CemEditor

Family historians and the people who look after burial grounds often hold years of notes on gravestones with nowhere sensible to keep them. CemEditor is a desktop program from OVS Genealogy that gives those notes a home: a database built specifically for cemetery transcriptions, with room to store a picture alongside each record.

Entering and importing transcriptions

Data can be typed in or imported while the user looks at photographs of the monuments, so the inscription and the image are checked against each other as the record is made. Version 3, released in 2011, added more fields than earlier editions and the option to export to SQLite so that web scripts can use the data. It stays compatible with all previous versions, which matters for anyone with an older collection.

Turning a database into something readable

Once transcriptions are in the database, CemEditor produces files that can be used in three ways: to build books, to build web pages, or to be searched in a free viewer called CemViewer. Small add-on utilities do the conversion work:

• one converts transcriptions into web pages
• one produces fully indexed books
• one produces indexed books that also carry a picture of each monument

The viewer is free, which means a society or family can hand its transcriptions to others without asking them to buy anything.

Related tools from the same supplier

OVS Genealogy describes itself as a provider of support services, research and software for genealogy researchers and for cemetery caretakers, trustees and administrators. Its other products follow the same pattern. WebCem publishes template-driven or custom cemetery transcriptions on a website with search, and WebObit does the same for obituaries. ObitEditor stores, searches and indexes obituaries, and databases can be distributed in protected form through a separate viewer. The site also lists free tools and utilities, genealogy tips and articles, and online help pages, with support offered around the clock.

Who it suits

The sources point to genealogy researchers, cemetery trustees and administrators, and local history groups who want a structured record of a burial ground and a straightforward way to publish it.

CemEditor is a desktop program for transcribing cemetery inscriptions into a database. It comes from OVS Genealogy, a small supplier of software and research support for family historians and for people who look after cemeteries.

Features

• Transcription entry: records can be typed or imported while viewing photos of monuments.
• Image storage: pictures are kept with each entry.
• Output files: data can be turned into books, web pages or files for a viewer.
• Free viewer: CemViewer lets others search the transcriptions.
• Add-on utilities: converters for web pages and indexed books, and an export to SQLite for web scripts in version 3.

Who it works with

Genealogy researchers, cemetery caretakers, trustees and administrators.

Key facts

• Version 3 released: March 2011
• Related tools: WebCem, WebObit and ObitEditor
• Support: online help pages