In 2010, BillionGraves was started with a goal to preserve one billion graves. That goal is still a work in progress, but to date, they have managed to preserve more than 175 million gravesites. How do they do it? Through photography.
BillionGraves preserves the history and data of gravesites through volunteer efforts, with hundreds of thousands of users taking photos of gravesites and saving these images alongside GPS information, helping families locate loved ones and ancestors all around the globe.
So, why does it matter? By taking photos of these gravesites, families can see these locations without physically having to be there, allowing them to learn more about their family history and about themselves, even if they can’t go to the cemetery themselves.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and perhaps nowhere is that more true than in a cemetery. While obituaries are vital documents that share important information about funeral services, loved ones, and the families mourning the loss of those loved ones, they are often limited in the amount of words they can share. But memorials and monuments in cemeteries expand upon what may not be able to be said, even if families were able to share all the words they wanted to in their loved one’s obituary.
Think about all the symbolism in a cemetery. A headstone may share the abbreviation of a long-forgotten organization that your loved one was once a proud member of. It might display a certain symbol that gives you insight into their family connections or what happened that may have cut their life short. A statue of an angel might tell you about their religion, and even the posture of the angel or what it’s holding can give you a clue into what beliefs they held dear. You might find that a tree was planted by your ancestor’s gravesite, one that looks so familiar to you, as years ago you felt strangely drawn to the same variety and planted one in your yard.
These aspects of your ancestor’s love and life would likely not be able to be uncovered without either going to the cemetery or seeing a photo of it. The volunteers at BillionGraves and other resources like it are truly historians and documentarians. They’re cataloguing details from the lives of millions with each picture they share.
If you’d like to contribute to these resources and help others find photos of their loved ones’ gravesites, be sure to be respectful of other cemetery visitors and careful not to include them in your photograph. And remember that historians are meant to be passive observers, so be sure not to disturb the gravesite for your photograph.