Another follow-up to Martin Brown – Photo Requests at Find A Grave!

Geoff Rasmussen

22 Aug 2012

This is a followup to the "Researching with Geoff – Live!" webinar and my recent follow-up post here.

Remember Martin Brown's obituary from The Seattle Daily Times? It told me that Martin Brown was buried at "Washelli" – eureka! The first thing I do when I learn where my ancestor was buried is head right to Find a Grave to see if they are listed in the database. If they don't show up, I then create their memorial. Instead of clicking the "Search 85 million grave records" link, I clicked on "Search for a Cemetery" where I typed in the name, Washelli. It found two in the entire world – both were in Seattle, Washington.

Officially known as the Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park and Funeral Home, it listed nearly 37,000 interments in the Find A Grave database. I was sure to locate Martin Brown's memorial, and possibly a picture there. He was not there. No problem. I created his memorial. Next, I clicked on the Request A Photo button. It then explained:

"Great News! We have 478 volunteers within ten miles of your Request A Photo location and an additional 2,074 volunteers within fifty miles."

I clicked on the Submit Photo Request button and was done.

Two days later I received an email that my photo request had been fulfilled. Two days! Thank you to volunteer Karen Sipe! Now attached to the memorial were two pictures. The first was a zoomed in picture of Martin's marker (posted here with permission). The second was a photograph of it with other markers nearby. Guess what? His wife, Lillian B. Brown was immediately to Martin's right. Now I know when she died (1970) and I can pursue her death certificate and obituary.

Here's to another great genealogy day!

Comments (9)

Yes, Sheila – this is a Washington-specific service.

Is the AskALibrarian service only for Washington State obituaries??

Mary – their AskALibrarian service is wonderful. I’ve gone there many times.

Just received an email from the AskALibrarian. They no longer accept email requests, but you can go online and submit inquiries. http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/ask_form.aspx

Thanks for the tip, Cheri. Here’s hoping the librarians can find an obit for my long-lost cousin.

Sometimes it is as much fun doing small research projects on non family members, as it is doing your own. After many years of my own research, those “A-HA” moments come further and further apart. Recently did some research from scratch for a co-worker, and was amazed how many pages of notes I filled in just 2 evenings at the computer. Gave it all to her and her husband, and now they are working on their own. Thank you for the webinars and the ability to watch them later.

Here’s another tip that you may already know. If you e-mail the Washington based AskALibrarian@sos.wa.gov, and give them the name, date of death and town, they will e-mail the obituary to you. It can take up to 6 weeks.

I very rarely use the “Search for a Cemetery” feature on Find a Grave. I feel this feature narrows my results too muchh. Instead I use the “Search 85 million grave records” and narrow my search by state and county. Usually, I will simply put in the last name. This allows me to find more members of the family. They may not all be buried in the same cemetery. There’s always a possibly that the person you are searching for was removed from the cemetery where they were originally buried and moved to a different cemetery. This happened with my great, great grandfather William James Powell.

Find A Grave is an amazing site and is always being updated!! I was also very lucky in my request for a picture of my fathers headstone. I also received it within 2 days! I was amazed! So many wonderful volunteers. Genealogist are among the most helpful people I have ever come across!
Kristine

GR
Geoff Rasmussen

12 years ago

Yes, Sheila – this is a Washington-specific service.
SB
Sheila Burks

12 years ago

Is the AskALibrarian service only for Washington State obituaries??
GR
Geoff Rasmussen

12 years ago

Mary – their AskALibrarian service is wonderful. I’ve gone there many times.
MM
Mary Margaret

12 years ago

Just received an email from the AskALibrarian. They no longer accept email requests, but you can go online and submit inquiries. http://www.sos.wa.gov/library/ask_form.aspx
MM
Mary Margaret

12 years ago

Thanks for the tip, Cheri. Here’s hoping the librarians can find an obit for my long-lost cousin.
SW
S Williams

12 years ago

Sometimes it is as much fun doing small research projects on non family members, as it is doing your own. After many years of my own research, those “A-HA” moments come further and further apart. Recently did some research from scratch for a co-worker, and was amazed how many pages of notes I filled in just 2 evenings at the computer. Gave it all to her and her husband, and now they are working on their own. Thank you for the webinars and the ability to watch them later.
CS
Cheri Stanley

12 years ago

Here’s another tip that you may already know. If you e-mail the Washington based AskALibrarian@sos.wa.gov, and give them the name, date of death and town, they will e-mail the obituary to you. It can take up to 6 weeks.
ML
Marla Larson

12 years ago

I very rarely use the “Search for a Cemetery” feature on Find a Grave. I feel this feature narrows my results too muchh. Instead I use the “Search 85 million grave records” and narrow my search by state and county. Usually, I will simply put in the last name. This allows me to find more members of the family. They may not all be buried in the same cemetery. There’s always a possibly that the person you are searching for was removed from the cemetery where they were originally buried and moved to a different cemetery. This happened with my great, great grandfather William James Powell.
PK
P Kristine Hurd

12 years ago

Find A Grave is an amazing site and is always being updated!! I was also very lucky in my request for a picture of my fathers headstone. I also received it within 2 days! I was amazed! So many wonderful volunteers. Genealogist are among the most helpful people I have ever come across!
Kristine