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A Visit to a Cemetery

September 12, 2025

As I mentioned last time, I’m a big fan of cemeteries. I love to visit the cemeteries where my ancestors are buried. However, there is such a thing as being too focused on cemetery visits.

 

Many years ago, I asked my husband if he’d like to take a genealogy research trip. Although not a genealogist himself, he has always been happy to tag along on my genealogy excursions.

 

My plan was to visit either Gloucester County, New Jersey or Meeker County, Minnesota. New Jersey is the home of generations of my husband’s family, and Minnesota is where my Fernelius Family settled after they emigrated from Sweden.

 

Both locations have great local historical/genealogical libraries. Both counties are the site of several cemeteries I’d long wanted to visit. I had two options because it was January, and I didn’t think tromping through snowdrifts would be a good research strategy. Hopefully, one of the counties would be snow free.

 

Quick telephone calls to the two libraries confirmed that Minnesota had not had much snow that winter, but New Jersey had had a large snowstorm a few days earlier. Minnesota it was.

 

Meeker County is about sixty miles west of Minneapolis. Minneapolis is an easy flight from Denver, and we rented a car to head out to Meeker County. We spent the morning at the Meeker County Historical Society at the GAR Hall and found numerous records pertaining to my family.

 

When I told the librarian that I wanted to find the grave of my great grand uncle, Louis Lindbergh, she helpfully found and copied a handmade map of the local cemetery indicating where he and his family were buried. The cemetery was close to town, and I figured we’d easily locate the graves I wanted to see.

 

We researched a bit longer, and I realized that it was getting late. The winter sun would soon be going down. My husband and I headed to the cemetery. It was easy to find. Unfortunately, despite having a map, we were quickly lost once we got into the cemetery.

 

By this time the sun was nearly down. It was about ten degrees, and a sharp wind had picked up. Neither of us wanted to stay outside very long. We split up to see if we could locate my uncle’s grave which didn’t seem to be where the map said it should be.

 

After what seemed like a long, cold time checking headstones, my husband called from across the cemetery. He’d found the Lindbergh graves. I quickly took some pictures, and we got back in the car. Before we left, we checked the map again to see how two experienced map readers like us hadn’t been able to follow it.

 

We found that the map was not oriented in the normal way. North is usually at the top of the page, with west on the left side and east on the right side. For some reason, the person who drew this map put north on the left side of the map. The directions were written along the edge of the map in very small, light handwriting. No wonder we couldn’t find the graves. We were looking in the wrong direction.

 

I was happy to learn where my uncle was buried and to be able to take pictures. However, I learned a couple of things that January day. Never assume that an amateur-drawn map will automatically show north at the top of the page.

 

Also, just because there’s no snow, that doesn’t mean that January in Minnesota is a good time to visit cemeteries. Winter is a great time to visit archives and libraries, but not such a good time to tromp through cemeteries.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

 

 

 

Off to the Cemetery

August 29, 2025

With summer winding down, I’m ready to visit ancestral cemeteries. Fall is the perfect season to tramp through graveyards. The weather is cooler, but it’s still pleasant. The bugs are fewer, and there’s little chance of snow covering the headstones you want to see.

 

Over the last few years, websites such as Find a Grave and Billion Graves have made it possible to visit an ancestor’s grave without ever leaving home. They’re a fantastic way to visit faraway cemeteries that might be hard to get to in person.

 

I use online cemetery databases frequently. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to virtually visit cemeteries in places like Baker, Montana and Vancouver, Washington. While I’d like to visit in person, it just hasn’t been feasible. Seeing pictures of the headstones of my relatives is the next best thing to being there.

 

However, whenever I get the chance, I prefer to visit in person. Over the years, I’ve made detours to visit cemeteries whenever I could. For example, one year my husband took a trip to King Mountain, Idaho (near the little town of Arco) for a gliding safari. I tagged along, not because I’m crazy about gliders, but just because I like to see areas I haven’t seen before.

 

What really sealed the deal for me was that my husband always spent a night in Pocatello, Idaho on his way to King Mountain. Pocatello happens to be the site of Mountain View Cemetery – a cemetery where several of my great grandfather’s siblings are buried. I’d seen their graves online, but I wanted to see them in person.

 

My husband was pulling a glider, but I wasn’t to be deterred in my quest. The cemetery had narrow, dirt roads that resembled paths. My husband carefully maneuvered the long glider trailer through the roads until we located the gravesites. I hopped out of the truck and took pictures. I wandered around the area and found several other family members.

 

I’ve never been someone who felt the presence of those who are buried at cemeteries. However, there is something special about walking around the area of a grave and looking at the trees and shrubs and thinking about how it must have been when the burials occurred.

 

That cemetery visit accompanied by a glider trailer is a memory I won’t forget. Somehow, visiting those relatives’ graves made them more real to me – not just a picture online.

 

Over the years I’ve visited many other cemeteries in places where my travels don’t usually take me. I’ve always been unexpectedly moved by the experience of visiting some of these seldom visited graves.

 

Fall is almost here, and I’m off the cemetery again. Or I’d like to be. I just need to figure out a reason to pass through Baker, Montana. I want to see my great grand aunt’s grave there in person.

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

University Libraries

August 15, 2025

This week I took a tour of the Coe Library at the University of Wyoming with the Albany County Genealogical Society. The tour focused on the library’s resources for genealogists. Highlights included the Chisum Special collections and an overview of the university’s huge digital newspaper collection.

 

Anyone who has ancestors in Wyoming will find a wealth of information at the Coe Library. It would be worth a trip to Laramie to explore its resources.

 

The tour reminded me that university libraries are an often-overlooked genealogical resource. They are frequently the repository of special collections including historic maps, manuscripts and more. In addition, university libraries contain academic books that may be of genealogical interest. Finally, university libraries usually provide access to newspapers in their locale.

 

If an ancestor attended a specific university, university libraries may hold yearbooks and other records about him/her. Prominent (or even not-so prominent) graduates of a university may have deposited their personal papers there. This may be true even in cases where the graduate lived his life in places distant from the university after he graduated.

 

Professors may also have deposited their professional papers in a university’s special collections. For example, a distant cousin of mine was a professor at the University of Utah. He donated all his papers, professional and personal, to the library. The personal papers, which were not directly related to the university but were included in his donation, contained handwritten family memoirs written by his various cousins at the family’s annual reunion. In addition, there were originals and copies of old family photos that I’d never seen. I found this treasure trove of family information by searching the university library’s catalog.

 

The first step in using university libraries is to access their online catalog. This can help you get a feel for what the library may contain and how you might access it. Many items at university libraries will be one-of-a-kind items and may require an in-person visit. Other items may be available through various interlibrary loans and online.

 

Books at university libraries are often available through resource-sharing systems such as the Prospector system which allows patrons to borrow materials from libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. Other areas have similar systems.

 

No matter where your ancestors lived, there was likely a university nearby. Be sure to check out their library, even if your ancestor didn’t attend that university. There will likely be books and newspapers and other materials that can further your research.

 

Happy Searching,

 

Carol Stetser

Researcher

Larimer County Genealogical Society