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I have several complete cemetery headstone transcriptions and some additional partial cemeteries. None appear to be indexed online. What criteria from free sites or free content on paid sites should I consider, so they are available to all for the future? They are:

  • small, mostly now unused Australian cemeteries
  • visited for my own research
  • documented the details on each headstone
  • some have photographs
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    Please clarify what is intended by "complete cemetery headstone transcriptions." Do these represent a body of work that you developed about complete (specific) cemeteries at some point in time? Are they published materials or worksheets that someone else developed? The names/identities of the cemeteries would be helpful.
    – GeneJ
    Commented Dec 2, 2012 at 17:30
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    These are small, mostly now unused cemeteries that I have visited for my own research. Due to the small number of graves, I try to document the details on each headstone. Where practical, I also photograph. In addition, I have details of specific families at other cemeteries. The ones I am currently querying are not name indexed as far as I can find.
    – Very Big Kid
    Commented Dec 3, 2012 at 2:34

4 Answers 4

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One possible online site is http://www.interment.net/. They accept whole and partial cemetery listings, but give preference to whole listings.

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I really like Find-a-Grave's functionality

  • submit a whole cemetery (5 or more individuals at a time, by spreadsheet upload) or add memorials one at a time
  • add pictures, biographies, transcripts, identify grave location
  • link memorials of spouses, parents & children
  • transfer management of individual memorials to persons more closely related to the deceased
  • collaboration with others to improve a memorial page regardless of the page's ownership
  • modify a cemetery's profile page with specific information (location, history)
  • discouragement of duplicates
  • visibility in Google and as a database at Ancestry and MyHeritage etc.
  • global scope
  • ongoing site improvements in search capability, such as the added options for names, plots, contributors, and upgrades to the geographic names.

However, the Findagrave has some idiosyncrasies. The placename database uses modern hierarchies and some historic placenames are omitted (these can be referenced in the bio section). Also, the individual memorial pages make it harder to see the cemetery as a whole.
As alternatives, check with the local genealogical or historical societies to see if their websites will host the material.
Also, check the appropriate GenWeb sites to see if they are have similar transcripts.
Examples (from Canada)

If you choose to place the material in multiple places, it may be possible to cross-reference the sites.

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    Congratulations on not only answering the immediate question (Which site?) but also setting out the criteria that make this an appropriate choice. It is that second element that will give this response on-going value to future readers.
    – Fortiter
    Commented Dec 3, 2012 at 2:46
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    Agreeing with @Fortiter here -- good list of criteria.
    – user104
    Commented Dec 3, 2012 at 9:50
  • I do prefer Find-a-grave (even though I was appalled when Ancestry bought them). Much better than interment.net or billiongraves.com BillionGraves app changed the lat/long on four entries I made to be five miles away and then refused to correct it. I agree completely with everything bgwiehle said, including the negatives.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Apr 21, 2022 at 21:54
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I use Find a Grave as it is a very active site. (see @bgwiehle answer for more details)

Or you can use BillionGraves from your mobile phone.

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I would send it to archive.org first. They seem to have a very liberal policy about holding useful data for a very long time.

Then, after that, send it to other sites. Perhaps you could send them a link to your archive.org collection so they have easy access to it.

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    archive.org will hold onto the data, but it won't be very findable there.
    – Tom Morris
    Commented Dec 8, 2012 at 16:02
  • Good point. The main reason I suggested this is to reduce the chance that it gets lost before another site integrates it. I'd hate for a hard drive failure to happen while waiting for a response from a third party.
    – Grant Hutchins
    Commented Dec 16, 2012 at 19:43
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    I agree: the IA is likely to be around longer than any of the grave-cataloguing sites.
    – Sam Wilson
    Commented Jan 24, 2014 at 2:14
  • Another advantage of Find-a-grave: you can get the info online and do it right before it gets added by one of the many people who can't seem to see the instructions findagrave puts on the entry form. :-) As far as survival, Findagrave is now owned by Ancestry.com and BillionGraves by the Mormons. I don't expect either to fade away very soon.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Apr 21, 2022 at 22:00

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