Steven, Since others seem to be taking advantage of your expertise, I'm going to throw you some other questions. Rather than asking you privately, I thought maybe your answers would be of interest to several on the list. As many of you know, Steven's pet project is marking the graves of Confederate soldiers who served with his great-great uncle, right, Steven? Since I lost all my older e-mails, I don't have the exact details of the Mississippi regiment they served in. For the information of those of you on the list, the markers are free from the federal government, the Veteran's Administration. Even for the Rebs who served in the Confederacy. The only requirement is that the man has to have had an honorable discharge (can't have deserted.) The instructions and the application form are available on the VA website, to be downloaded as PDF. It works perfectly, and the form prints out looking like an original. If the soldier's remains cannot be pinpointed (for example, if he died on the battlefield but there is no cemetery there), then you can request a memorial marker to be placed there or in the soldier's home cemetery. With Steven's coaching, a descendant of one of "my" Cavalrymen obtained a free memorial marker for her ancestor, to be placed in the family cemetery in Montgomery County, Texas; she will place it and have the dedication in a couple of weeks. If any of you want to see a photo of the marker, you can go on my main history page on Barrett Branches and click on the name of Peter B. Irvine. The marker is down toward the bottom of the page. Thanks for your help, Steven! Karen Lawless is thrilled to have the marker. Which brings me to this: I am "fixin'" to fill out the forms to obtain a marker for David Albert Barrett, who was the twin brother of my great-grandmother, Amanda Barrett, wife of James Marion McCan. "Uncle Dave" is buried in the Barrett/Burroughs/Jenkins/Connor Cemetery in Madison County, just behind James M. and Amanda Barrett McCan, two rows back. His grave is unmarked; but the grave was pointed out to me by Mr. J. E. Winborn on New Year's Day, 1976. His wife's grave is marked, but the stone is in several pieces and is lying on the ground, nearly unreadable. This has previously been mentioned on the List. I don't see any problem proving service, but I would like to ask a few questions, Steven. First, the form says that the marker has to be delivered to a "business." I assume that this is to make sure that it's delivered to an address of someone who is there all day long during business hours, right? Ok, what do you normally do about this? What if we don't have a friend in business at Madisonville? The owner or manager of the "business" has to sign. Second, it asks your relationship to the deceased. I am not next-of-kin, I'm "other," which means that I'll have to tell what "other" I am. Should I put that I am the "family historian" or something like that? Or, should I have one of Uncle Dave's descendants sign the form rather than me? Last, you have to have someone from the cemetery sign the form stating that it is Ok for the stone to be placed there. Is this an absolutely rigid requirement? What about rural cemeteries with no cemetery association? Do you have to go to the county commissioner over that precinct for a signature, or what? Steven, I know you, yourself, always order the style of stone that is laid on the ground flat, and that you have your friends in the Sons of Confederate Veterans lay it in place for you; but, what if you want the upright stone? Do you have to get a monument company to install it in a solid base, or what? If so, do you have any idea what it would cost? I might add that, from what I can figure out, all Confederate Vets get the Southern Cross of Honor on their stones, right? What if you specify a different emblem, will they do it, or must you have only the Cross of Honor? I apologize to the List for being so long winded, but I really feel that it's important to honor those Confederate vets whose resting places we can identify. We (my generation) are going to be the last, surely, with any knowledge of these unmarked graves. Of course, we should also consider placing Confederate markers on graves of vets who are buried with a marker but with no CSA designation. Last, let me amend this to include ALL Civil War vets. My husband's great-grandfather fought for the Union army, out of Barren County, Kentucky. We know what cemetery he was buried in, in Minnesota, but the records of the grave site have been lost due to a fire. He would be a good candidate for a memorial marker, right, Steven? Thanks, Steven, for your expertise! Karen Hett

