Over 1 Million More in May – 2017 Results
Over 1 Million More in May!
The final results are in and the numbers speak for themselves! 500,998 photos were taken, 577,712 records were transcribed (with an additional 534,000 images waiting to be transcribed)! In total volunteers made over 1,078,710 contributions during the month of May!
The Grand Prize:
50,000 Photos Uploaded | 30,000 Transcriptions
Special congratulations to Melyssawebb, ladynwht, and Stephanie for uploading and transcribing more than 50,000 images/records and earning the Grand Prize Apple Watch Series 2 Smartwatches!
Melyssawebb from Virginia has uploaded an astounding 260,330 photos and 48,997 transcriptions to BillionGraves since she joined in October 2013! Just for this challenge, she uploaded headstones from 7 states. Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusets, New York, Georgia, South Carolina. That’s a LOT of traveling!
Ladynwht from California has transcribed an amazing 39,618 records to BillionGraves since she joined in January 2017!
Stephanie from Indiana has transcribed an amazing 30,769 records to BillionGraves since she joined on the 1st of May!
Thank you all for going the extra mile and achieving such an incredible goal!
Tier 3:
25,000 Photos Uploaded | 15,000 Transcriptions
Congratulations to Mary Hennig and Carin Cornwall for completing the Tier 3 Challenge and winning an Ancestry DNA testing kit!
Tier 2:
12,500 Photos Uploaded | 7,500 Transcriptions
Congratulations to Kevin, Kris M., Huskerken, Sunsearch, Alice MacGregor, NYHendersons, OurFamilyBefore, Yuval, Springsteen Fan, K_lassman, Ema, DeJavete, and Jedi1353 for completing the Tier 2 Challenge and winning an RAVPower 16W Solar Panel Charger!
Tier 1:
2,500 Photos Uploaded | 500 Transcriptions
Congratulations to ALL 267 VOLUNTEERS who completed the Tier 1 prize of 6 FREE months of BillionGraves Plus!
Again a special thank you all photographers and transcribers who participated!
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Million More in May Starts Now!
Million More in May Madness 2017 Has Started!
Happy May 1st, BillionGravers!
May has started and you know what that means! It’s time for our favorite event of the year – The 6th Annual Million More in May Competition! We have AMAZING prizes this year for all those who participate! Read more about the competition and prizes below.
The Million More in May Competition is a friendly event geared towards adding 1 Million (yes, that’s a 1 with six zeros behind it!) unique images, and 1 Million additional records transcribed and added to the BillionGraves database in the month of May. With all the new users and wonderful weather we could easily reach our 1 million record goal, and make a lot of people, looking for those records, eternally grateful for the hard work.
The Million More in May competition is open to ANY registered BillionGraves user, anywhere in the world. Not a registered users? That’s okay. It’s free and easy to do. Just click the link here to register.
We know that many users might not be in a climate with warm weather where picture taking is possible. Please consider transcribing records for this event! We will have other events throughout the year geared towards all of our international users with changing climates.
Want to take pictures? Start by getting the app on your mobile device.
(Download the iOS App HERE, Download the Android App HERE)
Looking for a cemetery to document? Learn how to find a cemetery to photograph here.
Want to transcribe photos? Learn more about how to transcribe by following the link HERE.
Start transcribing headstones HERE.
For those of you that really want to help and earn something while you are at it, we have GREAT prizes!
(Let’s face it, everyone likes FREE stuff!)
As always, the greatest reward for your efforts comes from knowing that you are preserving invaluable genealogical records as well as making them readily available for family members to locate. It’s not worth getting 1 million records if they aren’t done correctly!
Now to the prizes!
This year, each user can earn prizes based on how many photos or transcriptions they have completed. The more photos or transcriptions completed, the better the prizes! Starting at Tier 1 all the way up to the GRAND prize, every contributor can earn these great prizes! At the end of the month, we will calculate your points and whichever prize tier your contributions end in, will qualify you for the prizes below.
2,500 Photos Uploaded | 500 Transcriptions
For all users that upload more than 2,500 photos or complete 500 transcriptions they will receive 6 months free credit to the BillionGraves Plus services!
