This is our first post in a series reflecting on our beginnings and the amazing difference our community has made since Find a Grave was created. It’s been over thirty years since then!
Find a Grave’s origins are surprisingly humble, rooted in the early days of the internet, a flatbed scanner, and the idea that people could work together all over the world, connecting and helping each other.
Recently, we sat down with Jim Tipton, the creator and founder of Find a Grave, in the peaceful shade of Mount Olivet Cemetery. His reflections offer a look back at how an interesting hobby of finding famous graves blossomed into a massive, altruistic community on a mission.
The Beginnings
Back in late 1995, when HTML and web pages were brand-new, Jim simply wanted to put something online because he was “kind of nerdy and into that world.” He initially launched a site with “noteworthy gravesites” written across the top, featuring a small collection of about 100 famous graves he had personally visited.
It’s difficult to remember the exact moment, but Jim suspects the name “Find a Grave” was created at 3 a.m. in his Salt Lake City basement. He remembers using Photoshop to create the iconic logo (a headstone with a question mark) to represent finding a grave. In an era before Google, for the website to be found he had to manually submit it to Netscape’s “What’s new” section. People would click on what’s new and go explore the site.
As the site gained traction through word of mouth, early members began mailing Jim physical envelopes and boxes, making up thousands of snapshots. He manually scanned every single picture on an Epson flatbed scanner, uploaded them to the site, and packaged many of them to mail back to the owners. Despite the limits of technology at the time, the passionate community continued to send in information to add to the site and every memorial, date, photo, location, or biography was the sharing of information for all.
Community and Technology
Jim mentioned living in London in college and going to Highgate Cemetery to explore and step away from the crowds – a true to life application for Jim’s description of “cemeteries as parks for introverts.” For years, Jim thought he was one of the few people who looked for cemeteries to visit when he was on vacation. When asked what surprised him most about the Find a Grave community, he said “that they exist.” Discovering that so many people shared his passion was exciting! As the community grew, they organically coined their own terminology, referring to their shared hobby of documenting cemeteries as “graving” and identifying themselves as “gravers.” Find a Grave is one of the internet’s earliest examples of what came to be known as crowdsourcing. But more importantly, through its mission and connecting people, it created a unique worldwide community and the largest collection of gravesite information, which continues to grow daily.
Just like today, community members had a strong connection to Find a Grave from the get go. Jim sent out temporary tattoos per request via mail and added a way for members to share their photos in the tattoo gallery. This member went a step further and had a permanent tattoo placed.
A charming tidbit that Jim mentioned was “the ticker.” About the year 2000, to track the influx of new data from the community, Jim built a tool for his computer that played a ticking sound every time a new memorial was added, a camera shutter for a new photo, and a pop sound for virtual flowers. Those sounds were magical, in that there were so many people contributing, connecting and collaborating through the site.
Pretty soon, digital cameras came along. Jim added online photo submissions as soon as the HTML web technology was available. Seeing that first digital photo roll in instantly was a massive turning point and he knew what a difference it was making to the community, being able to upload and see the benefits of their hard work immediately. Jim noted how thrilling this timeframe was as the site grew so much. Next was the addition of the community using smartphones and the Find a Grave app, which resulted in the site’s growth exploding. With so many members using the app, it’s easy to run into fellow gravers out in the cemetery and strike up a conversation about Find a Grave. Jim’s had these experiences too and they are some of his favorites.
Connection
Beyond being the world’s largest gravesite collection, the true heart of Find a Grave lies in connection. Jim mentioned memorable graves he’s enjoyed visiting, including presidential graves, Richard Feynman, Al Capone, and namesake graves like Nestle or Ford, where you realize a famous brand name originally belonged to the real person buried right here.
Standing at a gravesite provides a profound “book end” feeling, the realization that you are occupying the exact same location where they are buried and where everyone who loved that person once gathered for their funeral. He felt this when visiting the grave of Jane Wyman (Ronald Reagan’s first wife), knowing that old Hollywood figures and her family had once stood in that very spot to mourn.
