Using Plus Codes to identify graves in old cemeteries

[George Klucsarits]

Good day,

I did a quick search on the topics and didn't find anything related to cemeteries, but a recent visit to a family plot several hundred miles away made me think that this might be an ideal application for Plus Codes.

Many older cemeteries have only part-time caretakers at best and it can be difficult for people to locate graves. Even if there is a location, such as Row X, Plot Y in Section Z, the markers for the areas might be long gone on illegible.

The benefit I see of Plus Codes is the scale; the smallest grid reference is about the size of a plot and even if it doesn't line up exactly, it definitely gets you within a meter or two. 

If an accurate diagram of the plots already exists, it should be relatively easy to simply overlay the Plus Code grid on top and assign the plots to the nearest grid. In the case of older or less organized cemeteries, then a survey on foot would probably be the best option. Here in South Carolina there are plenty of small, mostly abandoned, family plots. Having this information would be a boon to relatives or genealogists. 

Is anybody aware of any applications along these lines, or does anyone have any thoughts on how to best implement it?

Regards,

George

[Richard Abas]

have u seen billiongraves.com?

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[George Klucsarits]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for that link; I'd never heard of it before. 

Looks like a very interesting project. I'm wondering if there is any benefit to using the Plus Codes as an adjunct to the on-the-ground efforts of the volunteers.

Regards,

George

have u seen billiongraves.com?

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[Andreas B]

Hi George,

you are right, this is something where plus codes could be useful. The size of cemeteries should allow to omit the first six or sometimes even eight character, leaving a short string like "CF+GHJ" or even just "+GHJ" to properly address the site of a specific grave on a cemetery, as long as the cemetery's location is known. This code would continue to address a site even when the whole cemetery gets redesigned or abandoned, making it more useful than "section/row/plot" in the long term.

The question is, what implementation of functionality is really necessary for this to be adopted? Individual people can already find out the location (and plus code) of a grave using their smartphones and Google Maps, then shorten it as necessary and pass down the code to future generations. Could there a need or demand for having functionality like this in a special-purpose app?

[George Klucsarits]

Hi Andreas,

Yes, the implementation part is where I'm lost at the moment. I'm wondering if there would be any interest from cemetery managers to agree to adopt Plus Codes as a standard. They could still use whatever Section/Row/Plot system they have now, but simply add the Plus Code. You touched on the advantages in that regardless of how the cemetery might be redesigned. Maybe we could think of Plus Codes and cemeteries as your final, permanent forwarding address.

For modern cemeteries, I would think that they could provide a simple lookup by name, date of birth or death, etc. They could then include the plot information and the Plus Code. I'm thinking of a race I just ran and the lookup information for the finishers; enter one or more qualifying bits of information and get the results.

For older cemeteries, or those not actively maintained, projects similar to what billiongraves.com is doing could be encouraged. In fact, since billiongraves.com already has GPS coordinates, adding Plus Codes to their data would be relatively easy.

I think the best solution would be to encourage cemeteries to adopt the Plus Codes as a standard. Implementation would be on the local cemetery level as I think that's where it would be most frequently used. Most people searching for a grave probably know which cemetery. Cemeteries would then be encouraged to make their information publicly available and shareable through sites like billiongraves or various genealogy sites.

If anyone has any contacts with cemetery managers or their trade associations, it would be interesting to get their input. However this would be implemented I imagine it would have to be at almost zero cost as I'm sure they don't have tons of resources. However the standardization and permanence of the Plus Codes should have some appeal.

[Andreas B]

However this would be implemented I imagine it would have to be at almost zero cost as I'm sure they don't have tons of resources. However the standardization and permanence of the Plus Codes should have some appeal.

Thinking about this some more, I can see this goal of "near zero cost" as actually being realistic. Considering that plus codes themselves are free, add QR codes that cemetery managers could print for themselves which lead to some web or app interface doing the address translation from "grave code" to full plus code, and you could easily have a working solution at a small and basically fixed cost that could be offset by showing some unobtrusive app or offering additional services.

I just wonder if there's really any demand for that sort of thing. If you find out, feel free to let me know.

[Michael Lee]

Hello George:

I may be a bit biased on this subject, but I think including the Plus Code onto tombstone photos is something I would endorse and recommend. Having been involved in the Michigan Tombstone Photo Project, for whom I developed a photo resizing tool, and with several genealogy societies, photo documentation is everything. Including as much information directly on a photo is a necessity for archiving it in as permanent a form as possible. I do not support digital asset managers which separate photo metadata from the photo itself, that practice is just asking for problems! As these photos are for documentation only, and therefore do not interfere with a photo's "cosmetics", including textual information can only increase the value of the photo itself. I personally use the Plus Codes plugin for Google Docs spreadsheet for generating plus codes from my geotagged photos, which I can then stamp onto them.

I am not sure if what I have proposed is something that you might consider doing, but if nothing else is food for thought. I would be happy to discuss this matter further with you if it does interest you.

Mike

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