Find a Grave is a free website that allows you to search and add to a global online database of cemetery records. It was initially launched in the late 1990's as a site to locate the burial sites of celebrities. But later expanded to include graves of non-celebrities. With the help of an army of individual contributors, the site now contains over 180 million burial records. In 2013, the site was purchased by Ancestry.com. Building on their systems expertise, searches on Ancestry.com will now show hints for Find a Grave records. Ancestry has also integrated FindAGrave data with Google Search, Familysearch.org and other sites, that link you back to individual Find a Grave memorials. But, remember, you do not have to pay to use search directly on www.findagrave.com
On the www.findagrave.com home page, you can search for individual cemeteries by location, or for an individual person's memorial. Each known cemetery also has its own home page with several search options to help you locate individual memorials. It typically lists its location and a "Show Map" link. Active cemetery listings may include contact information for its management, with some also listing the cemetery's website. Cemetery listings generally include a few photos of the cemetery, and may include information about the history of the cemetery and/or the condition of the cemetery. Some smaller cemeteries are located on private land, so entries may also indicate if access is limited.
Individual memorial pages are created and maintained by volunteers. The Erie Society for Genealogical Research has several active members who volunteer to help ensure our local cemeteries are well documented. However, anyone can volunteer by simply adding new memorials (duplicates are not permitted), or suggesting edits to existing memorials. Of interest, information on individual memorials may be limited, or extensive. This happens because many initial memorial entries were created by uploading records for an entire cemetery, or when volunteers survey and photograph headstones at the actual cemetery. Memorials are also created by volunteers who scan newspaper obituaries, or find local burial information through their own genealogy research.
Find a Grave is imperfect, and sometimes inaccurate, but it is invaluable. The philosophy driving the volunteers: everyone deserves to be remembered. So, when you locate your ancestors, don't hesitate to suggest edits that will enhance their memorials with photos and accurate or additional information. If you manage a memorial, you can make your own edits, and have the ability to write a biography. Given most memorials are created by volunteers who are not related, you can submit a request to transfer management by clicking on the "Suggest Edits" tab, and then the "Suggest Other Corrections" tab on an individual memorial. We recommend a kind note that states your interest in maintaining the memorial, such as an explanation of how you are related. However, be mindful that Find a Grave has transfer guidelines that are followed more strictly by some than by others. Alternatively, you may find that a memorial for one of your ancestors is already maintained by one of your relatives! ____________________________________________________________________________________
The Erie Society for Genealogical Research Cemetery list: We have prepared the list below, sorting known cemeteries in Erie County alphabetically. To view this list by city/township location, go to our tab on Erie County Cemeteries.
The number given in parentheses indicates how many individual memorials were posted for the respective cemetery at a point in time. It is not the same as the number of interments, which is usually larger. The numbers are constantly changing as volunteers post more memorials.
We believe the list for Erie County, Pennsylvania is pretty comprehensive. However, some abandoned cemeteries may not be listed. Do you know of a cemetery in Erie County that is not listed below? Please contact us at [email protected], so that we can update our list. Erie County Cemeteries A
Saint Francis Xavier Cemetery (1,152) (note: Sterrettania Cemetery and St. Francis Xavier Cemetery are on one continuous piece of land. Interments are often incorrectly attributed in Find a Grave to the adjacent cemetery.)