LEHI, Utah – A worldwide effort to mark gravestones called Rescuing Our Roots will attempt to set an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (TM) title on Sunday, June 25th for the most photos of headstones uploaded to a bespoke platform in 24 hours!
(Take photos now and upload on June 25th.)
You can learn more about the project by clicking on this link: https://billiongraves.com/rescue
Denise Wright of Farmington is one Rescuing Our Roots volunteer excited about the project and plans to upload her photo on the 25th.
“Genealogy is a popular pastime for many people, and cemeteries and cemetery records are vital to finding ancestors. The BillionGraves organization is committed to connecting families, and the June 25th date for uploading pictures will bring about connections families have hoped for in their search for ancestors. The project, Rescuing Our Roots, is sponsored by dozens of organizations, from museums to churches and inter-faith councils to records repositories,” she said.
She added that BillionGraves at blog.billiongraves.com reports “Rescuing Our Roots organizers are hoping publicity from the Guinness World Records attempt will increase awareness of the need to take photos of gravestones to preserve data before the gravestones deteriorate or fade.”
“Taking photos of headstones is not the only way to record graves. Unmarked graves that are not recorded digitally are nevertheless known to local historians. Using the BillionGraves app, volunteers can upload temporary headstone markers which can then be tagged with GPS coordinates and plotted on a map of cemeteries.”
Wright will be interviewed by Don Pritchard Monday in the Noon and 5 pm Reports on KSGM AM 980 and FM 105.3.
From the BillionGraves blog:
Most of us have heard the saying, “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.” That is certainly true for family history – a few names can grow into a huge family tree! And likewise, it is true for the Rescuing Our Roots project.
An acorn was planted when Joseph Miller, a local leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discovered that as many as 200,000 headstones were erected before 1880 – at a time when birth and death records were not yet required in his home state of Iowa, US. This means that most of those headstones are the only record on earth of the individuals who are buried there.
This discovery prompted Miller to invite his family, friends, fellow Church members, and community leaders to join him in documenting gravestones with the BillionGraves app, with the intention of preserving the names and dates for posterity on the FamilySearch family tree.
In time, the effort involved hundreds of people in the Midwest states of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. And it came to be known as the Rescuing Our Roots project. The acorn continued to grow into a mighty oak and now thousands of people are involved making it the largest BillionGraves project in the world.
Rescuing Our Roots organizers are hoping publicity from the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS attempt will increase awareness of the need to take photos of gravestones to preserve data before the gravestones deteriorate or fade.
Rescuing Our Roots Goal #1
The first goal of the Rescuing Our Roots project is to take photos of 1 million gravestones and transcribe 1 million gravestone records before September 30, 2023!
1 Million Photos
We are already more than halfway to the goal of 1 million photos!
1 Million Transcriptions
Transcribers from around the globe have been busily adding names and dates to the BillionGraves database. In fact, the first million has already been reached and volunteers are working on a stretch goal of another million.
Ready to break a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title?
Ready to invite friends to join in the fun?
10,000 participants are needed to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most photos of headstones uploaded to a bespoke platform in 24 hours!
On Sunday, June 25th, 2023, we will have exactly 24 hours for each person to upload at least one new photo of a gravestone that has been taken with the BillionGraves app. (Take photos now and upload on June 25th.)
If at least 10,000 individuals upload at least one photo each, the record will be set. (We would love to have you take far more than one photo, of course!)
The progress bar on the BillionGraves landing page shows how many people have registered for the project already.
You can join the project to help take photos and/or transcribe headstones by going to BillionGraves.com/Rescue
The major sponsors for the world’s largest BillionGraves project, Rescuing Our Roots, are:
- BillionGraves
- FamilySearch
- JustServe
- MyHeritage
- The BYU Record Linking Lab
There are also many local sponsors participating in the project, from the History Center of Iowa to the African American Museum of Iowa.
Finding a Lost Brother
The world’s largest BillionGraves project – Rescuing Our Roots – began with Joseph Miller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He helped set the goals, but for Miller the Rescuing Our Roots project is about more than numbers – it’s about people and making connections.
Joseph Miller with Rev. Terrell Jordan St.
One of Miller’s special connections was when he met Revered Terrell Jordan Sr., the youth pastor at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Miller, himself, is a stake president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Jordan invited Miller to speak to his congregation during Black History Month about how the Rescuing Our Roots project plans to honor 28 African Americans who are buried without markers at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Miller invited members of the congregation to download the BillionGraves app on their phones so they could help take photos of gravestones to preserve history and grow family trees.
Jordan had previously told Miller about his brother, Lonnie, a pastor and a Veteran, who died of a heart attack in 2002. Terrell had attended his brother’s funeral, but years of personal and family challenges, along with several moves, resulted in him being unable to remember the location of his brother’s gravesite so he could visit.
Standing in front of the congregation, Miller opened the BillionGraves app, tapped on the “find headstones” icon, and entered Lonnie’s name.
“We all know finding headstones is not easy,” Miller said, “but in about 10 seconds we found Lonnie on the BillionGraves app! When we told the congregation, they erupted into applause.”
Jordan was then able to visit his brother’s gravesite for the first time in 21 years! He wiped away the tears before this picture was taken, but it’s hard to miss the tears welling up in his eyes.
With great love, Jordan placed a model of an empty tomb (that Miller’s young son had created) on his brother’s headstone.
Miller related Jordan’s story with respect and awe, “Shortly after Lonnie passed away, Jordan contracted a serious heart disease requiring a transplant. He adopted the donor family as his own. Then he trained to become a member of Team Iowa and Team USA for the transplant Olympics in track, basketball, and volleyball!”
“He became a youth pastor, responding to a call from God to end youth violence in their community and play the drums at church.” Miller continued, “And, he shares joy as a professional clown and balloon twister.”
Miller said, “There is no end to the goodness of this man! He continues to adopt anyone in need into his family and give them a home.”
While at Oak Hill Cemetery visiting his brother’s gravesite, Jordan continued to wander the area, finding connections with other friends, taking pictures of their headstones, and even calling his mother for some family history information.
“We’re now on the hunt for the location of his grandfather William C. Davis, who is the 29th African American we’ve confirmed is buried at Oak Hill without a marker,” Miller said. “This is an important heritage that we need to preserve!”
What About Unmarked Graves?
Local media outlets have promoted the Rescuing our Roots project, as well as two historic black churches. Miller has partnered with them to organize an event to document the unmarked graves of 28 black Iowans buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, including the first black nurse to work in an Iowa hospital.
The location of the graves is known to local historians, but there is no digital record of the burials. Using the BillionGraves app, Miller and others will photograph temporary headstone markers for each grave which will automatically tag them with GPS coordinates so they can be plotted on a map of the cemetery.
Then volunteers will transcribe the names and dates and an online record will be created to preserve their legacy, just as if they had a beautiful headstone. Thereby, history will be preserved for future generations.
You are welcome to do this at your own convenience, no permission from us is needed. If you still have questions after you have clicked on the link to get started, you can email us at Volunteer@BillionGraves.com. We’ll be happy to help you!
Are you planning a group service project?
Email us at Volunteer@BillionGraves.com for more resources. We will help you find a cemetery that still needs to have photos taken.