Linking past and present, one photo at a time

Cemeteries hold a wealth of history. Each headstone is a slice of someone's past, a timeline connecting them to the present. Someone just needs to connect the dots.

Thanks to the efforts of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, those links are being made.

Because COVID-19 has curtailed traditional work of sharing the message of Jesus Christ for many missionaries, including those serving in Carter County, Dakotas Mission President Scott L. Howell, a former sexton and an amateur genealogist, gave the local elders cameras and sent them to Beaver Lodge Cemetery, as well as other cemeteries in the area.

"I thought that it would be helpful for our missionaries, during this time of social distancing, to get out in the fresh air and do something meaningful, like taking photos of headstones in cemeteries for genealogy purposes," Howell said,

Each picture is then uploaded to the BillionGraves website so the information can be accessed electronically by present-day family members and genealogists seeking information about their ancestors.

Elder Tyler Gilbert from American Fork, Utah, who participated in the project said, "Digitizing these headstones makes it more readily accessible for anyone. It makes it so people don't have to travel far to see them."

Anyone who knows of a small or private cemetery in the area that would benefit from the BillionGraves project may contact the local missionaries at (406) 941-0953 to help them continue connecting dots.