For this competition, we have increased this from 1 month to 6 months of BillionGraves Plus!! Take advantage of 7 features that will help you find family faster than ever before! Any month that you upload 2,500 photos or transcribe 500 images you can qualify to receive BG+ for free.* (Contributions in months other than May, will receive 1 month free credit instead of 6)
12,500 Photos Uploaded | 7,500 Transcriptions
If you upload 12,500 unique images, OR transcribe 7,500 images, you will earn a RAVPower 16W Solar Panel Charger.
These chargers are amazing lightweight solar panels that can quickly charge your devices while out in the cemetery. Take it with you on hikes, your next camping trip, or for any emergency and you’ll have power for all your electronics.
25,000 Photos Uploaded | 15,000 Transcriptions
Have you been anxiously wanting to have your DNA results from your favorite family tree or provider? Well wait no longer. By uploading 25,000 unique images, OR transcribe 15,000 images, you will earn a DNA test from any of the providers below!
That’s right, it’s your choice. Reach this level in the month of May and we’ll send you the DNA test of your choice. The specific DNA test that can be earned can be found by clicking on the links above. Break through those brick walls or be the center of your next family reunion with your DNA results from these great providers!
50,000 Photos Uploaded | 30,000 Transcriptions
Last but not least, if you upload 50,000 unique images, OR transcribe 30,000 records, we will give you your choice between a brand new, Apple Watch, Series 2* OR a Samsung Gear S3**!
That’s right, this isn’t a drawing for one prize! EVERY user that uploads over 50,000 unique photos or transcribes 30,000 records will get their very own, brand new, Apple Watch Series 2 or Samsung Gear S3. These devices are incredible! Track your sleep and fitness goals. Receive and send phone calls and text messages. Or you can download your own apps and have endless fun! One thing is for certain, this is a prize you don’t want to miss out on!
Terms and conditions do apply so please read below for more details!
ATTENTION:
PLEASE, follow all the guidelines for taking the “PERFECT” picture! Need a refresher? Read this great article about the 7 ways to become the photographer that every genealogists loves! Remember with our photo rating system that our transcribers will be making sure that QUALITY photos are the only kind of photos acceptable! Any blurry or poor photos will removed from your total. We love doing competitions like this, but we all need to remember that quality is ALWAYS better than quantity!
| Note: All photos and transcriptions will be audited throughout the competition. Any photos that do not adhere to the guidelines found in the article HERE will be disqualified from the competition. |
HOW TO FIND A CEMETERY TO DOCUMENT:
This is a great question! We have put together several videos to help users find a cemetery nearby to photograph. For additional information, refer to the getting started page here.
- How to Update your Location to Find Nearby Cemeteries
- How to Find a Cemetery To Photograph – Empty Cemetery
- How to Find a Cemetery to Photograph – Some Records Completed, But Not All
- How to Work with the Cemetery to Take Photos
A SPECIAL NOTE FROM BILLIONGRAVES:
Taking 50,000 photos or transcribing 30,000 records is no small feat! Only a small handful of people have ever achieved it.
We want to give prizes away to everyone! However, BillionGraves is proud to maintain a FREE site! Remember, our goal is to document the world’s cemeteries and make it available to anyone and everyone for FREE!
We like to spice things up every now and then with prizes and giveaways! So for anyone who wants to step up and be apart of a very small elite group of volunteers, this month’s prize is just for you!
How does the competition work?
Each photo uploaded and transcription completed earns you 1 point. BillionGraves offers many great prizes. Prizes are awarded to users who reach certain point levels throughout the month of May. At the end of the month, the total number of points you earned by taking photos or transcribing records is used to calculate which prize tier you earned for your efforts! The more points you earn, the better the prize!
Note: we do NOT combine your photos uploaded and transcriptions as a part of the event totals. We recognize that there are different obstacles for photographers than there are for transcribers. We have tried to reflect these obstacles in the total number of contributions required for each prize tier.
There is no limit to the number of photos taken or transcriptions completed. All entries must be submitted before June 1, 2017 (00:00 UTC time). Terms and conditions do apply.
