Cemetery Information Livingston County Michigan and Beyond

At any rate, during this healing process I came across a professional cemetery program that I have purchased and I will be entering in all the data I have for all the those buried in the county, and am in the process of taking digital images of all legible stones in Livingston County and scanning in cemetery plot maps, so you will be able to click and point to get lots of information and in thousands of cases you will be able to actually see a digital image of the stone.....due to the dedication of Dianne Richards and Linda Philburn and the support of the Howell Carnegie Library, they are copying all of the obits etc. from all of the old county newspapers and those will also be added to this database so another click will maybe bring you the obit. I must admit that I sort of thought there might only be about 25 cemeteries in the county, but so far have come up with 86, I have about three quarters digitized....so hopefully the legs will not give out.....

Livingston County Death Index Extracted by Dianne Richards

This index does NOT include all deaths that have occurred in the county. :(((

Please keep in mind, we do not have any additional information, you must contact the:
Livingston County Courthouse & the Clerks Office for more information
517-546-0500

7,000 Resident listing of Livingston County Cemeteries that was originally compiled from the three volumes that the DAR did in the late 1940's. This section above all else managed to confuse numerous researchers and they felt that although the job that was done was phenomenal, they were spending more time clicking from page to page and thus losing precious time on line. I have just completed the beginning of the overhaul of the cemetery residence index by changing the list to a table format and then adding in the cemetery name right next to the person interred. I have also linked the main cemetery page to each of these people. Eventually as I get all the photos of the tombstones taken of all of the cemeteries, they will be posted also. I am also collecting other readings that were not included in this collection and although they will not have an index number, I will have the cemetery and the data connected.

I have a number of people think I am totally off the edge for digitizing the various cemeteries in Livingston County, better than my trying to explain, I think this beautiful poem says it all! As I film the various sites, it is obvious that it is already way too late for many of the stones, and sadly unless someone gets organized and cleans up these pieces of Livingston County History, they will go the way of the Historic Lee Home which could not escape the wrecking ball last year and was torn down....the only remaining building in the county from that time period of 1840. :(((((

The Recording of a Cemetery
by Thelma Greene Reagan

Today we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where others cried
For Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.

Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.

Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds -
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.

Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.

Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
On a day we'd all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.

Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be treasured for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.

Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust.

Memorial Day Project: Although this project was begun several years ago on Memorial Day, why not start a tradition that will continue all year in helping others realize the importance and respect that cemeteries should be given? Another USGenWeb Coordinator for Gratiot County, Patricia Hamp has gotten Boy Scouts involved in her area as part of a giant project to transcribe tombstones all over the U.S. on Memorial Day week-end which was the brainstorm of Pam Reid. This could bring a real avalanche of genealogical data if we got the (snow) ball rolling now, if you are interested in getting involved in this project check out this site...it has great ideas! If you cannot help with this project now, perhaps put it on your lists of to do things so those of us who are concerned will not have to read another article like I read recently in our local paper about vandals destroying tombstones in the Brighton Village Cemetery. I have now filmed this cemetery digitally, and I was personally appalled....there must be 80% damage to the stones....how sad that people are no longer respectful of the final resting place of the dead. I have personally helped two different troops in restoring 3 local cemeteries here in Livingston County and hope to get more done soon.

Saving Graves - An awesome brand new site dedicated to protecting the last resting place of those who have come before us. I am hoping to link Livingston County soon.