2025 Photo Requests

I am requesting new photos of markers that have been restored by Historic Preservation Northwest. If these requests don't meet your needs, please disregard them. I am not affiliated with this company; I'm just a fan of their work.

Bio

I used to wonder why so many editors had a giant wall of text about their likes and dislikes in their bio. Now I know! It's a complex collaborative project without much central oversight. You learn as you go.

My approach to FG is a mixture of FG guidelines, common sense, and personal opinion. First, FG should be used primarily to memorialize the dead (so it would be nice if people didn't paste a bunch of unformatted census gobbledygook and what have you into the biography section--write in complete sentences if you can!). Second, although FG is not necessarily supposed to also be a genealogy site, it does serve as one, which is why I'm OK with some things that aren't recommended (like "burial unknowns"). Third, I understand "manager discretion," so I won't fight you if you're stubborn. Enjoy the project.

Memorial management

In the interest of reducing the number of "lost souls" on this site, I like connecting families, adding maiden names, and adding biographical information to memorials, so I sometimes take over memorial management of FG-managed memorials to facilitate these changes. I will gladly transfer management to family and likely anyone with a valid interest in the person outside FG guidelines, especially if I haven't gotten around to doing any work on the memorial.

If for some reason you feel a family member shouldn't be connected (due to unfortunate circumstances) I will consider your request, but I do think after a few generations there is no need to hide the truth about family connections. DNA is not destiny.

I don't mind connecting "burial unknown" memorials if they have otherwise been researched correctly and aren't just family tree filler.

I sometimes create "burial unknown" memorials. I understand this practice should be used sparingly. Also, if I create a "speculative" memorial in a cemetery based on death records, obits, etc., and doing so has created a hardship for photographers (for example in a cemetery where the management only gives plot info to family members), I will likely take down the memorial.

Photo requests

I don't think responsibility for determining the location of a plot should fall solely on the requestor, as the local person willing to take a photo may have better access to resources regarding that cemetery. I'd suggest photographers do their due diligence before grabbing requests. I say this as someone who has stood in the middle of a sea of unmarked plots after going haring off and realizing I'm not going to get very far finding the plot with just my phone on a weekend.

To paraphrase someone on FG: This is "Find A Grave" not "Find A Headstone" or "Find A Marker". When the plot location is clearly indicated, please consider taking a photo of the plot, even if there is no marker. Some people make helpful graphics showing the location of the unmarked plot, or place flowers in the photo to show the location, which is a really nice touch. If you're unwilling to take photos of unmarked plots, please don't claim those requests (check the memorial and requestor's notes if you're not sure).

Edit requests

I put a standard disclaimer as a note in most of my edit requests. It has to do with clutter, speculation, unverified or unnecessary information in people's bios, and efficiency. If the disclaimer offends you, just reject my edits and let me know that you would prefer we no longer interact and I will honor that. Even if you're old enough to be my mother, I'd prefer not to get a scolding. Have a fantastic rest of your day!

There is no "intrigue" or anything like that, I just disagree with those of you who put "credits" (or my personal musings regarding the person) in the bio. I think the bio should be a true biography of the person who died. If you prefer to have other stuff in there, that's great, I won't bother you again, but I will ask you to take my name out.

Calling out your disagreements with your fellow editors in a bio is also bad form, I think, but if you feel your grievance with a fellow contributor is a good way to honor a deceased person, that is of course your right. Have a great day! FG frowns on this sort of thing though.

So if your first reaction to an edit request or message is to get hostile and defensive and perhaps provide a bunch of slippery slope "all or nothing" arguments about why you shouldn't make the edit, please know that I will let you win. Cool, huh?!

I'm not saying you're a bad person, or "wrong," or whatever it is when I make an edit request. You're doing a fantastic job--keep it up!

I see this project as a collaboration, not a competition. But having control over certain things is one way to feel better about life, I get it.

But I hope things start going better for you, and you may agree we shouldn't interact on here anymore. You might catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, but you do you, and have a great day! I mean it! Sending you love and light and healing! Good luck with your memorial management, it's a big job!

About bio edits:

Hint: Look at the changes on a PC, not on mobile.

