Confessions of a Tapophile: From Curious Visitor to Compulsive Researcher

Speaker

AWFHS Committee Member

Date & Time

Thursday, 18 June 2026 at 19:00

Location

Zoom

Details

Speaker Steve Miller: It always begins innocently enough — a quiet wander through a cemetery, a quick look at a headstone, maybe a photograph or two. Before you know it, you are decoding inscriptions, comparing burial registers, and wondering where you are going to store another thousand photos of gravestones.

In this light-hearted talk, Steve shares how a simple curiosity turned into a full-blown tapophile obsession and how the work grew far beyond what he ever expected. From chance discoveries to large research projects, he explores how tapping into the efforts of fellow cemetery enthusiasts — and even thinking like prosopographers, studying groups of people collectively through their memorials — can uncover remarkable stories, and how helping each other makes the journey far more enjoyable.

Expect a few confessions, plenty of relatable moments, and practical tips picked up along the way: recording graves without losing your sanity, organising research, working with photographs and maps, and making the most of the amazing community of people who just can’t walk past a headstone without stopping.

Whether you are merely curious or already beyond saving… you are among friends.