Thanks to a new burial data program on the city of Rome’s Web site, genealogy researchers and loved ones may have an easier time locating their ancestors buried in Rome’s public cemeteries. 

The service can assist those looking for the plots of ancestors, family or friends buried in city-owned cemeteries — Eastview, Oakland and Myrtle Hill. 

“We’re one of the first two or three cities to give this feature,” said Rome Cemetery Director Stan Rogers.

The information only covers burial records, the cemetery lot number and plot location number. The site can also generate clickable maps of the cemeteries that allow the user to navigate and find the exact placement of the plot.

“People can find who it is they’re looking for on their own,” Rogers said. “It will be a great help to genealogists looking up family history.”

Prior to the introduction of the Web-based search, all inquiries were directed through the city’s Cemetery Department, and the records were only available during normal office hours.

Now late-night amateur genealogists or those who wish to find the gravesite of a loved one on a weekend at say 3 a.m. can find cemetery maps and gravesites via the Web.

“It’s a big benefit to us and to the public,” said Rogers.

As with any new function on a site, it could use some improvement, and Rogers hopes for an increased navigability and better graphics in the future.

Another thing that may cause notice is that many of the birth dates for older interments may read 01/01. As records are updated, or in some cases found, they will update the birth dates to the correct numbers, city officials say.

“They’ll find the newer records to be accurate,” Rogers said. “And we’ll keep working on it to update our records.”

The site can be found at www.romega.us/cemetery, and the phone number for the Cemetery Department is 706-236-4534.