The Genealogy & Family History Social Network
Dowsing Graves?
I recently read an article about some descendants trying to locate the colonial period family burial ground on a farm that was long since sold to non-family members. The article stated that they dowsed the graves to locate them. Here's a snippet:
"The new owner needed some fencing to repair the one at the back of the farm and so used the Burial Ground fencing. Thus both protection and beauty were sacrificed and the marauding
cattle soon obliterated all semblance of a Burial Ground and in appearance it
reverted to being just part of the hay field again. However the graveyard was
never lonely as there were twenty eight people resting there. Who they are is
uncertain, most likely all connected to the Houghs by blood or marriage. The
bodies, male & female, adults and children were located simply by dowsing
the graves........When in 2005 my cousin & I dowsed the Family
Burying Ground, the present owners, who knew nothing about an FBG being in
their farm, gathered sticks & branches and dutifully marked each corner of
each grave. They are so intensely aware now and, I'm sure, will never plow the
hay field."
I am unfamiliar with dowsing but found this explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing
Has anyone ever heard of this? Has anyone ever tried this? Has anyone ever been successful in locating burials of people either in coffins or not in coffins?
"The new owner needed some fencing to repair the one at the back of the farm and so used the Burial Ground fencing. Thus both protection and beauty were sacrificed and the marauding
cattle soon obliterated all semblance of a Burial Ground and in appearance it
reverted to being just part of the hay field again. However the graveyard was
never lonely as there were twenty eight people resting there. Who they are is
uncertain, most likely all connected to the Houghs by blood or marriage. The
bodies, male & female, adults and children were located simply by dowsing
the graves........When in 2005 my cousin & I dowsed the Family
Burying Ground, the present owners, who knew nothing about an FBG being in
their farm, gathered sticks & branches and dutifully marked each corner of
each grave. They are so intensely aware now and, I'm sure, will never plow the
hay field."
I am unfamiliar with dowsing but found this explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing
Has anyone ever heard of this? Has anyone ever tried this? Has anyone ever been successful in locating burials of people either in coffins or not in coffins?
Views: 57
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Cyndi Beane Henry on
-
I believe Dick Eastman his written about this. And I've been attempting to get my Dad to dowse our family cemetery, as not all graves are marked with stones. I have seen my Dad [now 73] dowse for water many, many times. And he has been 100% correct every single time. He's never missed. Even when modern equipment has failed, he has always been correct.
However, he states that he doesn't believe that dowsing for graves would be accurate. When I asked why, he stated that he finds water if it is "moving". It's the actual electrical "current" formed from the movement of the water that attracts the rods. If water is lying stagnant it doesn't work. So he doesn't believe this will work for graves.
But I'm still trying to get him to take a stab at it! -
-
Permalink Reply by fizzbomb on
-
I know someone who dowses for graves, but he won't actually say it is a grave. All he will say is the ground has been disturbed and he can show the perimeter of the area. Our local cemetery association has had him locate 'ground disturbances' where suspected unmarked graves are.
There's a series of videos on YouTube about Cemetery Preservation and Dowsing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2LhWDhwhSI -
-
-
In our part of the US we call it witching for graves, and use anything from coathangers to welding rods with a type of casing where its been bent to hold loosely in your hands.
One of the gals that does this quite regularily can tell the difference between sexes and child and or infant -to me its quite facinating to watch. Some people have the ability and others not. -
-
Permalink Reply by Poppy Gladstone on
-
I have heard of it, but have not tried it, although I did get some rods to try it. I have also heard of people trying to find old wagon trails ruts of or earlier settlers by dowsing; and as someone earlier stated, I also have heard of people looking for water this way. My question, how do you tell your rods what to look for?
-
-
Permalink Reply by Jill Stepp Johnston on
-
No, I've never heard of dowsing for anything other than water. The article was interesting, though. Thanks for sharing!
Jill -
© 2024 Created by IIGSExecDirector.
Powered by
