My Tombstone Collection: 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Find-A-Grave - Good Citations

If you are like me, we read a number of Blog messages. There are a lot of great information around the Genea-Blogger world.

Since this blog deals with Tombstones, I saw a great article about citations. This comes from the Footnote Maven herself.

I would not try to re-create this, so please drop by this website and see what a good citation would look like.

http://www.footnotemaven.com/2009/10/citation-geeks-elizabeth-shown-mills.html

It really has helped me.

Thank you fM.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Monday, October 25, 2010

Not Quite Tuesday - Genealogy Gems Podcast

In a couple of days, some pictures of a cemetery visit will be posted to this blog. But, there is a story behind one of them.

We just got back from a "day trip" to Rhode Island to see Maureen Taylor, Megan Smolenyak, and Marian Pierre-Louis in Providence RI. They were great.

On the way to Rhode Island, we found the Cemetery where my wife's great-grandmother was buried. Found the plot, with the help of the Cemetery Office, found the headstone with no problem at all.

On the headstone was the name of a Son-In-Law, but the name and dates were not on the headstone of the great-grandmother, so we ordered the name and dates to be added. This was Friday. On the way home on Sunday, we stopped back, and the name had been put onto the stone. Happy Dance around here all weekend.

The cemetery gave us the Internment Record for the two people in the plot. One for the Son-In-Law, the other person in that plot, Internment Record was a Cause of Death, "Ciortic ancussion". A Google search suggested that the words were typed incorrectly. So a "status" was posted on Face Book, got lots of responses, all with the same conclusion about the Typo. I said from the beginning that I had to find another source of the Cause of Death.

That is where the Genealogy Gems Podcast comes in. In my email box was a Newsletter that Lisa Louise Cook sends out. In this weeks newsletter was 3 questions. The third was:

Question 3: What's a quick way to find a funeral home located near an ancestor's home?

GEM: Check out www.iMortuary.com

Went to that website, browsed to the town where the cemetery is located. Low and behold one of the Funeral Home names, was the SAME name as the Undertaker's Surname on the Internment Record. An email has already been sent to the Funeral Home. Can't wait to see the response from the Funeral Home.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Remembering September 11, 2001

I am sure that we all remember where we were 9 years ago. (09/11/01). I do.

I was working in a Church office, while the parish administrator was away for maternity leave. That day, I had a group of volunteers putting together a mailing. When we heard the news, spent a little time listening to the news, trying to get a grasp on what was happening, one of the group said "What is really important here?" The task at hand, or to go into the Church and pray.

Being in commuting distance of New York City, we tried to make contact with anyone who worked "in the city". We were able to account for all but one.

That evening, we held a prayer vigil, opening the Church to all in the area. As the service was concluding, that last person walked in the door.

We were the lucky ones.

There are many stories about that eventful day. I'll add one more. A friend of mine is a military veteran. Was in Desert Storm. Had been through that and returned home to his wife and family. After his return, he was working for the New York Port Authority, very close to "Ground Zero". This military leader and veteran "turned the wrong way" coming out of the building, Saving his life.

But I need to go back a number of years earlier, as the impact of 9 - 11 has a little different twist.

This picture was taken on May 7th, 2000.

We were celebrating my wife's birthday with a visit from her friend and daughter from Arizona. We did the normal New York sightseeing. Little did we know what would happen to this view.

But years earlier (mid 1980's) my Cousin and her family visited from Pennsylvania. Again, a tour of New York City was in order. We went to the top of the World Trade Center that summer afternoon. Saw the sights, and stood at the top of the Left Tower, in the photo below.

My cousin died on May 30, 1986 of a battle with Cancer. She has been greatly missed by all of the "cousins" and her family.

On that day, September 11, 2001, the towers were lost, the thousands who worked in the towers, those who were on the 4 planes involved on that fateful day were lost. Those hero's, the First Responders, for those that mourn, for those we remember, and for those military women and men who continue to fight for our Freedom even today. WE WILL REMEMBER.

