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What Makes Interment.net Unique from Other Cemetery Records Websites?

By Steve Johnson

1. We explain our sources.

We put an emphasis on explaining the source of every transcription we publish. We explain if it came from the cemetery itself, from which specific government agency, or a church or a single transcriber. We explain how this information was compiled and when it was compiled. You already know, as a genealogist, that the most important aspect of researching your family history is citing your sources. That's why we support that.

By comparison, other cemetery records websites make almost no effort to explain where a set of records came from, how it was compiled, or when it was compiled.

2. We preserve information in its original form

We don't change or alter the information in transcriptions we publish. This is because it's important to YOU as a genealogist to know exactly what is contained in these sources. It's is important to YOU to see exactly what is there. This is what allows genealogists to know what to research and why. This is how genealogists learn what events took place when an ancestor died, was memorialized, and interred.

By comparison, other cemetery records websites allow the general public to submit edits and changes to transcriptions. When this happens, you lose the ability to see what pieces of information were there before, and why they existed. Being able to understand why one source has a different date of death for the same person as another source, helps you understand the circumstances that existed when records were produced.

3. We focus on "primary source" records, not crowd-sourced material.

That is, we publish transcriptions. from sources that originate records, such as cemetery sextons, government agencies, churches. It's important to publish each source's records separately into its own transcription, so that you can see how information might vary from one source to the next.

By comparison, other cemetery records websites will mix all these sources together into a single transcription, and make "educated guesses" as to which source has the fact, and which have the fallacies.

4. Our goal is to open up new directions, not try to guide you down a path.

We want to present you with new avenues to research, and picque your curiosity about your family history. The last thing we want to do is to make all the decisions for you. That's why we don't edit or correct any of the information in the transcriptions we publish.

By comparison, other cemetery records websites will attempt to take away these new directions by merging several sources into one piece of information. For example, a cemetery might have three transcriptions, each from different sources. That website will pick which person's name spelling is correct, and eliminate the others. Some will even match up names on a tombstone with other names in their database, and suggest that they are related. That's where so many other genealogists get led down the wrong path and end up filling up their family trees with false information.

5. We support real genealogical research, not push-button research.

The tried and true principles of proper genealogical research focus around gathering numerous sources, evaluating each one, and making your own decision on what pieces of information is accept or discard. That's we put an emphasis on explaining our sources. It's important to YOU as a genealogist to have that ability to judge information for yourself.

By comparison, other cemetery records websites are trying catering to a more lazy group of consumers who want "McGenealogy", where they enter their parents names, and immediately get the a family tree full of several generations. When you allow other people to make the connections for you, you lose all ability to understand the details of your family's history.

- Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson is the founder of Interment.net, and has published it consistently since 1997.