Find A Grave Reviews

(based on 53 reviews)

241 of 486 people found this review helpful

I've been contributing to Find A Grave for several years, beginning by adding some of my ancestors and loved ones and then branching out into fulfilling photo requests in my area and helping to document local cemeteries. I want to be sure that deceased people are not forgotten and that anyone who comes looking for them years down the road will be excited to find my work, so I don't find it weird to add the graves of strangers. I send some well wishes into the universe for each one of them when I stop by to photograph graves. I consider Find A Grave to be collaborative, so I'm happy to add new information and to transfer memorials to people who feel a connection to the deceased.

Really, the only negative is that there are some long-time contributors who frequent the forums, especially the help forum (ironically) and are truly rude and petty dictators, yet the administrators do NOT step in. These are the same people who dislike being asked to add things to memorials and definitely will not transfer memorials to non-immediate family members. It really ruins the forums and drives away the nice people.

I think Find A Grave... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

227 of 447 people found this review helpful

I am a member, have posted some memorials.

Members who behave like pseudo-administrators and demand you change the data on graves you submitted--if if they are your direct ancestors. Members who want things their way or the highway. Members who take bits from the internet and create "memorials" for people they do not know -- you may find your dead grandmother was posted there by someone who has done just that. Row mowers who post photos there without research or understanding of the person whose only motivation is the kudos they get for uploading mass quantities of photos. I have been personally nagged by one poster in particular.

Sorry, I am not impressed. Technical support there is poor and lacking. The quality of data is not there. In fighting and backbiting. Completely unfriendly environment and "community." These people are so obsessive they will check on you time and time again to make sure your submissions meet their criteria. Nuts. I cannot find much, if anything, positive to say about the site. There were categories I wanted to give zero stars, but that's not allowed here.

Buyer beware. You get what you pay for and it's free. Some posters I've encountered are not... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

247 of 476 people found this review helpful

Clearly, this is not a genealogical website that I would recommend to anyone. Initially, it seemed to be very useful for those who wished to share their genealogical research. However, I discovered that the site is insecure and that your entries can be altered without your knowledge or permission. This was extensively done in my case. The security damage included the altering and removing of biographical data that I had entered, the removal and relocation of my entry photographs, the changing of my own and other contributors' names, and the incorrect switching around of cross reference numbers to my different family memorials. Importantly, this experience demonstrated that the information available on this website could be extremely unreliable to any viewers. My efforts to delete my entries, a stated option, proved very difficult since they were put back on the site afterwards with my name changed to "anonymous." When I objectively complained of this, I was never given any explanation. Rather, I was blocked from being able to access my account and my own extensive family virtual memorial collection with the word "unauthorized!" showing up on my account. Later, this hostile response also... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

215 of 460 people found this review helpful

As a Find A Grave contributor it can be rather time consuming to add all the detailed information to individual memorials. A major annoyance is archaic place names are not supported, such as Schley County Georgia was created in 1857 from parts Sumter & Madison Counties. If your person died in La Crosse, Sumter Co., pre-1857 then you are forced to enter Schley Co.

Find A Grave is often the only available source of information where cemetery records have been lost or in states such as Pennsylvania where birth, marriage and death records are difficult at best to obtain.

I have found many far flung relations on Find A Grave and have been able to adjust family genealogical data. The discovery of 2 burials in Florida lead to obtaining information on that branch living in Florida for a decade, information previously unknown.

I have mostly been pleased with the response of other contributors when offering additional information about the persons they've memorialized. Memorials to my relatives have been transferred to my care without my having asked, which is a very nice extra step for the other contributors to have taken. In exchanging information with other contributors I've found... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

202 of 420 people found this review helpful

For all of you who don't like Find A Grave - Just hop in your car and visit 25 states and search countless records in countless counties and spend countless dollars doing so. That is what I would have had to have done to find the information I have found at this site. Some geneanologist just don't like the WWW. They think you should have to drive those miles, send and pay for those records. I have found it a great resource and have found all the volunteers to be very helpful and respectful.

What I don't like about it is the management of Memorials. Though I have only had one problem with one person, it was and still is aggravating. But I always have the option of remaking that memorial to correct it.

In short - except for one person who has not responded - I think this that it is a great site. I am grateful to the volunteers there who take the time to do what they do.

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

226 of 430 people found this review helpful

This website is a very specific resource, but for free it is very useful. I have gotten photos of gravesites of some of my ancestors and even found information that I didn't know from research using the best site (Ancestry.com of course).

This is not a comprehensive site such as Ancestry.com, but it provides a large database that can fill in the gaps. I'm glad it exists, and I use it.

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

220 of 471 people found this review helpful

Can't argue with free. Don't give too much thought to my star ratings above since I haven't had any experience with hardly any of it except searches and I can't comment on the other negative reviews. Anyway, I have found a lot that I would not have found without this site. Searches are pretty much immediate(don't know how they do it so fast).You are limited only by the information which is has been submitted by other users. Sometimes I find nothing, and sometimes I hit the jackpot.

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

249 of 452 people found this review helpful

Dear "Find A Grave" Staff,

The Name of your site makes it Very Clear.

However, For Me, your Format was misleading. Your Format seemed to have been developed to share Family Heritage. With places for Birth & Death Info, A Bio, Ability to Link family members, Up to a 5 Photo Download, the Cemetery Info. I was Thrilled - How Wonderful - I Thought.

>>> Here is My Constructive Criticism:
I have never complained about the Format in the Past. However, many cities and cemeteries are missing. There is No place for Marriage Info, Children, Religion, Occupation, Adoption Info, Immigration Info, Wills & Deeds, Cause of Death, ETC. (Many have told me that some of these bits of Info had an Impact on various Departed Loved Ones.)

After interacting with quite a few "Control Freaks" that have created Thousands of Empty Profiles - I now see, from my Actual Experiences, what your site is all about.

Profiles are created with the Cemetery Info - However, many times the Birth & Death Info is left blank, the Bios are left empty, No family Links have been made & ocassionally you might find a Gravestone Photo. So basically Thousands of Loved Ones profiles... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

239 of 437 people found this review helpful

Please check out pissed consumer. Or just google findagrave complaints. I was a member for over 5 years. I had some of my memorial deleted and reposted by another findagrave member. When I complainted they blocked me from my account. I finally got access to my account but this happened to me again. The ideal of this site is great, but the people in charge don't care. They do make money off the information people post here. Please be aware of what goes on before you put your time and hard work into posting only to have it taken away from you & credit given to someone else.

In summary, I would not recommend Find A Grave to a friend.

252 of 459 people found this review helpful

I have been a member for a while. I have found a huge amount of information for my genealogy searches. I have also been able to add a lot so others can find their families.

In summary, I would recommend Find A Grave to a friend.