Dowsing for the Dead

He doesn't know why it works. He just knows it does. It's not witchcraft. It's not black magic, or "the work of the devil." He does it with respect, out of respect for those who have gone on before him ... those who are lying in graves unmarked for one reason or another.

Tom Corey of McCook "dowses" for graves because of his interest in genealogy and history, and because of his respect for the lives and sacrifices of his ancestors.

On a Wednesday afternoon before Memorial Day, Tom and his wife, Nancy, located unmarked graves at Boxelder Cemetery, the small pioneer cemetery northeast of McCook that Boy Scout Troop 147 is cleaning up. "You're gonna find unmarked graves," Corey said. "It's unfortunate."

You can read the full story about Tom Corey's "Dowsing for the Dead" on the McCook (Nebraska) Daily Gazette web site at http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1097368.html

Comments

[Joe Waddell]

Mr. Eastman,

I have dowsed a small church cemetery in Pierce County, Wisconsin to help the grave digger locate unmarked graves as well as the correct space to dig a grave for another member of a family.

Have no idea how or why it works, it just does. A funeral home manager in Alabama introduced me to the procedure and helped me find my great grandparents' graves.

All the best

Joe waddell

[Peggy LeBlanc]

We have a member of our local historical society in our area who is also dowsing for unmarked graves in our area and reports some interesting results. If you write an article about it, please let me know, and I'll pass it on to Richard Skinner.

[Lethene Parks]

I first learned about "witching" or "dowsing" for graves on an Oregon Trail outing, where we found many unmarked burials near known graves. I have since used my rods in several old cemeteries and have located unmarked graves in this way. In one case, obituaries and other evidence pointed to a burial in a particular cemetery, but there was no marked grave. By dowsing in the family plot, we located an unmarked grave which we believe is the burial in question. I don't know why it works, but I can testify that it does.

[Sharon Nagy]

We are trying to locate approximately five graves in a graveyard near Tillis Prarie in Montgomery County, Texas of the Goodson Family.
We know the general location of two graves and know of three other individuals who are of the same family, who are buried in the same cemetery. The earlies grave is from 1860's.
Who in the Montgomery County area or a near location might be of help in finding these graves using the "dowsing" or "witching" method.
Any info would be appreciated.
Sharon Nagy
Spring, Texas

[Karen Grubb]

I've been dowsing for graves since 1979 and can tell you they really do work. We found our great-great-great grandmother and grandfathers headstones over two feet below ground level. The dates on the headstones were invaluable to us in tracing the family line.

[Etta Withers]

I am involved in maintaining burial records for a local cemetery and hope to play a major part in preserving it for future generations. By word of mouth of family members, old obituaries, death certificates and funeral home records, I have names of about 100 individuals resting in unmarked graves in the cemetery, but we do not know the location of these graves. I am interested in learning how to dowse for graves and wonder if there is an individual in this area who has expertise in the method of dowsing or witching for graves. I realize this can only tell me where a grave is located and not who is buried there.

Thanks,
Etta
Gladewater, Texas