The memory of my cousin, Bernice, will also not be forgotten.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Strode, Ellwood Palmer

Ellwood Palmer Strode

August 5, 1891 - January 1, 1984

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001

A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Strode, Rachel Pearl (Johnston)

Rachel Pearl (Johnston) Strode

February 7, 1887 - July 28, 1959

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001

A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Regester, Howard Marshall (Sr)

Howard Marshall Regester

1888 - 1955

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Regester, Helen Irene (Patterson)

Helen Irene (Patterson) Regester

1892 - 1971

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Highley, John Marshall

John Marshall Highley

1890 - 1953

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Entwisle, Thomas Lee

Thomas Lee Entwisle

1891 - 1973

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Entwisle, Helen Adele (Strode)

Helen Adele (Strode) Entwisle

June 24, 1894 - April 14, 1985

1245 Birmingham Road

West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

2010, Copyright H R Worthington

Tombstone Tuesday - Coleman M. Kathryn

M. Kathryn Coleman

1910 - 1979

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Coleman, Laura Josephine (Strode)

Laura Josephine (Strode) Coleman

1885 - 1966

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Tombstone Tuesday - Coleman, Henry Barker

Henry Barker Coleman

January 19, 1888 - February 21, 1983

1245 Birmingham Road
West Chester
Chester County
Pennsylvania USA
Postal Code: 19382

GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 39.9063988, Longitude: -75.5942001
A link to the Find-A-Grave Website

Friday, June 4, 2010

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #22

Not being a writer, participation in the Genea-Blogger Challenges are few and far between. However, this one caught my eye and I said "I can do this one". Here is the Challenge:

Week 22: Spend some time at Find-a-Grave. Most of you have probably heard of Find-a-Grave (http://www.findagrave.com/) and probably used it in your own research as well. The challenge this week is to simply browse this web site. Just click links. Look at the different ways the information is sorted. Study the tributes of others and see if there are ways you can improve your own entries. Don’t do any research of your own, simply study the efforts of others. If you have a genealogy blog, share your impressions of Find-a-Grave and any interesting entries you found at the web site.

Earlier this year, I visited a local genealogy group presentation on Find-A-Grave. Actually, it turned out to be a journey that the presenter had in various cemeteries locating his ancestors. Hit presentation did not say too much about how to use Find-A-Grave.

As I do take pictures for Find-A-Grave, I have learned how to use this website as "A" Genealogy Research Tool. Certainly not THE tool, but a nice tool to have "in the bag of tricks".

With some encouragement, I have even created and have given a presentation on this topic and have been asked to give it two more times this fall. Me, doing presentations, No Way. But, you have to start somewhere.

For this challenge, a couple of observations of what you might or might not find on Find-A-Grave.

Names
Dates
Relationships
Inscriptions of what is on the headstone

What I have observed on Find-A-Grave is that "just because it's written in stone" doesn't mean that it is accurate. The best example that I can think of, is a military headstone that has a different birthdate then the headstone itself. Which one is right?

I had an interesting phone call on that posting, which I blogged about here, from the son of the person whose headstone I had posted. The military is correcting the mistake. I only bring this up, as that some of the information on a headstone may not be accurate. However, it is a tool to further research. In looking at this specific stone, there is another name. As it turns out, that name is the name of the person who called me.

What can be helpful, but not always done, it linking families together to reflect the relationships. I have one family where three generations of headstones are linked together. Three different states and cemeteries are included. In the Find-A-Grave page, you can click on a link to see the other family members. I have been trying to make sure that my family links are up to date. This helps show the relationships.

Looking at the symbols on the headstone, on Find-A-Grave, may help tell some more of the story about the person. There are books around that help describe what these symbols mean. A couple that come to mind, was one that had a surname with a farm view inscribed on the stone. It was the name of a local farm. Another headstones with a firefighter's tag on a stake. Not to mention the military symbols and other markers that can be seen on Find-A-Grave.

As a contributor, visiting a number of local cemeteries, I see the same surname showing up. Are they related, I don't know, but I have taken a number of pictures of that surname from other cemeteries. In wondering around these cemeteries, local street names, village names, community names show up. No wonder that street name is down the street, that family is all over the place. A little local history may be found.

