Greeneville Sun: TN Historical Commission Unveils Online Database Of Cemeteries. “The Statewide Cemetery Map and the Tennessee Historic Cemetery Register are now available online in ArcGIS format for public use on the THC’s website. The map has been populated by data from the commission’s cemetery database, which currently contains more than 32,500 cemeteries statewide, a news release notes.”
ERR (Estonia): New database helps Setos find graves of relatives on Russian side of border. “Taking care of relatives’ graves is an extremely important part of Seto culture. However, in recent years, many Setos living in Estonia have been unable to get to their ancestors’ burial sites on the Russian side of the border to ensure their upkeep. Now, a new database has been established to help keep track of the Seto and Estonian graves in neighboring Petserimaa.”
WIRED: The Spooky Quest to Build a Google Maps for Graveyards. “[Atlantic Geomatics] has now taken on the task of mapping every churchyard and municipal burial ground in England—a total of more than 18,000—to create a Google Street View of graveyards in which descendants, genealogists, and conservationists can click on a map and see who was buried there and when.”
New York Times: Family Recipes Etched in Stone. Gravestone, That Is.. “At his home in Washington, D.C., Charlie McBride often bakes his mother’s recipe for peach cobbler. As he pours the topping over the fruit, he remembers how his mother, aunts and grandmother sat under a tree in Louisiana, cackling at one another’s stories as they peeled peaches to can for the winter. Mr. McBride loved this family recipe so much that when his mother, O’Neal Bogan Watson, died in 2005, he had it etched on her gravestone in New Ebenezer Cemetery in Castor, La., a town of about 230 people.”
Westchester Journal News: New database highlights African American burial grounds across NY state. “The following is an unofficial database of African American burial grounds in New York, compiled by this reporter through research and information provided by various sources. It’s aim is to help the public in tracking these sacred sites. It will grow with your input.”
Congresswoman Alma Adams: Adams, McEachin, Fitzpatrick introduce African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act . “The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, would establish a program at the National Park Service to provide grant opportunities and technical assistance to local partners to research, identify, survey and preserve these historic sites.”
WUSF: As Hillsborough County explores forgotten cemeteries, a national archive tracks lost Black graves. “Meanwhile, The Black Cemetery Network, started a year ago by another USF anthropologist, Antoinette Jackson, is tracking Black cemeteries that have been neglected, partially relocated, found beneath developed property, or lost entirely…. As of Sunday, the site lists 12 cemeteries in Florida and 41 nationally. It lists founding information, relevant history, maps, and links to news articles.”
Anash.org: New Database Documents Every Grave In Lubavitch. “A new database is enabling users to search and find matzeivos of those buried in the Jewish cemetery in the town of Lubavitch in Russia. For the past several years, the Lubavitch Organization in Russia, under the leadership of shliach Rabbi Gavriel Gordon, has been conducting research and restoration work at the historic Jewish cemetery in Lubavitch. Hundreds of matzeivos were uncovered, raised, cleaned and restored.”
Independent Wicklow: Online archive for Rathnew Cemetery is near completion. “NEW signs have been delivered and are waiting to be installed as part of the online archives project for Rathnew Cemetery. The online archive will document over 6,500 burial plots and will include a digital map showing each plot and the number of the grave.”
Petchary’s Blog: Jamaican Jewish Cemeteries Preservation Fund launches its database. “The Jamaican Jewish Cemeteries Preservation Fund (JJCPF) launched its database of Jewish burial grounds in Jamaica today. Volunteers conducted extensive cataloguing of the sites across the island between 2008 and 2017. They recorded 33 burial locations including synagogue-purchased cemeteries, family burial grounds, those that were sold and no longer exist, and plot markers which were part of an interment ground that is now on residential property.”
The Bergen Record: More historic burial grounds for African Americans discovered in New Jersey. “How many African American burial sites are there in New Jersey? As it turns out, there are more than the 50-plus sites that were identified in an unofficial database published by NorthJersey.com and the USA Today Network in August. Readers responded to a request for other African American burial sites that were not included in the initial article and provided additional locations not previously known. Some still exist but are no longer active while others have been repurposed.”
This is actually from June but I missed it then, and it seems a good thing for Halloween. WGNO: The New Orleans Cemetery Database. “With all of its intercultural charm, New Orleans is a feast for the eyes. Millions flock to the city and our impressed with the design of the cemeteries. Recently, The Historic New Orleans Collection launched The New Orleans Cemetery Database.”
Digital Trends: Ambitious graveyard project ‘looks a bit like Ghostbusters’. “In a massive project dubbed ‘the Google Maps for graves,’ some 19,000 churchyards across England will have their headstones digitally mapped. The plan is to create a free online database that will help people research local history or learn more about their family tree. The gathered information should also help to improve the overall management of such sites.”
North Jersey: New database maps African American cemeteries in New Jersey. “Across New Jersey, numerous African American burial sites contain prominent figures and regular folks, freed and enslaved peoples. Like others across the United States, these grounds are a treasure trove ripe for discovery, connecting family and American histories. But where are they all? Researchers and genealogists would have a tough time finding a guide. There is no official database. At last count, more than 40 have been identified in New Jersey.”
The Orange Leader: USM Professor, Students Conduct Examination of Historic Louisiana Cemetery. “A geography professor at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Gulf Park in Long Beach and six of his students are engaged in a project collecting information about a historic Louisiana city cemetery, using the latest technology featuring geographic information systems (GIS) and ground penetrating radar (GPR).”
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