Wanted: FamilySearch Volunteers to Help BillionGraves Hasten the Work

January 22, 2014 By Thom Reed

BillionGraves is the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way to gather headstone data in the world. Using the BillionGraves app, images of headstones are captured with their GPS locations. These records are made available for free to millions of families around the globe. For over 2 years, BillionGraves has teamed up with FamilySearch on numerous headstone data gathering projects. In fact, in January 2014, BillionGraves was featured on Youth.LDS.org as part of the “Photograph a Cemetery” activity for youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Since the onset of the collaborative agreement between BillionGraves and FamilySearch, BillionGraves has provided FamilySearch with unique indexed records on FamilySearch.org that have aided millions in discovering their ancestors. Every headstone image on BillionGraves can be matched directly to an individual’s FamilySearch record page to populate their family tree and confirm vital information about that individual. By linking BillionGraves information to FamilySearch, you are helping people piece together their family stories one record at a time. Because BillionGraves is the only application in the world to include the GPS location of the record, millions have made connections that have gone well beyond the computer screen.

BillionGraves wants to assist in hastening the work of documenting our ancestors. We at FamilySearch invite any and all family history volunteers to register at BillionGraves.com and begin engaging in various BillionGraves projects. The best part about BillionGraves is that it is 100% FREE. A single BillionGraves volunteer can easily capture 500 images in a single hour; a well-organized group can photograph an entire cemetery in a single afternoon preserving thousands of headstones for generations.

Can’t find a BillionGraves project? Then create your own by inviting family and friends to take photos at your local cemetery! Volunteers doing the legwork are the heart of any cemetery project! But you don’t need to create a project to contribute. A couple hours on a Saturday can turn a trip to the local cemetery into a fun and fulfilling trip away from the television and with your family.

If you are interested in organizing a project for yourself or any size group, please visit the BillionGraves.com Contact Us page and the team at BillionGraves will reach out to you to help you make your project a success. Start the work now, to preserve the memories of our ancestors.

BillionGraves will be at RootsTech from February 6 – 8 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT. Come visit their interactive booth right next to ours, booth 815, to learn more