Although there is much dispute over the exact location of the first Memorial Day celebration, it is commonly said that Memorial Day (formerly called Decoration Day) was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. In a fitting tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War, a large group of people gathered in Arlington National Cemetery. They listened to speeches, they prayed and sang hymns, and they walked through the cemetery decorating the graves with flowers. Many years have passed since that first Memorial Day, and while we still decorate graves and sing and pray, we have found … Continue reading →

Memorial Day was once called Decoration Day. One of the ways to celebrate Memorial Day is to visit a graveyard, and decorate the graves of your ancestors who were in the military. This gives a genealogist the opportunity to record the information that is found on their gravestones. If you are unable to travel to a cemetery on Memorial Day weekend, you might still be able to obtain the information on a grave from an online resource. If you are visiting a cemetery this Memorial Day weekend, it is traditional to decorate the graves of your ancestors who served in … Continue reading →