***Please do not reject an edit to the bio as "not different". Look carefully. If you disagree with me about my changes, that's a different matter. Drop me a note. Other than that: It's different! There are buttons you can press to see the changes in colored text!***

**Go to this page and scroll down to "Tips":

https://support.findagrave.com/s/article/Processing-Suggested-Edits

**(See the three squares in the upper right corner of the screenshot of the "Suggested Edits" page? One has a slash through it. That one isn't very helpful. Try the blue/orange or red/green square to see if the edits stand out better.)**

**If you're still having trouble check out the Find A Grave Forums for help.**

**The forums are here: https://www.findagraveforums.com/

**Please try giving it a good look! Thanks!**

**You can even modify what I wrote--there is a modify button. Use it if I made a mistake or took something out you think is important.**

***Also please look at the editing notes--they may inform you about what changes I am making!***

I sometimes remove living people's information from bios per FG guidelines. If this gives you heartburn, feel free to ask me to modify my edits. No need to scold me! You have the power and control.

Generally

I'd like to think I'm helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. I do sometimes make mistakes. If you think "yelling" at your fellow contributors is a good way to collaborate, I'd prefer not to have any more contact with you. Good luck though! I hope you are enjoying your hobby! It's fun and rewarding, isn't it?!

I take an interest in the genealogy and history of families I am not related to. Please contact me before transferring memorials I have edited. It's easy. They'll wait, they have eternity. I will do my best to do right by the people transferred to me. I may also transfer some unsolicited and unannounced transfers immediately to Find A Grave. I will gladly transfer memorials to family, loosely defined.

I have professional training and experience as a copy editor.

My edits improve syntax, fix typos and spacing, improve clarity, remove redundant info after merges, etc. Your ancestor and/or the memorial you manage deserves a well-written bio! If you disagree, just know that editing is not an indictment against your worth as a contributor. Go in peace.

I use paid memberships to Ancestry and Newspapers.com. Please let me know if you require proof of my suggested changes. Thank you!

I prefer the use of the word "died" instead of any euphemisms.

I think it's a bit silly to "preserve in amber" a bio or other information inherited from a previous memorial manager. Even prolific managers make mistakes. You realize there is a lot of bad genealogy out there, right? If my edits upset a cherished myth, and you reject them, that's fine, but I think accuracy ought to take precedence. Like I said, I'll provide sources. Oh well, the dead know the truth about themselves. The living will just have to muddle through.

Sources

If you ask me for sources, please also let me know the best way to contact you, and whether you have access to Ancestry or if you'd prefer screenshots or a list you can check yourself.

Photos

I like adding obituary clippings from newspapers.com rather than typing them out in the biography. If, for some reason, you want clippings taken down, I will do so. I don't always check your bio, where you say you don't like these. I generally don't add clippings for people from the last 25 years or so. Anything before 1930 is in the public domain. If you have copyright concerns regarding newer clips, feel free to let me know. I'll even straighten skewed ones if you ask.

I'm not a fan of death certificates being added as photos, except in cases where they provide some kind of necessary proof of the person's information. It's mostly an aesthetic preference. Please heed the "radio buttons" that put photos in the recommended order: Person (this means *a photo of the person* not "personal information"), family, grave, "other"!

Photos I have taken are released into the public domain. Please check captions for credits of photos not taken by me, as I cannot release those. I don't require credit for my photos but it may be helpful to supply their source if used elsewhere.

It would be a kindness if you would ask before uploading "enhanced" photos or anything other than obituary clippings for memorials I manage, especially for my immediate family. Please do not upload "coats of arms" or other decorative images, anywhere, ever.

Genealogy

It would be quite easy to figure out who I am in real life from my linked ancestors, but I'd prefer a modicum of anonymity on FG. If I send you a message signed with my real name, please respect this.

If for some reason you are poking around in my virtual cemeteries, please know that any linked ancestors do not imply proof anyone is actually related to anybody. The further out you go in my family tree, such as it is, on FG, the more likely the branches are fanciful. And most of these are "burial unknowns" who are breaking my "well-researched" rule, above. Caveat emptor.

Census and Social Security Data

Please note that the dates in the U.S. Census, especially the 1900 and 1910 censuses (which don't say "abt."), should only be treated as estimates, especially the months listed in the 1900 census. Please don't add month and year only to markers that don't show full date of birth using data from the 1900 census unless you have other official documentation.

The place the person last recieved Social Security benefits ("last residence") does not mean they died there! Use common sense and critical thinking.

Flowers

I've started adding flowers to people who don't have any. I used to worry about not knowing if a person "deserved" flowers or not. But most people are not monsters, though they may be flawed. I'll give them a flower, and they can work out their karma in whatever afterlife they believed in.

P.S. Adding white space to long blocks of text makes it much easier to read for lots of folks. Thank you and happy FGing!