Having used ancestry.com to find the Glessner grave sites in California recently, I decided to see what the site "Find A Grave" would be like if I volunteered to take a photo of a request. Well, there was a request for finding Gracie Page at Lakewood Cemetery here in Minneapolis after I joined yesterday, and Carpe Diem.....I seized the proverbial day and here I am this morning! This is a cemetery I have visited many times, mostly riding my bike through. Our senators, Humphrey and Wellstone rest here. So here I pulled up with the green pony in front of the Lakewood Building this morning after some snow and ice over the weekend.
Chris was very helpful and friendly when I requested information about Gracie. He explained the grave would be easy to find, as there is a family named monument to see above the snow. Here he is providing me with a map to the location.
As a seasoned researcher, I took some photos of the information in the files here. Actual death dates and the plot and grave number.
Bigger view with the map of the family plot on the left, very complete information in my experience.
This is how the site looked when I arrived at section 8, lot 76....now to find the 5 markers under the snow and ice.
I paced off 10 feet where Gracie's marker was supposed to be, and viola'. I scraped off the snow and used my car plastic ice scraper to find the lettering on grave #6
So Gracie becomes Grace Leona Page who died at age 16.
Here on the other end, are grave's 1- 4 ,which when I scraped the ice off, I had difficultly reading. Out of respect to Mother Earth and the Pages, I employed some of Trader Joe's Italian pink lemonade to melt the ice and scrape so each marker could be read.
Number Two is Stella Graves Page, 1829-1909
Then #3 is the Reverend Emery Harkness Page 1818 -1888.
So there you have it. My personal experience starting the work on Find A Grave
You can search the site, go to
http://www.findagrave.com
Thanks, Tom, for taking this request and acting so quickly! I'm new to Find-a-Grave, too, and didn't know what to expect. So I was happy to get a speedy response! It's fun to see here what the process entailed! I didn't know you went to so much work! Thank you again! I've hoped to get photos of these graves for years!
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Hey Polli, Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog. I have enjoyed sharing what I have been doing on my life's journey, and how genealogy has continued to enrich my life and build connections to others. I have journeyed to grave sites of my own ancestors mostly AND have used find a grave to confirm what I have found. Your family is the first I have decided to give back on the site. In my tradition (Dakota-Lakota) I also pray for the relatives as well, to honor Mother Earth, Ina Maka, to support the next generations to connect with life and each other in a good way. Happy to be of service. Mitakuye Oyasin "We are all related"
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