Do You Have a Graveyard Kit? Here are the 13 Things I Keep in Mine

By Susan Wallin Mosey

Is it weird that I have a graveyard kit?  How else can you go grave hunting in an organized and well-equipped manner?  Mine is stored in a pink bucket with a decal on it.  (I’m a very girly grave hunter.)

The bucket contains all the stuff I need for proper gravestone hunting (except a goodly supply of water—never leave home without a goodly supply of water).  The bucket contains:

1. A notebook and a pen, along with any information that I had the foresight to gather together beforehand.

Make Instant Discoveries in Your Family Tree Now
Imagine adding your family tree to a simple website and getting hundreds of new family history discoveries instantly.

MyHeritage is offering 2 free weeks of access to their extensive collection of 18 billion historical records, as well as their matching technology that instantly connects you with new information about your ancestors. Sign up using the link below to find out what you can uncover about your family.

2. My camera, of course.  How else can I take photos to upload to findagrave or billiongraves?

3. A little pink flashlight, for casting shadows on gravestones for better pictures.  The experts advise a big mirror for that purpose, but that won’t fit into my bucket.

4. Grass snips, a trowel, and a whisk broom, for quick cleanup work as required.

5. Cotton gloves.

6. A second bucket just like the first one, for hauling water if there’s a faucet.  (But I learned the hard way to also bring plenty of gallon jugs of water, especially when going to very old or abandoned cemeteries.)

7. A soft scrub brush that fits well into my husband’s hand.

8. Liquid soap—a special kind.  I did a lot of research on this subject!  It’s called “Orvus” and it has three main uses, so I’m told:  Washing horses, washing antique fabrics, and washing gravestones.  Fancy that!

9. Wet wipes.  I like having clean hands when I use my camera (and all the rest of the time, too, actually).

18 Billion Genealogy Records Are Free for 2 Weeks
Get two full weeks of free access to more than 18 billion genealogy records right now. You’ll also gain access to the MyHeritage discoveries tool that locates information about your ancestors automatically when you upload or create a tree. What will you discover about your family’s past?

10. A big Ziploc bag, for kneeling upon to take photographs.  I don’t like dirty knees either.

11. Bug repellent.  I once went wandering through some tall grass in the woods in cropped pants, looking for a few old gravestones which made up a small old family cemetery…  and I came out with about a hundred bug bites on my lower legs.  I’m lucky I didn’t end up with Lyme disease!

12. White chalk for marking trees and driveways for navigational purposes.  Don’t want to walk the same rows twice if I don’t have to.

13. Little American flags.  I like to leave them at the graves of veterans.

Okay, so is this normal, or weird?  All genealogists love graveyards, right?  I once saw a coffee mug for genealogists that said, “I’m only interested in dead people.”  Well, yes, but I wouldn’t say only

Find important dos and don’ts for visiting cemeteries here.

Also read: A Gravesite Can Reveal Remarkable Details About Your Ancestor, IF You Can Find It: Here’s How

31 thoughts on “Do You Have a Graveyard Kit? Here are the 13 Things I Keep in Mine”

  1. Amen Cindy ~ You should NEVER scrub, rub, wet or otherwise disturb when approaching a stone. There are certain light techniques (black light, anyone?) that can do just as good a job to help you see the stone. There are a LOT of municipalities and counties that have ordinances against “defacing” (and yes, that’s what you are doing when you apply any pressure or chemicals to a stone) markers or headstones – and the fines can be pretty steep. I say, “Back off and leave your “scrub brush” at home…or risk a ticket”

  2. I use Bounce drier sheets to keep bug off… especially ticks. They take up little space and stay fresh kept in a plastic sandwich bag. Rub on legs and arms. Stick in pockets, etc.

  3. I don’t generally go to the trouble of wet-cleaning a stone unless it belongs to one of my ancestors.

  4. I don’t know! Google “Orvus.” I suppose it can be gotten online – just about anything can.

  5. Yeah, I expected to get really “flamed” about using any kind of soap, but thankfully, that didn’t happen. The Orvus soap is special – there’s a scientific explanation as to why, which I’ve forgotten at the moment.

    North Aurora! As I type this I’m about a block from Butterfield Road!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend