Canadian Headstones
Encyclopedia
Canadian Headstones is a project to capture digital image
s and the complete transcription of cemetery stones. It is a web-based Canadian Non-Profit Corporation which is run completely by volunteers.
, Peel County
, Ontario
. In April 2009, while volunteering as assistant webmaster of a website, he found a website archiving headstones for those who were born in County Tyrone
, Ireland
, the home of his ancestors.
Realizing the value of the information to genealogists and family historians, he set out to research the possibility of creating an archive for Canadian headstones. While there were a number of websites storing photos of gravestones, none also included the inscriptions on the gravestones. The majority of existing sites also had either no search engine feature or very poorly constructed search features. The result was the creation on 1st July 2009 of CanadianHeadstones.com
The bylaw
s of Canadian Headstones state that the purpose of the corporation is: the corporation shall gather, archive, publish and disseminate genealogical, historical data or other records of interest to family historians, genealogists
or other researchers.
In the first 2 years CanadianHeadstones.com had 220,000 records submitted to the site.
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
s and the complete transcription of cemetery stones. It is a web-based Canadian Non-Profit Corporation which is run completely by volunteers.
History
Jim McKane began his genealogical quest in the early 1970s when his father convinced him to become the keeper of the pedigree for his Lyons Clan Reunion in Chinguacousy TownshipChinguacousy Township, Ontario
Chinguacousy Township is a former municipality and geographic township in Peel County, Ontario. In 1973, when Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, it was split in half, with the northern half becoming part of the town of Caledon, and the southern half, along with the township of...
, Peel County
Peel County, Ontario
Peel County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1851 from a portion of York County. In 1973, Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, as a result of the Ontario provincial government's regionalization of the rapidly developing counties...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. In April 2009, while volunteering as assistant webmaster of a website, he found a website archiving headstones for those who were born in County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the home of his ancestors.
Realizing the value of the information to genealogists and family historians, he set out to research the possibility of creating an archive for Canadian headstones. While there were a number of websites storing photos of gravestones, none also included the inscriptions on the gravestones. The majority of existing sites also had either no search engine feature or very poorly constructed search features. The result was the creation on 1st July 2009 of CanadianHeadstones.com
The bylaw
Bylaw
By-law can refer to a law of local or limited application passed under the authority of a higher law specifying what things may be regulated by the by-law...
s of Canadian Headstones state that the purpose of the corporation is: the corporation shall gather, archive, publish and disseminate genealogical, historical data or other records of interest to family historians, genealogists
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
or other researchers.
Use
Canadian Headstones relies on volunteers to upload photos. The site steps a contributor through uploading a photo, editing it, choosing a county and cemetery, entering the names and inscription. It is then checked by a Coordinator who assists the contributor to fix any problems.In the first 2 years CanadianHeadstones.com had 220,000 records submitted to the site.
See Also
- Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Interment.net
- Poets' GravesPoets' GravesPoets' Graves is an on-line database of the last resting places of poets. The site is regularly archived by the British Library so that it remains available to future researchers.-History:...
- Random Acts of Genealogical KindnessRandom Acts of Genealogical KindnessRandom Acts of Genealogical Kindness is a web-based genealogical research co-op that functions solely by the services of volunteers. Volunteers from any part of the globe may offer services to any requester, such as research of birth and death records, public records, obituaries, marriage records...
- Tombstone touristTombstone touristTombstone tourist describes an individual who travels to visit cemeteries for the enjoyment of looking at old and unusual stones or to find the graves of famous people...