• Register! It’s 100% free and 100% necessary if you’re going to participate in this competition. Make sure once you register that you verify your email! To claim your prize we will communicate with you through the email you provide and verify.
• Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! It’s simple to do and keeps you constantly up to date will all the new amazing things we are doing at BG!
• Make sure that you have the latest and greatest BillionGraves apps. Check the iTunes App Store, Google Play, for any updates for your device.
• Make it a habit. Go to the cemetery regularly—incorporate a local cemetery into your daily walk or bike ride, and snap some pictures along the way.
• Create a group event! It’s a great way to get organized and share in the fun with friends. Create an group event here.
• Follow your progress on our leaderboard! We have awesome graphics that will track your progress every step of the way! The leaderboard is not in real time. Please allow 24 hours for numbers to reflect accurately! Remember that photos that are flagged by transcribers will be removed from your totals, so the totals may vary daily. Don’t forget you can always correct any images that are flagged. Learn more about fixing flagged images here.
• A word of advice: don’t wait for Memorial Day. The decorations at the cemetery for that holiday actually make it MORE difficult to collect images—people have to transcribe the content, and flower arrangements and other decorations can easily obscure that important content.
• Contest begins May 1, 2017 and ends May 31, 2017 @ 11:59 pm GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
| A great way to reach your goal is to grab your friends and head out to the cemetery as a group! |
Teamwork always pays off!
If everyone in the group logs their different devices into one account, your efforts will be combined, making it easier to hit your goal! Once you hit the 50,000 photo goal or 30,000 transcription goal, switch it up and combine efforts under another person in the group and earn multiple devices!
So make it a group effort! Get a few friends/family members out at a time, log in to the same account, and take as many pictures as you can in one outing. For example, a husband/wife team could get the grand prize together by taking 30,000 images each, which is less than many users do in a month by themselves.
Note: Only one prize will be given per username, and will be shipped to the username the efforts are performed under. [/info_box]
“What?! BillionGraves isn’t really going to give out these prizes… are they?!”
YES! We really are giving out these great prizes! Still don’t believe us? Ask Nancy Alford, Melyssawebb, jodie1, Paulwuzhere, William, FionaNZ or liallee and see if we were kidding? Here is Fiona enjoying the iPad mini she won during one of our previous competitions!
The Fine Print. (Cause we have to have fine print, right?)
- All photos and transcriptions must be submitted before the closing date of May 31, 2017 @ 11:59:59 pm GMT (That’s 6 pm MST). Any submissions after that point will be excluded from the final results.
- This promotion is intended for photographers and transcribers. Let’s go outside!
- Supporting records will NOT be counted towards the monthly totals. Only images that originate from the genuine BillionGraves apps will be accepted.
- If you or another user marks a headstone picture as “bad” we deduct it from the uploader’s total images.
- For transcribers, we will be looking extra hard at the quality of transcriptions as well. We will erase the record and have it re-transcribed if it’s not done correctly. Any record not transcribed correctly will be deducted from your total.
- In the off chance that we don’t have enough images to transcribe, GO TAKE PICTURES! We will allow both photos taken and transcriptions completed to count ONLY if there are no photos left in the transcription queue. BillionGraves must announce this update before this exclusion becomes active.
- Make sure you have permission and are welcome to take pictures in your local cemetery before doing so. Remember, private cemeteries require permission of the owner before taking any pictures. No one likes a trespasser!
- This promotion is open to all to participate ages 13 and above for free. Registration is required. (Register HERE. Come on. You know you want to. It’s free!)
- More than one individual may contribute to a single account, however, the limit is one prize redemption per BillionGraves account. The prize will be claimed by only the username the combined work was completed under. BillionGraves will not arbitrate any disputes. ALL RECORDS MUST BE UNDER ONE ACCOUNT. BILLIONGRAVES WILL NOT COMBINE ACCOUNTS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
- Items will ship in 6-8 weeks after contest closes for winners in the U.S. International winners please allow 8-12 weeks for items to be delivered.
- Due to current world-unrest, some areas may increase the amount of time it takes for prizes to be delivered. If for some reason your country isn’t compatible with the prize tiers, we will work with you to provide you with a prize or gift card that is equal in value.
