After much procrastination I have decided to throw my hat into the A to Z ring once again. My theme this year will be cemetery searching.
This will seem like a strange topic to many, but for family historians and genealogists, a visit to a family cemetery is a thrill. Not only is it interesting to see graves of family members long past, but the variety of headstones, ages, and causes of death can be fascinating.
For me, it's the long-ago graves that especially hold my interest and offer some connection to my ancestry. This is the only "concrete" way of connecting with them other than through documents and archival records. There is much less urgency for those gone more recently – at least for me – because I knew them and hold memories of them which keeps them alive for me.
When searching graveyards or cemeteries, it's always good to have a willing helper who'll help search a large cemetery. Mr Cassmob is very tolerant of this foible of mine and he seems to unerringly find the right grave, no matter how we divide up our quadrant search. He does tend to get distracted occasionally by the inscriptions on the headstones which can be a bit frustrating when time is limited. <smile> My children, on the other hand, have very little tolerance of cemetery searching declaring their irritation at hot, crackly grass where there might be snakes, or cold Irish graveyards at dusk with owls hooting. Really, there's no pleasing some people!
When time permits, we will peruse a cemetery with no known links to our families, just out of curiosity. I tend to photograph stones that are in peril of collapsing or becoming illegible, as well as monumental inscriptions for German immigrants or those from County Clare, Ireland as I have a research interest in both of those.
So if you're not put off by ghoulies and ghosties feel free to join me on this journey. I only hope my commitment gets me to Z.
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