Andre Dominguez – Uncovering History

Andre describes his hobby as part passion, part volunteer contribution, and part research. But it’s also a “thrilling hunt” that combines data, mystery, excitement, and satisfaction.

Andre’s love for “uncovering history” began with his interest in his own personal family genealogy. When Andre retired from his career as a Nuclear Power Engineer/Manager, he didn’t waste any time being idle. He joined the historical society in Bloomsburg, PA, where he attended seminars and began doing historical genealogy research. This led to his involvement with local cemeteries and eventually “Find a Grave.com” where over the years Andre has made more than 15,000 contributions identifying and posting photos of gravestones.

Finding a long-lost relative’s identity, uncovering a buried gravestone, or finding a connection for someone that has been searching for years, is deeply satisfying and makes people happy.

Since he has lived at Homestead Village, Andre has volunteered at LancasterHistory.org and has continued his research at area historic cemeteries. Several HV residents have joined Andre in his adventures. “Thankfully, there are a few residents here who can translate German tombstones!”, Andre said. Another resident loans his pickup truck to help Andre transport his metal tripod that he uses to lift toppled stones.

Here in Lancaster County, his contributions include mapping and documenting gravesites in locations such as Lancaster Cemetery, Conestoga Memorial Park, Woodward Hill, and Riverview. A team that Andre works with, led by Blue Star Mom Maureen Leary, has documented the locations of over 600 graves that are currently located in Lancaster Cemetery but were not listed in cemetery records. They also identified over 1,000 graves of veterans, over half of whom were not previously identified!

One of the most exciting discoveries was a gravestone from the Civil War that was almost completely buried. He and Maureen knew the grave existed, but could not find the location until one day they were probing the ground and “clink” they hit the stone. “It was an extremely exciting moment,” he recalls. They used mini marble chips to gradually “walk” the stone up out of the ground and resurrect it.

Andre’s work has inspired others to join in. On October 30th, a group of members of the Donegal Witness-Tree Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Blue Star Moms, and others worked to map the final acreage of the Lancaster Cemetery that is not yet thoroughly documented. He also teaches volunteers how to use conservation methods to safely clean gravestones, how to document gravestone conditions and how to meticulously gather the data. Most recently, Andre has been asked to help map and document the gravestones in the Rohrerstown Cemetery (behind The Farmstead at Homestead Village!).