- Recipients will be required to provide a mailing address for physical items.
- Winner will be required to provide completed tax forms for redemption of the prize
- REQUIRED: ALL PRIZES MUST BE CLAIMED WITH PROPER MAILING/DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS BY THE 15TH OF JUNE OR YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THE PRIZE! WE WILL SEND OUT CONFIRMATION EMAILS BY THE 3RD OF JUNE. IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL ASKING FOR YOUR ADDRESS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING IT TO US BY THE 15TH AT HTTP://BILLIONGRAVES.COM/SUPPORT.
We’re super excited for this amazing competition! Now, get outside and earn yourself great prizes!
Good luck!
-The BillionGraves Team
Read MoreMillion More in May Madness 2017
Million More in May Madness 2017
May is just around the corner, BillionGravers!
That’s right. It’s almost May and you know what that means! We are coming up on our most exciting month of the year. It’s warmer outside, the trees are greener, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and it’s time for our favorite event of the year – The 6th Annual Million More in May Competition! We have AMAZING prizes this year for those who participate!
What is it?
The Million More in May Competition is a friendly event geared towards adding 1 Million (yes, that’s a 1 with six zeros behind it!) unique images, and 1 Million additional records transcribed and added to the BillionGraves database in the month of May. With all the new users and wonderful weather we could easily reach our 1 million record goal, and make a lot of people, looking for those records, eternally grateful for the hard work.
How can I participate?
It’s easy and free to participate! You can take photos of headstones in cemeteries near you with your mobile device, or you can transcribe photos that others have taken and make them searchable on the site. The Million More in May competition is open to ANY registered BillionGraves user, anywhere in the world.
We know that many users might not be in a climate with warm weather where picture taking is possible. Please consider transcribing records for this event! We will have other events throughout the year geared towards all of our international users!
The ultimate goal is to preserve and document over 1 million headstones from around the world in just 1 month!
Want to take pictures? Start by getting the app on your mobile device.
(Download the iOS App HERE, Download the Android App HERE)
Want to transcribe photos? Learn more about how to transcribe by following the link HERE.
Start transcribing headstones HERE.
How does the competition work?
Each photo uploaded and transcription completed earns you 1 point. BillionGraves offers many great prizes Prizes are awarded to users who reach certain point levels throughout the month of May. At the end of the month, the total number of points you earned by taking photos or transcribing records is used to calculate which prize you earned for your efforts! The more points you earn, the better the prize!
There is no limit to the number of photos taken or transcriptions completed. All entries must be submitted before June 1, 2017 (00:00 UTC time) Terms and conditions do apply.
Some Helpful Tips
• Register! It’s 100% free and 100% necessary if you’re going to participate in this competition. Make sure once you register that you verify your email! To claim your prize we will communicate with you through the email you provide and verify.
• Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! It’s simple to do and keeps you constantly up to date will all the new amazing things we are doing at BG!
• Make sure that you have the latest and greatest BillionGraves apps. Check the iTunes App Store, Google Play, for any updates for your device.
• Make it a habit. Go to the cemetery regularly—incorporate a local cemetery into your daily walk or bike ride, and snap some pictures along the way.
| A great way to reach your goal is to grab your friends and head out to the cemetery as a group! |
• Create a group event! It’s a great way to get organized and share in the fun with friends. Create an group event here.
• Follow your progress on our leaderboard! We have fancy graphics that will track your progress every step of the way! The leaderboard is not in real time. Please allow 24 hours for numbers to reflect accurately! Remember that photos that are flagged by transcribers will be removed from your totals, so the totals may vary daily. Don’t forget you can always correct any images that are flagged. Learn more about fixing flagged images here.
• A word of advice: don’t wait for Memorial Day. The decorations at the cemetery for that holiday actually make it MORE difficult to collect images—people have to transcribe the content, and flower arrangements and other decorations can easily obscure that important content.
• Contest begins May 1, 2017 and ends May 31, 2017 @ 11:59 pm GMT (That’s 6 pm MST)
What’s next!?