We all know the feeling of connection when you are standing at the gravesite and also what it feels like to continue the search, knowing the burial location still needs to be found. Tanya, Jim’s wife, was a teenager when her mom died. She knew she was buried in Chicago, but didn’t know where. In 2003, Jim reached out to gravers in the Chicago area and asked for help finding her gravesite. Just two days later, member James Seidelman reached out with a strong lead. James contacted his brother John, and in no time, the gravesite was found, photographed and uploaded to her memorial. It was an emotionally charged moment, seeing her gravestone for the first time. Twenty years later, because of the kindness of community members locating her grave, they could pay their respects in person!
It was a lot of fun talking to Jim and hearing about the beginnings of the site! So fun in fact, that we couldn’t resist recreating his profile photo with his question mark headstone and headed over to Salt Lake City Cemetery. It took us a bit, but we think we found the right spot!
When Ancestry acquired Find a Grave in 2013, Jim helped with the transition and worked with teams in the San Fransisco and Lehi office. Since then, the Find a Grave team has redesigned the site and apps and added new features and options to help members better collaborate in this massive undertaking.
It’s astounding what the community has accomplished so far. But, even more astounding is knowing what a difference your work and the site’s reach is making in the lives of others. We’ll be focusing on more of those stories in upcoming posts.
A huge thank you to Jim for creating, developing, and running Find a Grave for all those years! What started with Jim posting about famous graves online, quickly evolved into a thriving altruistic community willing to help each other, volunteer to photograph and GPS graves, suggest edits, and work together towards the mission of recording and documenting gravesites everywhere. Through Find a Grave and the efforts of the Find a Grave community for over 30 years, anyone worldwide can discover more and connect. Find a Grave bridges the gap between the living and those who have passed, proving that even a project started by a self-proclaimed introvert can end up connecting the entire world.
In Jim’s words, “Grave on!”
Thank you everyone for your contributions! It’s a great source for historical data!
As a retired military person, I would like “Find A Grave” to be made easier to locate unknown grave sites. Also, in the case of females, is there a way to enter their Maiden
name and come up with a current name and a burial site or time of death?
That should be possible to search for if her maiden name was included on the memorial. I find that sometimes her maiden name is placed in the middle name section.
Not sure if a query can be produced to find siblings and children added to memorials. If so that could be of help as in most cases female children and siblings are listed in memorials of parents and siblings using their married surnames
To search for females by their maiden name, put their maiden name in the “Last Name(s)” search box. Then further down, under “Include:” check the tick box “Maiden name.”
I love Find a Grave!
Awsome history and have experienced the improvements as technology has evolved, have really appreciated having a noncomplcated membership over time.
Thank you so much for enabling me to find and unite/reunite with family and friends.
What a wonderful accomplishment!! So many of us are thankful for Find A Grave.
Words are inadequate to express my thanks for the presence of this site. Years back I created a memorial page for my Dad’s kid brother who died test piloting a B-29 in New Mexico in 1945 at age 27. Born after the War, I carry his name.
And then…the grown daughter of his young widow’s later second marriage found me through the site, and we connected, met in my home and she bestowed photos I had never seen. We’ve remained friends since. And when her Mom/my Aunt passed at the age of 103 a couple of years ago, I attended her funeral online, closing an almost 80-year loop for me.
And then…a Texas woman found a stack of letters in her recently deceased father-in-law’s garage. He had been my uncle’s flight instructor, and they corresponded when he finished training. He kept the letters after my uncle’s death and this lovely woman found me here and wrote me. The treasured correspondence is now mine–because of this site.
And then…another site visitor visited my memorial page and in her own research found photos from my uncle’s training classes with fellow Air Corps trainees and posted them. No one in my family had ever seen any of them before.
What an amazing place this is. Amidst all the greed and corruption and self-absorption of today’s world it is a haven of kindness, caring and support. Of friendship. Bless everyone involved in its creation, maintenance and support.
I love Find a Grave. When I started looking for my family and doing ancestry.com, it was heaven finding where my relatives were buried. When I visited the cemetery in Illinois and saw that I was related to everyone who was buried there. There
is a lot of info in a cemetery.
This site helped me find the graves of one of my gr-gr-grandfathers and three of his children that I was never able to find in other historical records.
I particularly like the concept of virtual cemeteries. It enables me to gather together the memorials in collections which mean a lot to me (like military awards, Olympic gold medalists, etc, etc) but are also available for anybody else who may be interested in one or more of these collections.
