HELP! A non-family member "owns" and controls my grandfather's "Find-a-Grave" page...

[NurseJackie]

A non-family member "owns" and controls my grandfather's "Find-a-Grave" page. It looks like this person is a prolific hobbiest "graver" and has created many thousands and thousands of listings.

While I'm grateful that someone has created the initial (bare bones) listing and provided a headstone photo, I'd like to have it transferred to me.

I have reached out to him several times (directly through the site's message function, directly through email, and by using the "edit" to request a transfer) and unfortunately, there has been no response. Maybe he's dead. Maybe he's just bored with his hobby and doesn't check messages any more.

It's very frustrating. I'm thinking of creating a NEW listing for my grandfather and reporting the other one as a "duplicate" to have it removed.

Any other advice or suggestions?

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Will find a grave let you enter your own?

[NurseJackie]

3. Yeah... it's easy enough to create a new entry.

Yeah... it's easy enough to create a new entry. That's what I'm thinking of doing.

I just don't know if it's 'breaking the rules' to knowingly and intentionally create a duplicate listing.

I think there's a way to report duplicate listings, but I'd hate to put a LOT of work into a new (complete and family-owned) listing... only to have MY listing be ruled as the "duplicate" listing since the other one is older.

I've only been exploring and playing around with Find-a-Grave for a few months, so I'm definitely a novice at this.

[mopinko]

2. that's what i'd do.

not in the hobby, but anything similar i think this is perfectly fair play.
i wouldnt even be sorry about copping his pic.

[NurseJackie]

4. Thanks!

I'm "this-close" to doing it.

[mopinko]

6. well, stop wasting your time.

if you are that bored, i'll point you to my tree.

[NurseJackie]

7. LOL!

I've got plenty to keep me busy. I just felt frustrated and felt that I had reached a (pardon the pun) a dead end because I got no response.

Other memorial pages at Find-a-Grave were transferred to me within 24 hours (or even on the same evening) whenever I'd message the hobbiest/graver, I would thank them for taking the photo and creating the listing... then I'd let them know who I was, and my family relation, and request transfer of ownership (or editorial control).

[The Genealogist]

5. I'd just create another memorial.

Not sure why this person isn't responding to you, perhaps there really is a good reason, or he or she could just be a jerk. Make your own and set it up the way you want it, I say.

[NurseJackie]

8. Yep, I'm definitely leaning in that direction.

[SWBTATTReg]

9. Well, Find a Grave seems to be a commercial application owned by ...

Ancestry.com. Description is below. It receives the data embedded in its database courtesy of unpaid volunteers. If I were you, I'd just recreate or create a whole new entry for your relative, and enhance it to your liking. That way, you'll have the initial control (although to be fair, I'm not sure who has editorial control of these pages on the site, nor do I know if Ancestor.com will own your entries anyways, despite you putting it in).

I don't think that they are charging now for this service, but who knows down the road later what they will do, or if you do anything heavy duty at the website, they'll charge.

The person who created your grandfather's entry doesn't own the entry posted for your grandfather. But, I don't know how you can change 'ownership' of your grandfather's page via Ancestry.com. I can't imagine why Ancestry.com would object to you enhancing or updating the entry. There may be options out there to do so. There are tabs on Find A Grave at the website, which I didn't get into (you know this already), I didn't want to get sucked into option after option (a morass) seeking payment(s) of some sort. Although the service seems nice, I could care less if someone wants to charge for tracking all of this stuff. I could (and do) go out to the grave site myself at any time I want.

Could be that the initial creator of your grandfather's page is deceased or has another email address (old one is obsolete, no good), etc.

Find a Grave is an American website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. It receives and uploads digital photographs of headstones from burial sites, taken by unpaid volunteers at cemeteries. Find a Grave then posts the photo on its website.

[NurseJackie]

10. Thanks for the comments, suggestions and info!

There's an option to "sponsor" a specific listing for a one-time fee of $5 (which I have done on several other family member pages) and that removes ALL of the ads... which makes for a nice looking memorial page with photos and obit info. Also, a sponsored page gets the privilege of including additional photos (above the normal limit of 5, I think)

[SWBTATTReg]

11. You're welcome. The $5 one time fee is not too shabby either, being that they'll use it to ...

maintain the website, take care of the IT component (disk space, maint. of the website, etc.)...and get rid of the commercials, which sometimes is a pain. Not really a bad price. Take care!