Certainties in Life: Death and Taxes

Death and Taxes

Benjamin Franklin, in 1789, wrote a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy where he said,

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

 

Cemeteries dealing with death is as certain as you and I dealing with taxes. The frequency of new burials varies from cemetery to cemetery. Some cemeteries might have a new burial every few months, while others have several each day. A good records management system will help a cemetery keep track of the burials—grave location, grave availability, and important information about the occupant. A good system provides a convenient platform for the management and accessibility of cemetery records.  

Most people are either unaware or unaffected by how a cemetery manages its records or how accessible it makes them. At least one group is very interested in the accessibility of cemetery records—genealogists. Death records play a key role in genealogy research. Death records allow researchers to identify ancestors and document their lives.

Names In Stone has a special tie to an ever growing number of cemeteries. These cemeteries use software called Spatial GENERATIONS, which helps them manage their maps and death records. When one of these cemeteries adds or modifies a death record, changes are sent to Names In Stone—a central repository for burial maps and records. Genealogists and other visitors to Names In Stone benefit from this process because they have access to current death records or modified death records, as provided by the originating source – cemeteries. These additions or changes to death records are common. The following are examples of what Names In Stone typically receives from some cemeteries:

• 200 death record updates per week from Salt Lake City Cemetery.
• 1,500 new grave related documents per year from Uintah County Cemeteries.
• 370 new grave related documents and 1,200 new grave or death record modifications per year from the Bountiful City Cemetery.

Names In Stone is unique. Most cemetery websites provide static information. When a new burial is added or a correction made to a death record, the typical cemetery website is not designed to show these changes. Names In Stone is different. Anytime a cemetery using Spatial GENERATIONS updates a death record, they can quickly send it to Names In Stone.

Along with the certainty of death and taxes, one can be sure that the death records found on Names In Stone are as current and accurate as the cemetery chooses and provides information you won’t find anywhere else.