Inappropriate to post a google map link to a family cemetery if not on my land?

Question

Hello -

When my gg-grandfather's family passed away, they deeded the land to their daughter after their son (my g-grandfather) moved away.  I don't know who owns the property (a farm in rural North Dakota) now, but google-map satellite view indicates that the six graves are still fenced off on the old property.

Is it inappropriate to post a google-map location?

When I uploaded an image of the gravestone, it asked for location, so I went to Google-maps and, in hindsight, this seems like I should get permission before making it public... maybe?

Thank you

Answer 1

Someone else may know better, Joe, but I don't think it's necessary to get permission for something like that. To me it seems like a map location would almost have to be in the public domain. Besides, if you no longer know who owns the property, how would you contact anyone for permission?

It's cool that you have the picture. We have some family traditions of ancestors being buried on the old farm homestead, but the gravestones have been lost, removed, or destroyed, and are no longer there.

Comments

A friend of mine just bought some property that has a family cemetery (unrelated and unfamiliar to them).  The husband is looking forward to cleaning and fixing it up.

Answer 2

Here's another personal opinion, not an authoritative answer.  I don't think there's anything wrong with identifying the burial location of your ancestors, but if you think there could be an issue about it, you could be a little bit vague about the specific location, or else add a caveat saying that the location is on private property and cannot be accessed without the permission of the property owner.  Or, as you suggest, you could ask the owner for permission to publicize the location or allow blanket access.

Editorial comment:  I know of a couple of similar burial grounds near my childhood home.  As a rule, they are poorly maintained, or not maintained at all, and are areas with falling-down tombstones and overgrown with weeds.  In each case it seems the current owner respects it as a burial ground, but is not a descendant and doesn't feel any responsibility, so it has basically become a no-man's land.  If you are in the area, or have a willing family member, and would be willing to do a little cleanup, you might find the property owner to be very cooperative.

Comments

You might even discover that the current property owner is related to you, if the property continued to be passed down in the family.

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I suspect that it is.  The daughter who inherited it had a large family and seems to have been tied in to the community.  My aunt and grandfather went out in 1987, but I am not sure how much they interacted with the owner.

I am, on the other hand, quite far away from the property and my wife is not excited about taking a 3-day trip to see a 20'x20' plot of land in the middle of a farm that is not connected to the nearest road (as far as I can tell from the satellite view).  :-)

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Joe, you don't have to be geographically close to develop a close relationship with a previously unknown relative.  My second cousin discovered me about 6 years ago through DNA testing.  First by email, later by phone calls, and finally zoom, we have bonded completely.  We started out figuring out that both of our maternal grandfathers were brothers, then found that we are very similar in many ways.  At first, we were about 800 miles apart but I moved a year ago and now we're 3,000 miles apart.  We have tried - and continue to - to get together in person, but traumas and other events in our lives always seem to interfere.  That doesn't matter - we'll finally get to meet in the flesh someday and in the meantime, it feels so good to know that we're there for each other, no matter what.

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Hi Gaille.  Sorry to not be clear.  That piece was specifically meant to be in response to Dennis' "If you are in the area..." comment.  I agree with your sentiment.  I have developed a connection with some 3rd and 4th cousins on my Irish side through our joint efforts on Ancestry.  While we have both been to the same cemeteries, we have never actually crossed paths physically.

AND, in reaching out to a fifth cousin, Mark Williams (the first responder to this thread), I found all of you!

Answer 3

Our family inherited a one or two grave sites at the end of the barn in 1860.  There is one surviving head stone.  The deed listed all of the land with the exception of the grave site and it specifically gave the descendants the right to access the site.  No descendants were named but the site remained in my family for over 100 years, and no one that I am aware of, ever visited.  My brother tried to find some one (on the computer) with the name on the one headstone but nothing showed up about 15 years ago.  The farm is now in the hands of a different family.  I don't know if the site is still respected.