Macon County, TN Historical Society

~ Grave Hunting ~

Have you found yourself hunting for graves in that old family cemetery? If you have been bitten by the Genealogy Bug, I bet you have. A member of the Historical Society, Ray Thorpe, demonstrated "Dowsing" for us. We all found this quite interesting and wanted to share the technique with you.

Dowsing

(Locating, Cable, Pipes, Water or Graves)

by: Ray Thorpe

Dowsing is not a witchcraft, you do not need "Special Powers" to do it, just practice. I went to a Fiber Optic Cable Repair School in 1988. The instructor showed us how to make the rods and how to use them.

The Rods:

Get 2 metal coat hangers. Cut them at the bottom bend on one side, cut about 4 inches up on the other side. Then shape the bend to form a right angle. This will five you a rod about 15" long with a handle about 4" long.

15 inches 4 inches

You may vary the handle length to fit you hand.

This is the hardest part for most people. This needs a lot of practice. Hold the rod lightly in your hands, with elbows at you waist and forearms parallel to the ground. The rods should be held straight out, also parallel to the ground and each other. Do not place your thumbs over the bend of the handle, this will restrict movement. Do not grip to tightly, only enough to keep the rods parallel.

Tree limbs, overhead lines and cables will cause a reaction just like underground objects.

Try Dowsing on a known water pipe or cable to get practice on using the rods. Step up to, but not over the known object. Walk very slowly across the object. As you continue over and past the object the rods will uncross. Practice this until you feel as to how the rods work. When over the object turn at 90 degrees and walk along the object. You will find they stay crossed as long as you are over the object.

Locating Graves and Unmarked graves

Go to a cemetery, with no overhead wires and away from trees. Most graves are laid out with the head to the west and the feet to the east. If you move in a north to south direction, you can pick a pattern of the burials. Usually you will find the graves to be separated by 2 to 3 feet . As you cross each grave, the rods will cross and uncross as you step off of them. To determine if this is a infant, child or adult, when over the grave turn 90 degrees and move the length of the grave. The rods by crossing and uncrossing will show the length of the grave.

Happy Hunting