MyHeritage Family Digitizes an Entire Cemetery

That's awesome! :)

Holy cow, that's a stunning number. I haven't been able to justify the purchase of a smart phone til now, but wowie, can't miss out such an amazing genealogical tool!

... now the app just needs to have 'writing analysis' added to help transcribe them faster!

There's some real dedication! Now I need to start thinking about how I could make my next cemetery visit into an event.

We could hold Snap the Headstones Rock Festivals, Justin! It could totally be bigger than Woodstock. I am so there! Just gimme a bit to round up a smartphone, huh? ;-)

Terry Jackson (Switzer) we need to get cracking on some British graveyards!! Maybe we need to meet at one of the Big 7 in London this summer - walking stick/seats at the ready!!

so is this whole thing in competition with findagrave, and the Canadian gravestone project? or are people planning on incorporating the work already done?

Частный профиль A couple of questions.
Will the app require an active data plan or will it save the data so I can use wi-fi? I don't use my data plan, too limited and expensive.
Also will I be able to import the data to Geni or will it be another copy and paste time waster?

Daan Botes - our top cemetery photographer in SA - this one's for you :-)

Eldon Lester Clark, If I recall correctly, the app separates the steps of taking the photos from uploading them. So you can upload at a later time via wifi. As for your second question, I can't speak to Geni's feature roadmap, but the licensing terms of BillionGraves would seem to allow sharing photos with their partners. I don't believe the current FindAGrave licensing terms would allow for that model, so BillionGraves (not only being a technically superior gravestone archiving tool) is in a position to allow easy importing of photos and attached documentation to our family trees.

I looked at the app and that seems to be correct.
I hope to get a definitive answer from Geni staff to the second question.
I just tried to register here http://billiongraves.com/login.php?ref=geni&fn=&ln=&ema... and got the message that my email address was already in use. Has Geni already signed me up?

Aside: Technically superior? The mobile app is great, but the underlying database (and web user interface) is really missing standardized location information. That is, one can only record birth/death locations in one of the "free text" fields -- and that info is on the markers often enough that it ought to be in separate fields (example: finding a cemetery uses 'standardized' locations ... why not also on individual fields?). It does allow establishing relationships.

It is worth noting that there is a specific field for the FamilySearch.org personID. Now, if Geni adds the same, that would make FamilySearch's "ID" a 'master index' of people ... with Geni's profile indicating which is the 'primary' ID ... perhaps.

While talking about fields, a circa checkbox would be nice for the birth date. Often you'll have a death date along with an age. Rather than leaving the birth empty, it is often helpful when searching for an ancestor when you have a birth date but no death date, to have that included.

Eldon Lester Clark this is what I found in BillionGraves' FAQ:

"Can I use a device without activating the data service to still take pictures for BillionGraves?

Yes you can! As long as you have a smartphone/tablet that has GPS capabilities then you can use it to take pictures. Simply download the app and login while you have Wifi coverage . Use the smartphone/tablet to take pictures as you normally would and then once you get back to Wifi coverage, upload them to BillionGraves. This is a great way to be able to take pictures for BillionGraves without having to pay for a monthly data plan."

For your second question, the records from BillionGraves will be automatically matched to your profiles on Geni, but you will still need to copy and paste any new information from these records to the profile.

Eldon, it also sounds like you may have already registered with BillionGraves before. You may want to contact them at support@billiongraves.com to ask about your account.

@Jeff Gentes - FYI, I use internet birthdate calculators to help when I have a DOD and an age. They're all pretty good so I haven't developed a preference, but if you Google "birthdate calculator" you'll find several sites where you can enter the info you have and it will provide the DOB. It's an extra step, but it does make things easier!

... another app feature to request!

Частный профиль Thank you for the update and I found out I am already registered I will contact them about the issue

Частный профиль Good idea.... can we start at Nunhead? My daughter lives around the corner and could ply us with tea/coffee.

Частный профиль, thanks - I have this site bookmarked. :) http://www.csgnetwork.com/reversebirthcalc.html

But the issue is that often you only have a year, thus any birthdate is a range that covers a year period, so you have two possible years of birth, unless it falls on Jan 1st or something. I don't like guessing as if I know someone was born in 1818, when they could have been born in 1817 just as easily, so I'd like a circa field, where I can say they were born around 1818, if that makes sense. :)

Terry Jackson (Switzer) Let's make it happen this year!!

Oh! That totally makes sense, Jeff! Thanks for explaining - and I apologize, I should have realized you wouldn't need such a basic tip! ;-)

What a great idea of MH!
Because my in-laws are buried in the Segula Cemetery, I am very interested in the results so that I can put the appropriate links and contents on the pages of them.

On the issue of using the GPS locator on smartphones, I now use for several years Geotagging of my pictures. As I found out, the accuracy is sometimes not better than a circle with a 10-30m radius, it would only indicate the approximate position of the grave.
Not bad if you only have to look around for 1-2 minutes to find the precise position.
After I upload images onto my PC as soon as possible, I fire up a Geotagging app (I use GeoSetter..) and adjust the exact GPS data and direction from where I took the shot, including Location tags such as Country, State/Province, City and Sublocation. Because I upload within a few days after taking the pictures, I do usually remember where I stood when I took the pictures and sometimes I need to use Google streetview to help me out.