Karen, How about either Buddy Barrett or Elwood Barrett to sign for the marker. They both are in Madisonville. Jack Karen Hett <kmchett@thegateway.net> wrote: Steven, Since others seem to be taking advantage of your expertise, I'm going to throw you some other questions. Rather than asking you privately, I thought maybe your answers would be of interest to several on the list. As many of you know, Steven's pet project is marking the graves of Confederate soldiers who served with his great-great uncle, right, Steven? Since I lost all my older e-mails, I don't have the exact details of the Mississippi regiment they served in. For the information of those of you on the list, the markers are free from the federal government, the Veteran's Administration. Even for the Rebs who served in the Confederacy. The only requirement is that the man has to have had an honorable discharge (can't have deserted.) The instructions and the application form are available on the VA website, to be downloaded as PDF. It works perfectly, and the form prints out looking like an original. If the soldier's remains cannot be pinpointed (for example, if he died on the battlefield but there is no cemetery there), then you can request a memorial marker to be placed there or in the soldier's home cemetery. With Steven's coaching, a descendant of one of "my" Cavalrymen obtained a free memorial marker for her ancestor, to be placed in the family cemetery in Montgomery County, Texas; she will place it and have the dedication in a couple of weeks. If any of you want to see a photo of the marker, you can go on my main history page on Barrett Branches and click on the name of Peter B. Irvine. The marker is down toward the bottom of the page. Thanks for your help, Steven! Karen Lawless is thrilled to have the marker. Which brings me to this: I am "fixin'" to fill out the forms to obtain a marker for David Albert Barrett, who was the twin brother of my great-grandmother, Amanda Barrett, wife of James Marion McCan. "Uncle Dave" is buried in the Barrett/Burroughs/Jenkins/Connor Cemetery in Madison County, just behind James M. and Amanda Barrett McCan, two rows back. His grave is unmarked; but the grave was pointed out to me by Mr. J. E. Winborn on New Year's Day, 1976. His wife's grave is marked, but the stone is in several pieces and is lying on the ground, nearly unreadable. This has previously been mentioned on the List. I don't see any problem proving service, but I would like to ask a few questions, Steven. First, the form says that the marker has to be delivered to a "business." I assume that this is to make sure that it's delivered to an address of someone who is there all day long during business hours, right? Ok, what do you normally do about this? What if we don't have a friend in business at Madisonville? The owner or manager of the "business" has to sign. Second, it asks your relationship to the deceased. I am not next-of-kin, I'm "other," which means that I'll have to tell what "other" I am. Should I put that I am the "family historian" or something like that? Or, should I have one of Uncle Dave's descendants sign the form rather than me? Last, you have to have someone from the cemetery sign the form stating that it is Ok for the stone to be placed there. Is this an absolutely rigid requirement? What about rural cemeteries with no cemetery association? Do you have to go to the county commissioner over that precinct for a signature, or what? Steven, I know you, yourself, always order the style of stone that is laid on the ground flat, and that you have your friends in the Sons of Confederate Veterans lay it in place for you; but, what if you want the upright stone? Do you have to get a monument company to install it in a solid base, or what? If so, do you have any idea what it would cost? I might add that, from what I can figure out, all Confederate Vets get the Southern Cross of Honor on their stones, right? What if you specify a different emblem, will they do it, or must you have only the Cross of Honor? I apologize to the List for being so long winded, but I really feel that it's important to honor those Confederate vets whose resting places we can identify. We (my generation) are going to be the last, surely, with any knowledge of these unmarked graves. Of course, we should also consider placing Confederate markers on graves of vets who are buried with a marker but with no CSA designation. Last, let me amend this to include ALL Civil War vets. My husband's great-grandfather fought for the Union army, out of Barren County, Kentucky. We know what cemetery he was buried in, in Minnesota, but the records of the grave site have been lost due to a fire. He would be a good candidate for a memorial marker, right, Steven? Thanks, Steven, for your expertise! Karen Hett ==== BARRETT-REUBEN-SC Mailing List ==== Barrett Surname DNA Project http://www.flash.net/~parino/barrett-family-dna-project.htm ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237