York searching for obscure graves
By Deborah McDermott
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
YORK, Maine - What do genealogists and developers have in common?
Both are concerned about often obscure family cemeteries - the former to learn more about their ancestors and the latter, because an undiscovered one can stop a development dead in its tracks.
With both groups in mind, the town of York has been working to put all of the town's many cemetery plots into its Geographic Information System, or GIS.
Town GIS director Brett Hoar said he began the work of entering the data last spring, traipsing around each of the town's 216 known cemeteries. Some date back to the 1600s; many are family plots. Some contain one grave, some dozens.
He said he has entered the coordinates for about 90 cemeteries already, and the work is ongoing.
The effort is being done primarily as a planning tool for developers, as the town continues its efforts to update its comprehensive plan. However, it will also have the added benefit of being useful to genealogists from far and wide, as well as townspeople seeking more information on their forebears.
Once all the plots are entered into the GIS system, the data about the people interred there must be entered into the computer. The Maine Old Cemetery Association has compiled information for every town in the state in a book. Included for each plot in each cemetery is the name, dates born and died, and any other information known.
The data entry process is time consuming, Hoar said, and he will be able to do it only on a piecemeal basis. Several years ago, information about all the veterans' plots was entered into the GIS by a Scout earning his Eagle badge. Unless a similar volunteer comes forward, the process will take some time, Hoar said, but no more than a year.
That will be great news for genealogists, who often come from across the country to do research on their ancestors. Just recently, Hoar said, a man from Kansas and a woman from Washington wandered into his office looking for information.
