Finding Family Through Headstones

Transcript: 

Host (Heather Haunert):
Hi everyone and welcome to The Family Treehouse, a podcast series brought to you by Storied, where I chat with people who have a passion for genealogy, storytelling, or both. I am your host, Heather Haunert, and I cannot wait for you to hear from today’s guest.

Cathy Wallace is the Special Projects Coordinator at BillionGraves. She’s passionate about family history and preserving memories, and she helps lead global efforts to digitize headstones and cemetery records. I love that—I think that would be a cool gig!

Cathy is all about connecting the past to the present, so she is the perfect person, I think, to chat with about legacy, storytelling, and why remembering matters.

Cathy, welcome to the show!

Guest (Cathy Wallace):
Thank you, Heather. I’m so happy to be here!

Host:
Yeah! I cannot wait to hear all about the awesome things going on with BillionGraves and how your site can really help kickstart things for people that are researching or storytelling.

Guest:
Thank you.

Host:
So Cathy, tell us about your journey into family history and how you became involved with BillionGraves.

Guest:
Sure! My love for family history began when I was just 16. My grandmother and her sister were identical twins, and they were born in 1912. Their mother didn’t know she was going to have twins until they were delivered.

Host:
Oh wow.

Guest:
They had chosen one name for a baby girl—Margarite Alice. But when there were twin girls, my great-grandparents decided to just flip the name around and use it again. So their names were Margarite Alice and Alice Margarite.

Host:
I love that!

Guest:
So I knew my grandma’s twin as Aunt Alice. When I was 16, Aunt Alice invited me to her home. She went into the guest bedroom, got down on the floor, and pulled out this huge chart from under her bed. It was a family tree that went back to the Mayflower—it had over 3,000 names on it!

Host:
Oh my gosh.

Guest:
She showed me their names and told me their stories. The Mayflower gravestones tell the story of 102 passengers who set sail to America in 1620 in hopes of a better life. They wanted to worship in peace. The trip turned into a 66-day voyage, and because it took nearly twice as long as anticipated, they ran out of food and got sick.

Every year at Thanksgiving time, we put a little envelope next to each person’s plate. Inside, we have five grains of corn. Almost every year, a child—usually about four or five years old—will look at that and say, “But that’s all the food they had to eat every day?”

Well… yes. Sadly, 53 of the 102 passengers died within months. Even though more than half didn’t survive that first winter, there are still an estimated 35 million people today who are their direct descendants.

Host:
That’s amazing.

Guest:
So those descendants ponder the sacrifices the pilgrims made. Their voyage, their love for God, their service for each other, and their courage still inspire us generations later.

As my Aunt Alice finished her story, she asked if I would become the family historian.

Host:
Of course you said yes!

Guest:
I did! Later, BillionGraves caught my attention. It was such an innovative way to preserve family history. I joined the team because I was really impressed with the technology and wanted to help others find their family stories.

Host:
Two questions! First, do you have that chart?

Guest:
I do.

Host:
Is it huge?

Guest:
Yes! She used the back of a roll of wallpaper to write it.

Host:
Oh my gosh—that’s amazing!

And second—because their names were just reversed, does that ever cause problems in records?

Guest:
Yes, totally. When we post their information online, we often have to call the company and ask them to lock the records because they get confused. Even though we post photos that clearly show there are two people, folks still assume it’s the same person—same name, same birthdate.

Host:
Yeah, I can see how that would be tricky.

Host:
So Cathy, for those who aren’t familiar, can you explain what BillionGraves is and how it’s transforming the way we do family history?

Guest:
Yes! BillionGraves’ mission is to preserve the information recorded in cemeteries around the world and make it searchable for genealogical research. When you’re looking for distant ancestors, it can be a challenge. Even if you know which cemetery they’re buried in, you could spend all day wandering around looking for the gravestone.

With the BillionGraves app, you can just enter their name and the app will show you exactly where the gravestone is. To record gravestones, you open the app on your phone, point, and tap to take a photo—row by row. Each photo automatically gets GPS coordinates.

You can do this on your own, with family or friends, or even with a big organization. Then just hit the upload button. You can transcribe the names and dates yourself, or other volunteers will. And then it’s available to millions of families worldwide.

Host:
It’s amazing. I’ve used it, especially since I’m a transplant to Georgia from Indiana. I’m not familiar with the cemeteries, so using the app to find gravestones is incredible.

Guest:
Yes! And if you find one person with a specific last name, you can search and see who else with that name is buried in that cemetery. You might find a daughter-in-law or grandchild with a different last name in another section.

Host:
I love the app.

Tell us—BillionGraves is a game-changer for people trying to trace their roots. Do you have a memorable success story or example of how someone discovered something important through the platform?

Guest:
Sure. You’re right—we help volunteers all over the world plan cemetery projects. One of the biggest was called Rescuing Our Roots, led by Joseph Miller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His project ended up gathering over a million records!

Joseph was focused on making connections—not just hitting numbers. One of the most touching connections came when he met Reverend Terrell Jordan, a youth pastor at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

Joseph is a stake president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Terrell invited him to speak during Black History Month about honoring 28 African Americans buried without markers. Joseph told the congregation about the project and encouraged them to download the BillionGraves app to help preserve their history and grow their trees.

Terrell had told Joseph about his brother Lonnie, who died in 2002 of a heart attack. Over the years and several moves, Terrell had forgotten the location of Lonnie’s gravesite and couldn’t visit.

Standing in front of the congregation, Joseph opened the app, tapped “Find Headstones,” and entered Lonnie’s name. Within 10 seconds, they found it—and the congregation erupted into applause.

