Excellent advice! I have a cousin in Florida who does all of this and more and she, too,
visits Illinois/Indiana nearly every summer!
Be kinder than is necessary because everyone
you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
________________________________
From: Melinda <lindybug2509(a)yahoo.com>
To: "inowen(a)rootsweb.com" <inowen(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: [INOWEN] CEMETERIES
Very good advice, Debbie.
Melinda
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 26, 2013, at 1:38 PM, "Debbie Jennings" <debjennings(a)dtccom.net>
wrote:
I live in Tennessee, so when I visit Indiana I try to visit as much
as possible for my research. I cover the counties of Monroe, Morgan, Owen and Putnam.
I find that making various lists helps tremendously. As I stated earlier, I keep a
notebook with me when visiting for research.
For each county I list what I hope to find.
Do yourself a BIG favor..spend some time on my website viewing the cemetery listings and
in your notebook within each county create a page for each cemetery you wish to visit.
Find out who might be buried in which cemteries.
1. Then.... write down the names of each person you want to find as well as the dates
that SHOULD be on the stone.
I don't want to be in the middle of a cemetery trying to remember a date or anything
else to help me figure out if this one is "my" John Jones or not.
2. When dealing with females be certain to make a notation of their maiden name. There
were times when some females were buried in the family plot of their parents so it helps
to have this info.
3. Take a pen/pencil to jot down information. Don't rely on your memory. If you find
the gravestone of a child that you didn't know existed, you need to be able to note
just who the parents were until you get home.
4. Take an umbrella to the cemetery with you. NOT FOR RAIN. An overcast day is the best
for taking photographs of the stone and reading them, but you cannot always depend on
that. My husband and I spent a great deal of time last May creating "shadows" to
take a good photo. An umbrella would have done that just as well.
5. Write down the names of the cemeteries as well as the directions. Having a map is
helpful also. If you are using a GPS- then spend some time before making the trip to find
out the exact coordinates for the cemetery. It makes it so much easier to find. Face it
many of these cemeteries are on roads that are out of the way and frequently there are no
road signs.
You are NOT going to find any signs anywhere on your trip that says--
THIS IS BOB'S ROAD-- THE FRED CEMETERY IS DOWN HERE ON YOUR LEFT
6. Take insect repellent with you. I fed every single mosquito in the Samaria Cemetery
last May !!
7. Watch out for dogs.
8. Be mindful of private property.
9 Take every photo that might be important. You don't know that you will get back
there again. Especially if it is an old cemetery, with natural aging and the unfortunate
event of vandalism- the stones may not be there next time. Take photos of any and all of
your surname, they might later prove to be related.
10. As a diabetic, I am mindful of my meals, etc. Most cemeteries are in the middle of
nowhere. Take a snack of crackers, a banana or apple, something to drink.
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