GABIBB-L Archives

From: Aqiylah Collins< >
Subject: [GABIBB-L] Fw: Field Trips
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 08:01:18 -0800

Hi all,
I saw this posted on another list and thought it might help
some of us.

Aqiylah

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------

Subject: [GAWARE-L] Field Trips
Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 09:41:28 -0500

EXPERT GENEALOGY
Editor: Jeannette Holland Austin

Series: Field Trips
Subject: Cemeteries, Funeral Homes. Topography
Date: December 7, 1998

Did you ancestor manage to avoid the census-taker, never filed his
deeds, or anything in the county where he resided? Whether he is
guilty, or the records are lost, the problem is the same. Where in the
world was he?

Here are some suggestions on how to help piece together the puzzle of
people whose records you can't find. A good old-fashioned field trip
to the small town, or countryside where they resided, can provide some
unexpected clues. I have found old family cemeteries, noticed sinking
soil and dug down to find inscribed tombstones! Even found old broken
slate markers propped up in the woods, in barns, and even broken
headstones tangled up in briars in woods. Old church cemeteries still
remain in rural communities, even on wooded sites. Vandals, or sextons
might throw broken stones in nearby woods or fields.

Cemetery Visits. Field trips to cemeteries is one of the finest
methods of learning unexpected information. For one, the arrangement
of the family plot can be quite informative. Typically, the parents
and their minor children are together in the same geographical
location. Nearby, one frequently locates married daughters and their
children. This is why it is so very important to sketch the plot and
adjoining plots.

I pay particular notice to all markers, including lining up all head
markers to foot marker. Initials of the person are generally found on
the foot marker. Then, I pace the feet between each grave to try and
determine if an unmarked grave exists. For example, if the family
buried 2 feet apart in their plot, then one expects all gave to be
consistent. This applies to family graveyards found on old farms or
plantations, local church cemeteries, etc. If there is an unmarked
hump, or sunken place, I am interested.

Social customs of an area must be considered. Virginia, for example,
beginning with Jamestown in 1609, buried their colonials inside local
parishes, so familiarity with history is important. Later, by the 19th
century, they were buried on family plantations, and by the 19th
century, in church graveyards.

Few Colonial graves are intact. Their preservation was instituted by
historical societies who restored or replaced markers. The old
fashioned slate markers break and fall to the ground, get buried under
the soil. The inscriptions on cement slabs become almost impossible
to decipher. A good example of this is the coastal town of Frederica,
in Glynn Co., Georgia. This beautifully restored site of avenues
pinpoints each house's 18th century foundation. Yet, Gen. Oglethorpe's
rangers and townspeople sleep under huge sprawling live-oaks which
only protect the cement slabs, not inscriptions.

The DAR tries to locate Revolutionary War Soldier's graves, and mark
them. Sometimes the marker contains a list of several names known to
have been residents of the county, without any indication of where
they lived. The best of attempts do not guarantee accuracy, as such
markers do contain errors in birth and death dates. Remember, they get
the information from a member's application, which may be gaping with
errors.

The best, most visible markers began in the early 1800's. Even so,
inscriptions must be read with the "fingers", if at all. What I do is
trace my fingers in the indentions, and try to determine the most
likely name. Others, use paper, coloring over the indentions with
pencil.

The burials in county cemeteries can date as far back in time as the
formation of that county. Usually, there is a Sexton who cares for the
cemetery. And, you can write him for information, but don't expect any
information other than what is on the tombstone. They don't have an
office, like funeral directors.

Funeral Directors, of course, have all the necessary genealogical
data, such as the same information as contained on the death
certificate, miscellaneous family information, name of the deceased's
insurance company, and even financial records. But are they still in
business? To find addresses of possible funeral homes which may still
have informatiooon, see the American Blue Book of Funeral Directors,
which was published in New York the National Funeral Director's
Association.

To find anything along these lines, I believe in field trips. Funeral
Directors know whose business they replaced, town people remember
names of old funeral homes, and the l andscape itself, what with local
cemeteries, county, private, church, help formulate a pattern for
further research.

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--------- End forwarded message ----------

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