More details about the competition and prizes will be released on May 1st! So make sure you stay connected for all the best info!
We are excited for a fun May competition to kick start the warm weather!
More to come.
-The BillionGraves Team
Read MoreIntroducing BillionGraves’ Veteran Finder
BillionGraves is proud to announce the addition of the Veteran Finder tool on BillionGraves! This unique feature utilizes the power of GPS to locate Veterans in cemeteries all over the world!
Image Above: All Veterans who served in the Air Force during World War 2 in the Salt Lake City Cemetery
With the BillionGraves Veteran Finder tool, you can now find any Veteran of any US Conflict, Branch, or Rank, anywhere in the world. (International military information coming soon) You can search by specific names, locations, cities, or search the entire county to identify and honor the brave men and women who fought in the name of freedom.
To use the BillionGraves’ Veteran Finder tool follow the steps below:
- Log into your BillionGraves account: (https://billiongraves.com/login)
- Make sure you have an active subscription to BillionGraves Plus. Upgrade to BG+ today if you haven’t already. (https://billiongraves.com/bgplus-buy-now)
- Search and navigate to your cemetery of choice using the blue “Search BillionGraves” button found on the top right corner of any page, as seen below. (https://billiongraves.com/search) In this example we have chosen the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
- On the cemetery page, scroll down to the map section and click on the BG+ icon in the top right corner.
- This will now populate a full-screen map of the cemetery. In this case, it is the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Click on the Veteran Search Tab and then on the “Show Veterans” toggle. (As shown below)
- Using the options below, choose which Conflict, Branch, or Rank to search by. In this case, we have Selected World War 2 as the conflict and the Air Force as the Branch. For now, we will leave the Rank empty. Remember, start your search large and use the filters to help you narrow in your results. If you don’t see any results, try removing one of the filters or refining your search. When ready, click on “Show Veterans”!
- This will now search the cemetery you have chosen for all veterans with the criteria you selected. In this case, this map is of all the Air Force Veterans who served in World War 2
- You will also see a list on the left side of the screen that shows you all the details for each of the results. You can scroll through this list, selecting on any individual to expand their profile. You will also see that when you click on a result it will highlight their location on the map with a BLUE pin.
- You can also use the additional filters above to search by exact name, dates and by location. You can look at all the veterans in not just a cemetery, but the entire city, or county.
- NOTE: Load times will vary depending on the cemetery and how big of an area you are searching. For example, if you are looking in a national cemetery that has hundreds of thousands of veterans it may take a few moments to properly search. Especially if you are searching an entire city or county, it can take a little bit to search through all of that data! Be patient, the results are worth the wait!
- Here is all of the Air Force Colonel’s who served in World War 2 inside of Salt Lake County.
- NOTE: Use the “RANK” filter with caution. As not all headstones use the same abbreviations for any particular rank. For example, “Col” can return results for Colonel but also be Lieutenant Colonel because of how some stones are transcribed. If you do find an error in a transcription, please be courteous to others who search after you and update the record properly.
The combinations and discoveries are endless! Play around with the different filters, locations, to explore and honor millions of Veterans from around the world from the comfort of your home! You never know what stories you will find on the headstones of these courageous men and women.
We will continue to expand this feature to handle other country’s military information in the future. Our goal is to honor and preserve ALL nations veterans. If you have information about specific country military veterans, symbols, abbreviations, ranks, conflicts etc… please contact us at info@billiongraves.com. We would love your assistance and expertise in identifying and displaying these incredible individuals.
Read More
Local cemetery going online
Working together to help document those buried in the Apostolic Church Cemetery in rural Elgin are (l-r) Rachel (Frieden) Fuhriman, her son Cade Fuhriman, and Rachel’s mom, Deb Frieden. Rachel and Cade now reside in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In today’s world, technology is growing at a rapid pace. It is now routinely found in areas that heretofore had not even been imagined by our parents, let alone our grandparents. One such area where you may not have considered how technology could be used is in our cemeteries. Yes, that’s right, I said cemeteries. And, of course, it is the youth who lead the way.
