I came across FindAGrave a couple of years ago when looking for a record of an ancestor buried in Illinois. That information revealed to me that my grandmother had grown up in Illinois (my current state) before moving to Nebraska (my home state) at age 17 in 1911.

That was two years ago, however, a recent trip to a family cemetery in NE with my husband, mother and sister got me interested in grave locations again. This time I intend to stick with it and get as much information into the database as possible for my family.

So far, in so doing, I've discovered the paternal side of my family also started their American adventure in Illinois before moving on to Nebraska. Roadtrip! (to find the graves of these newly discovered ancestors buried all over IL).

For Memorial Day, we set out 15 wreaths on graves that probably hadn't had any recognition in decades...we even found an old family cemetery out in the middle of a cornfield!

Thanks to FindAGrave and a 92 year old aunt with a clear mind.

I hope to get more family and friends interested in doing this for their family tree.

Mine include Philippi, Casper, Bruning, Folkerts, Suess, Unger, Wendelin, and Moser if you would like to contact me with any information related to them.