Facebook Groups: Cemeteries

Cemeteries
Sea Brown and Susan L. Rutledge, Administrators
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cemeteriesgroup/
1399 members

Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans. Photo by Loren Rhoads.

Mission Statement: “I have a passion for walks in cemeteries and photographing headstones. I’ve since developed an interest in our family genealogy. As a result, I have walked through many cemeteries in Quebec and photographed family stones as well as many others. This interest prompted me to post my photos and share with anyone with similar interests.” -Sharon Norton

“Just know that we try to be as peaceful as the grave here & serene as a cemetery. Also, there is no advertising allowed, unless it has something to do with nonprofit, cemetery/genealogy type stuff. However, if you want to raise funds for a cemetery in need of attention, by all means, post about it here! Any arguing about anything will not be tolerated & is grounds for removal. Controversy does not belong in a cemetery & it does not belong in this group. ~Sea Brown

Q: There are a lot of cemetery aficionado groups on Facebook. What sets yours apart?

A: We are a group of people that like cemeteries. I know there are some groups that are more into the genealogy, locating of people, and some that let others prompt their work. We are — at least in my point of view — more about the beauty of the cemetery, whether the headstones or the grounds.

Q: Do you have a policy about what is appropriate to post?

A: Our policy is pinned at the top of the forum. The group was started by the original admin, who passed the group on to Sea Brown as life got too busy. I (Susan) was also an original admin.

Q: How old is your group?

Susan: I think the group is probably about 5 or 6 years old.

Sea: The group is more like 6 or 7 years old. I joined in 2007, when there were less than 30 members.

Q: Is your group open to new members?

A: Until recently, we were an Open Group but then we got a lot of spam from people not really interested in cemeteries and someone started to report photos to Facebook. The photos were not infringing on copyright or anything rude, so we as administrators felt it was better to close the group. We are now closed and the people have to be approved by an Admin. We like it when people who request to join already have friends in the group or when looking at their Facebook pages, it seems that they do have a genuine interest in cemeteries.

Q: Are you a member of any other cemetery groups?

Susan: Am I a member of other groups? Yes, I can’t say about the other Admins or members here. Everyone is free to make their own choices about where they belong.

Sea: I am a member of a few other cemetery groups on Facebook, but I am most active on Cemeteries. I am pretty sure we were one of the first groups of this kind on Facebook. When I joined in 2007, this was the only group that came up in a Facebook search for the word “cemeteries.” Just a fact I never shared with the group!