Ever wonder how to find your ancestor’s locations? I’m referring to ancestor burials, their former home address, or place of business or other landmarks. Obviously, there are many publications giving these locations such as cemetery records, census records, and city directories on ancestor’s home or business addresses. There are several methods that give planetary coordinates of these same locations as a future reference if these landmarks disappear.
The first method uses quadrangle maps provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS provides detailed landmarks with their highest resolution 7 ½ minute maps. Coordinates and elevation are shown for locating cemeteries, farms, homes, etc. These maps are being digitized and will eventually be available online.
The second method uses GPS receivers. GPS is the Global Positioning System that gives latitude and longitude, and elevation measurements to any GPS receiver. The resolution is even better than printed maps with up to 10 feet resolution. The resolution has improved over several decades from 1,500 feet for earlier non-military applications.
Several types of GPS receivers are available using: mobile GPS navigators with road map display, cellphones and tablets with GPS feature and navigation app (data & power hungry), portable receivers with or without quadrangle map displays, USB GPS receivers for laptops, and DSLR cameras with GPS receivers for geotagging photos. All devices give coordinates and elevation for the user. Thus finding or recording your ancestor’s locations is now very easy. GPS receivers vary in cost from $60 for a simple portable or mobile GPS receiver or a smartphone with the navigation app (monthly fees apply).
~ Bob Larson, education co-chair, technologist & library volunteer at the Larimer County Genealogical Society. Please visit our website at www.lcgsco.org or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lcgsco for our many events.