I have a virtual cemetery for members of my high school graduating class (and some who should have graduated that year). I’ve shared it with our group of class members on Facebook. Many have appreciated it and sent updates.
I love the story behind Find a Grave. I have used the site many times.
Words are inadequate to express my thanks for the creation of this site. Thank you so much!
Thank you for creating Find A Grave. I use it frequently as I research and write histories for early Utah pioneers. I like that Find a Grave is in other countries as well as the United States. Thank you so much!
I love Find a Grave. It has answered so many questions for me, and I love to enter a new memorial when I find a burial record or obit for someone who does not have one yet. I am currently going through a family tree clean-up process, and am adding memorials for everyone where I know where they are buried but they are not yet in the database.
i HAVE USED THE SITE FOR MANY YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS THE LORD PERMITS! GUESS IT LOOKS LIKE I’M SHOUTING, WHY NOT ?
I’ve always been the person whose vacation photos no one wanted to see because they were all headstone photos. I have a couple of binders of the photos, sorted by cemetery. I was so thrilled when I discovered Find a Grave and could upload those photos, in some cases, creating a memorial.
You did the world an amazing service in creating Find a Grave! The world will be forever grateful!
Before my husband and I left on vacation one year, my sister said to try to take some pictures of other things beside gravestones!
I love that I can “reconnect” family that has been eternally separated. My uncle died in San Michele, Italy, during the push for Monte Casino. He was reburied later in the Commonwealth Cemetery in Florence. The letter the Pardre sent to my Grandmother helped me to find him.
awesome idea and site, its what the internet should be!
I love FIND A GRAVE and I enjoy looking at the different people I search for. I found relatives of mine and 2 friends that died young. I’m into cemeteries too! I love to walk and read dates. It’s very interesting here in Portage Pennsylvania because we had the Spanish flu hit hard here and we had the Sonman mine explosion in the 30s. It’s interesting but sad to look at graves of those guys who met a horrible death underground so young. I’m interested in walking cemeteries just looking at dates and it’s also sad how many babies and young children are buried 😔
Find a grave (and ancestry) has been helpful in funding my great uncle’s grave which unbeknownst to me was only 20 miles from where I live. I was also able to find my Grandparents Graves and I got to visit those as well.
I learned of FIND A GRAVE in a genealogy seminar years ago, I immediately brought it up on my home computer and searched for my relatives. I found a few that a stranger had taken the photo and posted, thank you kind soul. Yet many family members were missing and going to take the photos and post them was a mission. Each person I added to the site gave me joy as they will be known, not forgotten as never alive. I feel deep responsibility to add all the family and close friends that I can, it feels like a last gift I can extend to them for their love and memories. My family is very small now, just a couple that are interested in genealogy so my people may not be searched for in future years. Yet some stranger may find them and say a hello and prayer that would not have a chance of occurring if their marker is not on this site. Thank you FIND A GRAVE for existing so death is not a dead end, and a marker can assist in genealogical and local area information. Hope someone posts my marker here one day.
I have been a member for 24 + years! Find a Grave has been so useful in my genealogy. Thank you Jim Tipton!
Thank you Mr. Tipton. Your original vision, your tools, and your heart in all of this is very much appreciated. I know that you never envisioned the database would grow so large. For myself I am most thankful for the simplest tool of all and that is the ability to give every record at least one father and one mother. Family and family members may be in many different cemeteries on this planet but when father and mother records are placed in each record, well it gives me piece of mind to see family visually all reunited. A reuniting that hadn’t occurred in 100 years sometimes between first born and last born. Thank you.
Were it not for the visit I made with my brother to Mt Olivet cemetery in Baltimore, Md, I would have never known who my 2nd great grandparents were. I found the Chase plot, and on the grave of Lizzie Chase, it said “Youngest daughter of Henry and Louisa Chase.” That was the beginning of a whole new world of finding relatives I never knew existed. I was able to trace the Chases back to Plymouth, Massachusetts and to our relatives who came to this country on the Mayflower! Thank you all you “Find A Grave” people for all the great work you do! Mary K Hall
The killer blues headstone project loves Find a Grave!