Host:
That’s amazing.

Guest:
Terrell went to his brother’s grave for the first time in 21 years. He wiped away tears and wandered the area, taking photos of family and friends’ graves. He even called his mother for more family history info.

Now, they’re trying to locate his grandfather William—the 29th African American confirmed buried in Oak Hill Cemetery without a marker. It’s an important heritage we need to preserve.

Host:
That’s such a powerful story. And that applies to so many families, not just African American ancestors—there are unmarked graves everywhere.

Guest:
Absolutely. And if any listeners have family in unmarked graves, there’s a really easy way to preserve their record: write their name on paper or print it out, lay it where they’re buried, take a picture using the BillionGraves app—and it will be preserved just like any beautiful gravestone.

Host:
That is the best advice I’ve heard in a bajillion years. That’s amazing—everyone, that’s your challenge!

So Kathy, why do you think it’s so important to capture personal stories, not just facts? And do you have tips for learning more about ancestor stories—even just from gravestones?

Guest:
Yes! Storytelling is essential to genealogy because it makes the past feel alive and relatable. It helps us see ancestors as real people—not just names with dates. When we share stories, we connect emotionally. It helps future generations understand who they are and where they come from.

Most gravestones have a birth and death date—but also a dash. That dash is the story of their life.

There are often clues on the stone: military service, occupation, family members, religious symbols, fraternal organizations like Freemasons or Oddfellows.

If you find a religious clue—contact nearby churches. If it lists military info, find others who served in that regiment. And sometimes, gravestones list birthplaces. I once found a gravestone that said my ancestor was born in Woodville, New York. I remembered I had a photo taken in front of a stone house in Woodville, but nobody was identified.

I posted the photo online and noted the Woodville gravestone. A year later, a man messaged me—he and his wife had bought that stone house and were restoring it. In the attic, they found a scrapbook of the home’s history—half the pages were about my family, spanning four generations.

Host:
No way! That’s incredible.

Guest:
It was amazing. He scanned and sent me dozens of pages and photos. I’m so grateful for that gravestone clue—it led to an entire branch of the story.

Host:
Have you visited the house?

Guest:
Not yet. I have a book about it, and my great-aunt went and took pictures. I’d love to go someday.

Host:
That’s such a good reminder to keep digging when you find clues.

Now, BillionGraves relies heavily on volunteers. What role does the community play in preserving and sharing these histories? How can our listeners get involved?

Guest:
Volunteers are at the heart of BillionGraves. We couldn’t do this without people who take photos, transcribe records, and share stories. Whether you’re brand new or experienced, there’s a place for you.

Just download the app and start photographing gravestones in your local cemeteries—or transcribe names and dates from existing photos. Every effort helps.

And if you want help finding a cemetery in your area that still needs photos or want to plan a group project, you can contact me at: [email protected].

Host:
I’ll include that email in the show notes!

I have to say—I’ve taken pictures for BillionGraves and my husband, who’s not really into genealogy, gets totally fired up when I ask if he wants to go on a cemetery walk. It’s the one thing he loves doing with me.

Guest:
That sounds like my husband too! He takes pictures at cemeteries even when I’m home working. It really is for everyone.

We also get huge youth groups involved. They can take thousands of pictures in just a few hours. Each person can do about 250 photos per hour.

Host:
That’s a great tip for getting the younger generation involved!

So, what’s next for BillionGraves? Any exciting features or initiatives?

Guest:
Yes! We’re excited about using AI to help transcribe gravestone data. Volunteers still help too, but the AI improves speed and accuracy.

We also have a new feature: when you search for someone and find their gravestone, the system now shows nearby historical societies. It links to FamilySearch and can locate where the person lived or was born—then shows local societies you can contact.

Host:
That’s amazing! I love that you can reach out to a society and find yearbooks, Bibles, handwritten records—who knows what!

Guest:
We also now offer transcription via mobile phones—which is great for youth groups. Everyone has a phone, and they can confirm or improve AI transcriptions on the go.

And we continue expanding our global reach. We have volunteers photographing in Armenia, Poland, the UK, Thailand, Argentina—truly around the world.

Host:
I didn’t realize all that about the historical society feature. You’ve given me a weekend job!

Okay, one of my favorite questions—what is a favorite family story of yours?

Guest:
Well, I mentioned our Mayflower ancestors. One was John Howland, who came over as a servant to Governor Carver. During a storm on the Atlantic, he fell overboard—but grabbed a trailing rope and held on. The crew pulled him back with boat hooks.

He survived, later married Elizabeth Tilley, and they had 10 children, nearly 90 grandchildren, and now more than 2 million descendants.

His descendants include Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush; poets like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; religious leaders Joseph and Hyrum Smith—and me!

Stories like that give me strength in hard times. And if we preserve these stories, they’ll help our descendants too.

Host:
That’s incredible. Thank goodness he grabbed that rope!

Last question: For anyone inspired to start preserving family stories, where should they begin? Any tools or resources on BillionGraves to recommend?

Guest:
Start now. Talk to older relatives. Record their stories. Digitize photos. Build a family tree. Go to cemeteries before gravestones deteriorate.

The more you document, the more your descendants will have to discover.

And again, if you’d like help finding a cemetery or want to plan a group project, reach out at [email protected].

Host:
Thank you, Cathy. Your passion shines through, and I loved our conversation.

Guest:
Thank you, Heather. It was wonderful to be here.

Host:
Until next time, friends—embrace the power of your family’s untold tales and start your own journey of discovery. Let the ink flow, the words dance, and your ancestors’ voices echo through the generations—only at Storied.com.

Have a great day, everyone!