to email copies of any grave monument image free of charge to anyone requesting a copy
- to lodge at appropriate public record offices collections of images appropriate to that area
- to encourage local groups to maintain, photograph and record grave monuments
- to cover cemeteries throughout the world
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How often is the index updated?
The index is normally updated at least once a week.
These updates take the form of adding new information to the internet database.
Once information has been added to this database it is immediately available to anyone using this site.
Because of this site is designed around a powerful database, every index on the site is always up-to-date.
To see what has been recently added to the site, look at the whats new page.
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Can I get a copy of a tombstone memorial photograph?
Yes, you can get copies of individual photographs.
No charge is made for the images that are sent out.
However, by either making a donation or using the Google Ads on the website you would help fund the project as these are its only form of income.
For more details have a look at our order a photograph page.
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Why are there so few photographs for some churchyards?
Although most churchyards and cemetaries contain many graves, often only a small proportion have stone monuments.
Out of this small proportion graves that actually have monuments, usually less than 50% are readable.
Monuments become illegible because of a number of different factors:
The fact that grave monument become illegible over time is a major reason why this project is so important.
Some cemeteries listed within the resource only have a very few images listed because these are ones that individuals have collected for their own family history and then donated them to the Gravestone Photographic Resource.
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How can I find out if there are any entries in the resource for a particular name?
You can search the resource’s database for all the entries for a particular name by typing the name into the box below and pressing the FIND FAMILY REFERENCES button.
This search facility is also available on most pages.
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How can I see if there are different spellings of a name held within the resource?
You can see a list of all the surnames held within the resource by using the A - Z feature which is on the main menu at the top of every page.
For instance if you want to see what versions of the name Ablett are stored within the database, just press the A on the main menu and all the surnames within the resource starting with A will be displayed.
This feature is particularly useful to look for names that sound very similar but are spelt differently.
For instance, the names Nichol and Nickle occur on graves close to each other in the churchyard at Cappagh, County Tyrone, Ireland.
It is very likely that these two families are related and the different versions of the names are just the result of the different stone mason’s version of spelling the name.
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How can I help the gravestone photographic resource project?
You can help the project by either:
- giving some of your time by becoming a volunteer.
- persuade someone else into becoming a volunteer.
- giving financial support by making a donation.
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Why are there no cemeteries from my country indexed?
At present the project has regular volunteers in England (Durham, Surrey, Yorkshire) and Scotland (West Lothian).
In the past we have had volunteers who have photographed gravestone monuments in other parts of England as well as other countries such as Australia, Canada and Cyprus.
To expand the coverage of the project we need more volunteers.
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Why do the dates on the index not match the dates I already know about?
The dates on the index are obtained from the monuments themselves.
Often the age given on a monument is an estimate made by the surviving relatives.
Another reason why the dates may be inaccurate is that the monument may be worn or damaged and the age or date of death is what the person indexing it believes it to be.
Finally the reason the dates are incorrect could be because the stonemason made a mistake.
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Why are there not more records for gravestones from the 1900’s?
Because of the huge scale of the project, it was decided that for the initial stage only monuments for people born before 1901 would be photographed and indexed.
In some cases, however, volunteers have included other monuments.
Where they have been include it is usually because:
- The monument is in poor condition.
- The monument is of particular interest.
The scope of the project has now been extended to accept any legible grave monuments.
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Why are there no dates on some records?
The names against each monument are those that occur on that particular monument.
Often, the monument gives the names of the decease’s spouse or parents.
This information is particularly useful for researchers tracing family trees.
However, sometimes monuments are in such poor condition that the dates cannot be read.
These monuments have been included within the index as researchers can use these clues to do further checks against parish records.
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How can I found out who else is researching families within a particular cemetery?
A comment/feedback/help request feature is now available.
This feature allows visitors to add details of the families that they are currently researching.
Whenever an entry is added there is the option to add a contact email address.
This email address is NEVER shown on the website but is used to securely email the person.
When a family name is given then the comment/feedback/help request will be displayed whenever that family name page is displayed.
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How can I get a particular cemetery added to the project’s database?
The project keeps a list of graveyards that visitors to the site have expressed an interest in.
Although the project will not guarentee to photograph and index a specific churchyard it uses this list whenever it plans its photographic sessions.
If you want the project to photograph and index a specific churchyard, let us know by using the contact us page.
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How can I find out if anyone else has requested the photograph I am interested in?
Whenever an image is requested for the first time, the master copy of that image is resized, compressed and stored in a separate directory.
This new version of the image file has a date stamp that shows when it was created.
If someone else requests the image, this date stamp is used to lookup the initial email request.
The Gravestone Photographic Resource will never disclose someones details without their permission.
Thus, whenever someone requests an image that has been requested before, the person making the latest request is always asked if they would like their details forwarded to the other person who requested the same image.
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Why is there no charge?
The project was originally set up as a hobby and it was hoped that by not having a charge others would volunteer to help photograph and index cemeteries thoughout the United Kingdom and beyond.
Unfortunately, although there have been many offers of help, very few have actually mangaged to take any photographs and donate them to the project.
Less than 0.1% of the people who have been sent images have expressed an interest in becoming a volunteer.
The project does however accept donations and these do help to cover the cost of providing the web site and online database.
The project also now displays "Google Ads".
Whenever these are clicked by a visitor, the project is credited with a small sum of money.
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