by Steve Paul Johnson
June 24, 2001
When compiling a cemetery transcription, it is necessary to identify the precise geographic location of the cemetery.
There are a few good reasons why.
Identifying the correct cemetery has proven itself to be a difficult task for us folks at Interment.net. Some transcriptions sent to us have very little information describing the location of the cemetery. Sometimes, we don't know which cemetery it is. We do have our reference books with us, and we make use of various web resources out there, but still, sometimes we really don't know which cemetery was recorded.
For example, in Los Angeles County, there are two cemeteries named "Holy Cross Cemetery", one in Culver City, and another in Pomona. If the transcription does not identify the town it is located in, we have no way of knowing which cemetery it is referring to.
In many rural areas, there are several small cemeteries scattered about. Quite often, these cemeteries don't have signs identifying their names. The best way to identify these cemeteries is by providing its exact location. Without this information, it becomes nearly impossible to identify the cemetery. What happens is that we publish the transcription under whatever name is given to us. Then in the future, a different person may submit their own transcription of the same cemetery, and we won't realize that it is the same cemetery we published earlier.
By Jeanie Hale Lowe
Printed in Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 4
..It’s my property and I’ll tell you if and when you can cross it to get to that cemetery.” Says the landowner of property that surrounds a cemetery.
In response the descendant says, “I’ll go to the grave of my ancestors whenever I want to and you can’t stop me from paying my respects.”
These are two strongly conflicting sides to a highly emotional situation. A similar situation occurred in Williamson County this past summer. Monty Tyner, whose ancestors are buried in Wilson Cemetery and the property owners, Elizabeth Bowman was willing to grant limited access but feared that damage would be done to the dirt roadway and was concerned about liability. Tyner sought to visit the graves of his ancestors (including his brother, uncle and grandparents) and clean the immediate grounds around the stones as he had done for many years prior. The police were called.
Generally researchers and property owners work out an agreement and access is not limited or denied. However, the Wilson Cemetery situation is not unique. It’s happening more and more.
Unfortunately, the descendant or researcher won’t find any resolve to this dilemma in the Illinois Statutes. ISGS is interested in hearing from anyone with a similar situation concerning an Illinois cemetery. Please send comments to the attention of: Cemetery Access, ISGS. PO Box 10195, Springfield, IL 62791-0195 or email with cemetery access in the subject line to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