Using some searching techniques for Family History research can be used on Find-A-Grave. An example: What was known was the Name and general area of a family of interest. Searching on Find-A-Grave for any cemetery in this one county, I found 27 entries for the surname in question in 3 cemeteries. Found the name I wanted, went to that cemetery. Found the first headstone grouping, but not the one I was looking for. And only 4 headstones. Walking around the cemetery, there was a very large group of headstones that was loaded with genealogy information on the family I was looking for. The monument in the center of the plot had dates and relationships on all four sides of the monument. A look at the Census Records confirmed the family groupings.

But, it also left a couple of questions. What was the relationship between the two family plots, especially since there was one name but different people, in both plots.

Reading some of the inscriptions, hopefully recorded in Find-A-Grave, can be interesting as well. Looking at a number of burial grounds associated with a church are sometimes interesting, when looking at inscriptions. For the most part, based on what I have seen on Find-A-Grave, there may be a scripture passage reference. But, in one very old cemetery, whole passages were recorded on the headstone. Unfortunately they weren't very clear in photographs, but the question was, Why entire passages in this one cemetery?

One of the research tricks that I have learned, is looking sideways or looking at your neighbors. This includes at a Cemetery on Find-A-Grave. When submitting a request for a picture, it's helpful to include other surnames that might be related to the person who the pictures is being requested. One request that I received was for a name, went to the cemetery and could not find that name anywhere. But, the request had another surname in the request. That 2nd surname was on a headstone and right next to it was the one I was looking for. The plot had family members for the two surnames. This helped the requester put the family together.

One other example of Find-A-Grave and searching. Was looking for a cousin. He was not buried in any family cemetery that I had visited or was not on Find-A-Grave. Why not? Doing a search, but backing away from the details in the search, the cousin was located, but in a cemetery not close to the rest of the family. Went to the cemetery to take a picture, was the answer to the question "why was he buried there". He was buried with his in-laws. The cousin was killed in a motorcycle accident, was young, and the family didn't have any preparation for his death but his in-laws has space in their plot. Mystery solved.

Find-A-Grave isn't THE answer, but it can be a tool, in your genealogy tool kit.

For the most part, I have been doing a similar thing on this Blog. What has become important to me, is that people doing Family Research use various tools in their research. I figure that IF I take a picture of a headstone, some one might be looking for it. But, I don't know how or where they might find it. So, I double post the pictures.

There have been two cemeteries that I have visited, based on Photo Requests where the cemetery is in a state of dis-repair, but some of the headstones are still readable (for the most part) but they need to be captured. I have taken pictures of all of the headstones and have posted them.

Thanks to Amy Coffin of We Tree (http://wetree.blogspot.com/) for the inspiration!

© 2010, Copyright H R Worthington

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Anthony, Alexander

Dearest Brother

Alexander Anthony

d. Oct 15 1864

Aged 47 Yr 6 Mo & 10 dys

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday - Christ Episcopal Church in Philadelphia - Burials at Church

Christ Episcopal Church

Known as "The Nation's Church" because of the famous Revolutionary-era leaders who worshiped here, Christ Church was founded in 1695. It was the first parish of the Church of England (Anglican) in Pennsylvania. It is also the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church. Talks on the church's rich history are given throughout the day.

Christ Church in Philadelphia
20 N. American Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

215.922.1695

Directions

Christ Church Philadelphia welcomes visitors daily.VISITING HOURS Monday-Saturday - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday - 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Closed from 9-11 AM on Thursdays for organ rehearsal.
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays in January and February, January 1, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

Sunday 9:00 and 11:00 AM
View all Services and Sunday School

Tombstone Tuesday - Lee, Charles

Christ Episcopal Church, Philadelphia
Originally uploaded by hrworth

Major General Charles Lee
1731 - 1782
Knight Errnat of Liberty
A.D. 1958

The Gift of Samuel White Paterson
His Biographer
XXIX

© 2010, Copyright H R Worthington