I had to laugh about some of the posters talking about visiting cemetries on vacations. Pre-internet days some of our vacations were routed through places where I needed to viist cemeteries. Our children were young so I would block print a name on small pieces of paper and send them out in the cemetery to find that name. When those nanes were found, ice cream was promised. My husband only participated when he knew ice cream was in his future.
One year as we were planning our vacation, one of the children piped up with – do we have to visit cemeteries this year? I got “the look” from my husband and I said no, we won’t do that this year. Even though I made it sound like a sacrifice on my part, we really were not going to be near any cemeteries I needed to visit.
I have a relative that sang on Broadway in the 1920s and 30s. He sang the leading role in Show Boat in 1927. I would like to be able to upload some of his recordings so family could hear them but the file extension doesn’t support it.
Find A Grave has been such a blessing to me. When my father passed away, I was just being curious about his name…. then I found this site. I was so surprised that my dad’s name and bio was there. I appreciated so much that someone took the time to do that, and after that moment, I had to volunteer to help someone else find their loved one.
I have been a member for 14 years now, and have received many messages and thank you’s from strangers that felt the same experience I had found. Thank you for building this site. You, or whomever, has taken the time to build, maintain, and improve the site is doing such a wonderful thing for all humans. I can appreciate your diligence. May God bless everyone…
— Every Person Counts
This web site has been truly inspirational in making people respect our final resting places. People are donating to repair and clean up cemeteries. Cemetery we will be buried in has placed 2 x 12″ markers for either a known unmarked plot or “unknown” one found by dousing. My husband’s 3GGs were on original cemetery board and now his sister is president! They have replaced old rotting trees, added water, rerocked and and small shelter displaying plots. Although started in late 1800s and is a relatively small country hilltop cemetery, it is not classified as a pioneer cemetery as there are a few burials every year by several families.
I like the family history aspect of Find-A-Grave. The ability to share various aspects of the lives of those who came before us and preserving them for future generations. Stories, associations, accomplishments, newspaper articles providing a glimpse into their lives.
What an interesting article. We’re all so used to clicking on a website link that we tend to forget that once an individual came up with an idea and developed it. It was good to read the human story and hear the voice behind FindAGrave. Thank you.
I’ve been a member for just 6 years. But it amazes me that when I was looking at the ‘famous’ memorials, William Shakespear’s didn’t include his ‘spouse’. So I used suggestions and put in her ID # and sure enough, it was accepted and now is part of the memorial! Apparently, no one else noticed it for 30 years. I’m glad I was able to “reunite” Anne Hathaway and William.
Thank you creating this great site!
It is a part of wonderful old internet that hasn’t been taken over by large tech giants, flooded with terrible algorithms, “AI”, etc.
I have been a contributor for over five years… it has been very rewarding assisting family and friends, locating obituaries, photographs and downloading them into the Findagrave site. It has been helpful to ask and receive permission to correct some information or add someone to a cemetery when I don’t find them, but the family has proof of the interment there.
After attending my 50 year class reunion, I became curious about the teachers at the school and their families on findagrave… what a revelation… I appreciate them more now and their life’s journey!
In an age where photo albums are becoming more rare due to cell phone photos, I believe Findagrave is more and more relevant for generations to come.. to trace their roots and locate other family members. Thank you, Findagrave..!
Jim Tipton is an absolute Rock Star!!!
I found my deceased father’s step-brother’s grave site in Canada through the site. My father never knew he existed and he would have been keenly interested in your site and the connections it affords. Wars displaces many people and this site gives opportunities through kindness and generosity of contributors to close gaps in family ties. Thank you to all.
I amazed at what Jim Tipton has envisioned and accomplished with the help of others coming together and the difference it has made in my life in searching for family on Ancestry. I was blessed to be able to “meet” my mom’s father whom I have never known or seen a picture of. I do not know if my children resemble him or I do even, but I do know where he is buried in Dallas, not that far from where I live and hope to visit him one day soon. I am extra grateful to debbs1223 for the work, dedication, and photo of his resting place that allowed me to do so!
Very interesting!! Thank you to everyone involved.
