Memorial Day Memories

Memorial Day is the perfect opportunity to do some family history with the family!  We traditionally visit the grave sites of our grandparents to decorate them with flags (for the veterans) and flowers.  Bountiful sets up a field of crosses to remember all the veterans buried in that cemetery.  We took a flag and put it at the cross of Kevin's dad, Lee Watt Robins.

Lee Watt Robins - Veteran Memory Marker

Since we were going to be at the cemetery I decided to take my cell phone and use the GPS feature and the Billion Graves app to take photos of family graves, upload them to the internet and then transcribe them into the Billion Graves database making them searchable for anyone, anytime, any where in the world!  Plus it is amazing technology and a lot of fun!  By the way did I mention that the Billion Graves app is FREE?

Kevin's Parents Marker

The east side of Kevin's parents marker

Kevin's sister Susan is buried just east of his parents.

The other cool thing about this app is that you simply point and shoot the picture.  You then upload to the website at your convenience and the photos are placed in a file where you can either transcribe and edit them or simply turn them over to the general public and someone else will do that for you.  The app, using the GPS feature in your smartphone determines the latitude and longitude of the grave, the name of the cemetery you took the photo in and maps the gravesite for you!  Love it!

The cemetery where my paternal grandparents and Uncle Joe are buried.

 I also take a photo of the cemetery sign--two reasons for this:  First I have a poor memory and it helps me remember who is buried where, and secondly it is nice in my genealogy file to have this information for others.  I am amazed how many cemeteries are listed under several names and having the sign as a starting point really helps.

My dad's brother and my uncle.

My paternal grandparents

I took my camera along to take photos just in case the phone thing didn't work out I had a backup for my own use.  It is always nice to have a photo in case I want to upload to other online sites such as Find A Grave or to blog or digitally scrapbook with them.

 Kaysville City Cemetery is the resting place of choice of many of Kevin's ancestors.  Both of his grandparents are buried here as is his baby sister and many others--including ancestors who came here from Nauvoo!  We love to go and roam around looking for new descendants!

Kevin's paternal grandparents

Kevin's maternal grandparents

Kevin's baby sister, Kristine

I hope to add this tradition to my vacation list and as we travel to take the time to stop and seek out the burial spots of other ancestors to add to my family history database.  It helps these relatives become real individuals for me.  P.S.:  as we reflected over memories at the graveside of Kevin's parents with his sisters I was quietly compiling a list of places I need to visit and document!  Happy Memorial Day family and to our ancestors--thanks for the legacy of love you left us!