I want to suggest that there may be differences in quality of the maps
developed for the Veterans Graves Reg. Project, depending on which county
you are researching. The WPA map was wrong about where the Redenbaugh
cemetery was going to be found in Montgomery Co, but the eye witnesses who
played there about 70 years ago were correct. So I recommend considering
the map info as a possible location and employing whatever other methods
can be found for verification.
The WPA map for the Redenbaugh cemetery not only had the cemetery in the
wrong location, but it had huge, unrealistic grave plots. It was not drawn
to scale.
Sharon Mills
At 09:23 AM 05/25/2000 -0500, you wrote:
Hello All,
To locate old cemeteries in Indiana, don't forget the Veterans Graves
Registration Project, which was done in many counties in the 1930's by the
WPA. Not all counties were done, but for those that were the information
can be very helpful. The information includes plats of the cemeteries, the
location from nearest roads or landmarks, and a list and locations of the
Veterans buried in the cemeteries. 144 of the 200 cemeteries in Gibson
County were surveyed by the WPA in 1939-1940. We had these records
recorded on microfilm, and are now available in the Princeton library. If
records for your county are not available locally, check with the State
Archives. Your county may be one of the many that were done.
Ernie
At 09:03 PM 5/24/00 -0500, you wrote:
>To all interested parties I'd like to submit the following items for:
>
>
>Locating a Cemetery
>
>1. Contact the Township Trustee to see if he may have some information on
> this particular cemetery or burial site. Visit the office if possible!
> Township trustees have many records in storage and if they are truly
> interested will dig some of these out and do some research with you.
>
>2. Check old plat books. Most counties have these published and sell at
>the auditors office. Check at the county records library
>(archives) or Recorders office for old plat records. Many counties
>have these back to the early
> 1900's or earlier. Also check Assessor's records, these are usually
> recorded
> by Township. Cemeteries were not taxed property, and recorded as such.
>
>3. Check early county histories, Goodspeed did many county histories
>around 1885, for name of individuals buried at "Hickory Hill Cemetery"
>or family homestead.
>
>4. Check the Indiana State Library Database Cemetery Locator File: The
>Cemetery Locator File was created as a tool for the identification
>of cemeteries throughout the state. It began many years ago in
>card file format from names of cemeteries in books and
>microfilm given or purchased for the
> Genealogy Division. Cemeteries are included where there are lists of
> burials
> or simply a location statement.
>
>5. Submit your information as to location of cemetery to: I
> Indiana Cemetery Survey. being conducted by the Indiana Genealogical
> Society, representative is Sharon Howell, 720 Cynthia Lane,
> Whiteland, IN 46184
> Telephone (317) 535-9376 E-Mail: Sharon Howell at: sshowell(a)indy.net
> Since cemeteries can be the earliest "vital records" of a state, they
> are extremely important to the genealogical researcher. Many
> times it is difficult for the researcher to locate the cemetery of
> their ancestor even when they know where they lived and sometimes
> even the name of the cemetery. The purpose of this project is to
> provide informed access to the locations of all
> Indiana cemeteries, public and private.
>
> Another purpose or side benefit of this survey is to bring to the
> attention of the caretakers and public officials the need for
> preservation of the cemeteries under their care and supervision. It
> is not the purpose of this survey to disrupt the operation of any
> existing cemetery or to cause inconvenience to any private individual
> or group.
>
>6. Check your local library for cemetery information. In the past, the
>DAR has done many inscriptions and put copies of these in a local
>library.
> Also check the local Historical Society or Museums for information.
>
>7. By all means, record all information that is on a tombstone, even
>the stonecutter or monument makers name. Also date your
>observation. Take a photograph of the tombstones in question.
>If the property owner is reluctant
> to provide any information, check with the neighbors, they may
> provide information more freely.
>
>8. Check U.S. Geological Survey maps. Indiana Department of Natural
Resources
> (DNR) has these maps for sale. Also check your local Soil
> Conservation Office
> for these maps. They show cemeteries on these maps. Not all
> cemeteries are
> listed.
>
> This is by no means all inclusive, just some ideas to consider. Any
> additions
>would be most welcomed.
>
>Joseph R. Gogel
>
>
>
>==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
>Cemetery: (n) A marble orchard not to be taken for granite.
Ernie Lasley
elasley(a)sigecom.net
==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
THIS IS A CEMETERY -----
"Lives are commemorated - deaths are recorded - families
are reunited - memories are made tangible - and love is
undisguised. This is a cemetery.
"Communities accord respect, families bestow reverence,
historians seek information and our heritage is thereby enriched.
"Testimonies of devotion, pride and remembrance are carved
in stone to pay warm tribute to accomplishments and to the life -
not the death - of a loved one. The cemetery is homeland for family
memorials that are a sustaining source of comfort to the living.
"A cemetery is a history of people - a perpetual record of
yesterday and sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery
exists because every life is worth loving and remembering - always."
--Author unknown -- Seen at a monument dealer in West Union, IA