Where the Bodies Are Buried, Part 4 (Finale)

Until now, I didn't realize how quick and easy it is to download (in text format) the details of any virtual cemetery created on Find a Grave.

Thanks to @confuzled, a #Genealogy buddy on Twitter, I can share this methodology with you. And it only takes a few moments!

Don't let ancestors' burial places be forgotten

In the previous three parts of my series "where the bodies are buried," I tried different methods of aggregating the final resting places of my ancestors. The goal is to distribute this information widely within my family so ancestors' burial places are not forgotten.

After trying a variety of methods, I concluded that the speediest and most convenient way is to put my ancestors on Find a Grave (if not already memorialized there), create a virtual cemetery (by surname or family), and email the link to my relatives.

However, I also wanted to be able to sort by location and cemetery and surname. In Part 3, I created a Word document to do that--copying info from my Find a Grave memorials.

But @confuzled was kind enough to explain how, exactly, to download my virtual cemetery into a text file that I can use for a Word document, etc.

Prerequisite: You must have registered on Find a Grave (free), and created a virtual cemetery (see Part 1 of my series for detailed instructions). 

Detailed directions for downloading

After logging into Find a Grave, click on the drop-down menu at top right of the screen, under your account name/photo. 

Next, select "account." You'll see a menu at left, as shown here.

Click on "data and privacy." 

You'll see a screen asking you which virtual cemetery you would like to download. 

Simply select a virtual cemetery, click to download, and you'll get a .txt document similar to the one shown at top. It's tab-delimited and can be imported into different programs. I'll be importing into Word, for instance. 

There are many more headings and data entries than shown in my excerpted sample at top. This is much more convenient than entering each memorial by hand in my Word document! 

I am grateful to @confuzled for tipping me to this handy method of downloading data from Find a Grave for my own home-made Word document or spreadsheet.

One last tip: Link to your virtual cemeteries

Dara McGivern, who blogs at Black Raven Genealogy, gave me an idea including virtual cemeteries right on a family history blog. She created a special section and developed beautiful memorials on her blog--read all about it here. 

TY to @DaraMcGivern for this idea! Shortly I'm going to add links to my ancestor landing pages (those tabs spread across the top of my blog) so cousins can easily click and find our ancestors' burial places.

This concludes my "where the bodies are buried" series. What an adventure, and I sincerely appreciate the ideas and suggestions I've been received.