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News & How-To Formerly branded as GlobalGazette.ca Articles, press releases,and how-to information for everyone interested in genealogy and history News & How-To Home Page | Archived Articles | Sign up for our free newsletter Advertisement
Indexing Irish Cemeteries Posted 09 May 2012 By Dr. David R. Elliott When I first went to Ireland in 2004 in search of my ancestors and for my clients' ancestors I found that there were few indexes for the cemeteries. I found that some of them listed the names of the people alphabetically, without any context, maps and with minimalist information. Trying to find a specific grave was very difficult when the indexes were arranged with no context. Some other cemeteries had been indexed by the Heritage Centers, but they had a dog-in-the manger attitude and would not allow open examination of their records without paying a fee. As a result we began to index the cemeteries in the areas where I was researching using the format that has characterized the Ontario Genealogical Society cemetery indexes. Not only did we record the information on the spot, but also digitally photographed the stones with multiple shots so we had a virtual record of the cemetery. 
As we have worked in Ireland over the past eight years it was necessary to learn techniques for cleaning headstones, discovering buried stones, and using photographic tricks and various lighting methods to get the most out of digital photographs. Here, my background in archaeology came in handy. We have had the opportunity to share this information with one of the Irish Family History Societies so that they can index other cemeteries.When we published our results we included information on the memorials, complete transcriptions of the inscriptions (minus poetry, scripture and invocations unless they were particularly important), and colour plates of the church, cemetery, and interesting stones, memorials within the churches, and maps of the cemetery and the area. A comprehensive index in each book lists all of the names and cross-references them to the map and the transcriptions. So far we have indexed twenty-six cemeteries in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Wicklow. Those that we have already done are available through GlobalGenealogy.com. In my latest book, Researching Your Irish Ancestors at Home and Abroad, I have included a chapter on getting the most out of Irish cemeteries. There I have provided more information on the cleaning and photographic techniques we have developed for "digging up your ancestors," along with tips about creating useful indexes. [David R. Elliott is the owner of Kinfolk Finders and the past-chair of the London & Middlesex Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) and the vice chair of the OGS Irish Special Interest Group]. More resources from GlobalGenealogy.com:
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