“A couple of months ago I was looking for an Eagle Scout project with some of my friends, and my mom showed me a website called billiongraves.com that basically is trying to record images of gravestones and log their GPS locations. Since I am into using technology, that appealed to me right away,” said Cade Fuhriman, a 16-year-old high school student from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Cade’s mother is Rachel (Frieden) Fuhriman, daughter of Martin and Deb Frieden, who grew up in rural Elgin and graduated from Valley High School in 1996. When Cade discovered that all the cemeteries in Utah had already been documented, his mother had an idea.
“I knew of a place just down that road from where my parents live, the Apostolic Church Cemetery, that would be perfect for a project like this. We checked it out and no one had done anything with it yet, so here we are,” explained Rachel, who now lives with her husband Shawn in Salt Lake City.
The Apostolic Church Cemetery, located southeast of Elgin on Abbey Road, was mowed and cared for by the Frieden family for a number of years. Cade estimates that there are more than 400 graves to be photographed and transcribed in the cemetery, several of which belong to his relatives. As we walked among the grave markers, he stopped to do a little cleaning and take a photo of his great-great-grandfather’s grave, Jacob Friederich Sr.
“There are many people buried here that are our relatives, including some with the last name of Friederich, Schneider, Butikofer, and Frieden. It’s just amazing that you can do something like this, which could be very helpful to someone searching for a relative who doesn’t live close by,” said Deb Frieden, Cade’s grandmother who lives just down the road from the cemetery.
The goal of billiongraves.com is to preserve at least one billion graves by using modern technology to capture images of headstones with their GPS locations so that users worldwide can access those records from anywhere. The site can be searched by location of a known cemetery or by an individual’s name. It is relatively easy to use and anyone can create an account for free.
As Cade began the project, he expected that preparation and organization would be the most difficult part of the task.
“Doing some cleaning of the stones so that they will be readable when they are photographed will take some time, and I will have some family members helping me with that. I also have a group of 8 to 10 fellow Scouts who will help me transcribe all the information from the stones into billiongraves.com. I have to make sure that we aren’t redoing graves that may have already been done and that we aren’t overlooking any, as well,” said the aspiring Eagle Scout.
Fuhriman is a member of Troop 7630, which is in the Great Salt Lake Council in Utah. He is hoping that after he returns home, he can complete the project within a couple of weeks. As of this writing, 502 images had been entered into billiongraves.com for the Apostolic Cemetery, which is actually located just across the county line in Clayton County.
“When I was researching the Apostolic Cemetery, I noticed that of the 127 cemeteries listed in Clayton County, only four of them had documented photos. There seems to be plenty of opportunity for anyone else who is interested in doing something like this to help document their family or community history,” observed Cade.
Billiongraves.com has partnered with familysearch.org and myheritage.com to assist those who have a desire to discover more about their family history through the use of technology. Anyone who creates an account on billiongraves.com can become involved in the transcription of gravestone photos already uploaded by others like Cade. If you are interested in taking photos of gravestones, the first step is to determine if a cemetery has been documented and to what extent. After downloading the billiongraves.com app on a smart phone, you can visit the cemetery to take photographs and add to the site any information that has not already been recorded.
It might interest some to know that a search of Fayette County on billiongraves.com currently lists 59 cemeteries, of which only 11 have documented photos. On your next trip to any cemetery in Fayette County, you might want to consider taking your smart phone along and playing a role in the preservation of your community’s history.
Fuhriman’s interest in technology and his experience as a family historian consultant for his congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City made this project a perfect fit for him. Combining those two things, as well as the connection his own family has to the Apostolic Church Cemetery has been rewarding for him.
“I hope that when this project is completed, it will benefit people here as well as people who may not live in this area but do have an interest because their family has a history here. Hopefully having the information available online will help people make connections that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise,” closed Fuhriman.
While technology may frustrate us from time to time, there is no doubting that it can often be used to turn a daunting task into a more manageable one. By helping to create access to information in cemeteries across the country and throughout the world, you just might be able to help someone find that lost relative for whom they have been searching. Or, like Cade Fuhriman, you might learn a little about your own family as well.
Brian Smith
Contributing Writer
bsmith@fayettepublishing.com