Ich bin sehr dankbar dass es Find a Grave gibt! Ein anderer Forscher hat mir dort das Sterbebild meines Großonkels eingestellt und ein anderer hat für mich Grabsteine in Kanada fotografiert. Außerdem habe ich viele viele Grabdenkmale von Verwandten in USA und Kanada gefunden und inzwischen selber auch einiges rein gestellt.
fantastic site found out most English Sturmans descend from Jewish knight from France and have been emigrating to USA since 1600s found lost part of family in Wisconsin from Wood Walton England my mums American found out she is part of biggest setler family American Cokers they are part Cherokee part jewish part English part Irish part German loads intersting stories Betsy Coker Cherokee princess Susann Wyoming Adams Yechim or Yochum USA another Cherokee lady great 7grandmother Ithink , any Sturmans want to link inn please do this site is for future generations not me especially English Sturmans thers not many on find a grave any way many other stories but this English guy is really happy for find grave even found out family and friends have died pop stars etc from find a grave including my favorite cousin Roy Coker every body on find a grave thank you nearly forgot most Sturmans are builders or artist i am carpenter builder found this out from find a grave
Thank you for this gem of a site. I have turned to it in frustration at times and been delighted to find the information I had been unable to find. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t log the hours I spent looking up my relatives in Find a Grave. But I can those were valuable hours. Thanks to all the volunteers and especially to Jim for this brilliant idea and all your hard work getting this going. It has meant so much to so many of us.
I appreciate all the work you and people all over the world have done to keep this site up and running. It is a valuable resource for we genealogists and those of us who are into taphology. I am wondering if you have Tipton ancestors from the North Carolina area, perhaps Jonathan or Joseph Tipton from the 1700-1800s. If so, please send me a fb message.
Cynthia McCurry Putman
Thank you Jim for your wonderful Idea of Find A Grave! It surely helps us Genealogy hunters! Thank you for your kindness! Very much appreciated!
Linda Devine Tennessee (Roots in Ohio, Ireland, Indiana, Canada and places yet to be found!!!!
I luv FIND A GRAVE!! When doing my research in Ancestry, I like updating Find a Grave at the same time in the hopes it will help future relatives find grandparents etc. I also love how you can go to all the different cemeteries your relatives are buried in. Being able to add a picture of an individual is so great, allowing future generations to see what a grandparent looked like/Aunt/Uncle!! Thanks to All who helped create Find a Grave!!! Much appreciated!!!
Find a Grave has been there for my family and friends
This site means more to me than words can say….especially since I am unable to drive . I have virtually visited family and friends graves, left flowers and prayers on those who meant so much to us . We were able to see the gravesites to help gain acceptance and closure when it wasn’t possible any other way! Jim’s vision has been a blessing as the creation of this website is a shining example of just the kind of way the internet should be utilized to help people and souls alike! My husband and I coordinated a road trip for my mom who couldn’t attend her best friends wake and funeral as it was in another part of the state, with several hours drive. We reached out to Marlene’s friends who also were on Find A Grave and the chat option allowed us to connect to find out details we needed to know to help make this trip a success! I did post a picture at the time of my mom beside her friends gravesite as she finally could bring her flowers, pray, and pay her respects….the picture is lost (not in our camera nor can it be found here) but the memory of that day is etched in our hearts forever.
This year is also my Grandma’s 30th anniversary of being born into eternal life. Although she is buried minutes from our home, my Mom is now 86 and has a difficult time walking to the spot my Grandparents picked as their final resting place. Once again , Find a Grave will allow my mom to place a virtual flower and pray over her own mother’s grave to celebrate this beautiful milestone! We visited May 25th the day of her passing ,but this 2nd visit with Find a Grave will provide a visual connection and more of a chance to share memories together . My Grandma, my Mom, and I are all exactly 30 yrs apart in age …..so this year is particularly a beautiful
gift . but also somewhat bittersweet.
Thank you Jim for sharing your vison with the rest of the world in need of this graceful and merciful opportunity to become(if only for moments at a time) the hands and feet of Jesus in this world and beyond!
Find a Grave has been very helpful for finding my ancestors place of burial.
Imagine my surprise at finding MYSELF listed on there. I think it should be
against the rules to list Living persons. How can I get that information deleted?
Hi Kay, please contact us and we’ll remove the memorial. Our support article has more details.