Find a Grave

Find A Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.

History
According to the founder, Salt Lake City resident Jim Tipton, the website was developed in 1995 to address the lack of any existing site that catered to his hobby of visiting the graves of celebrities. After some time, an online forum was created on the site. The site contains millions of records.

Content and features
The website contains listings of cemeteries and graves from all around the world. American cemeteries are organized by state and county, and many cemetery records contain Google Maps (with GPS coordinates supplied by contributors) and photographs of the cemeteries. Individual grave records contain some or all of the following data fields: dates and places of birth and death, biographical information, cemetery and plot information, photographs (grave marker, the individual, etc.), and contributor information. A registered user may create memorials without any fact checking or review. Although an active user forum exists it is still possible that memorials are duplicated, incomplete or incorrect therefore, serious Genealogists should check alternate sources or personally visit gravesites. Find a Grave relies on the integrity of its registered users and has strict policies against the uploading copyrighted material.

Interment listings are provided by individuals or genealogical societies. Major institutional contributors to Find A Grave include the US Veterans Department, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and American Battle Monuments Commission, and the International Wargraves Photography Project.

Contributors must register as members to submit listings, which are called memorials on the website. Upon submitting a listing, that member becomes the manager of the listing, but may transfer management. Only the current manager of a listing may edit the listing, although members and non-members may send correction requests regarding listings. Members and non-members can submit notations, which consist of images or pictures or flowers, flags, religious symbols, etc., which are posted on the individual listings. Managers of listings may post links to other listings of spouses and parents for genealogical purposes. Members may also request photos of graves which then other members can fulfill.

Find A Grave also maintains links to memorials of famous persons such as Medal of Honor recipients, religious figures, and educators. Find A Grave exercises editorial control over these listings.