ISSN #1055-1891

Volume 15, Issue #3     .                                               September 2002

Dear Cousins...

Since I am not only researching my husband’s RAWLINGS and RUARK line on his father’s side, but also his maternal lines of Turner and McFelea, and others. This is true of all of us, of course. And I think I am correct-in assuming many of you wish to photograph the grave markers of these ancestors. That means going far afield, stumbling through old established cemeteries as well as graveyards found on private land which may still or was once property of those ancestors. Some are heart-breaking to visit. Stones are missing, or perhaps the markers were of wood and no longer exist. If these places were established in the early 1800’s or even throughout the 1700’s, you might not have full records but family history, and that means a personal search.

In the recent editions of the National Geographical Society newsletter writers and researchers have submitted articles to help those who hunt gravestones or markers. First, they advise you have the official burial certificate, church record, funeral or cemetery record which will tell you where the grave is situated. Many old gravestones in traditional church or town cemeteries were made of limestone and therefore, after many decades, have been ravaged by time and weather and are impossible to read. Having the record which indicates the precise spot, you can purchase a small marker and place it next to the old gravestone with the person’s name, birth date and death date. The local funeral parlor or cemetery will have them. In a private plot, if you cannot find a marker and you know the person was cremated or buried at sea, you can add "buried at sea" on the marker so that ancestor is remembered.

If one of these ancestors with a disintegrating marker was a veteran a person with military service you may obtain markers from a local funeral parlor or local Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Ask for VA Form 40-1330 and follow the instructions. Tell them he was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, War Between the States or a more recent conflict. Be certain any marker is made of granite. It will last forever.