Kathryn, I will look forward to hearing others comments to your question of the first attempt to restore the gravestones. Our ancestors now have a beautiful brick-encased monument and interpretative marker in Joppa Cemetery. A committee placed those years ago, and I have visited there and photographed the stones, but canot tell you the actual date of placement. The original gravestones of Squire and Sarah Morgan Boone are encased in this monument. We as descendants feel honored that the preservation was done. J. Nell Beck Truitt 5th great-granddaughter Secretary, The Boone Society, Inc. _www.boonesociety.org_ (http://www.boonesociety.org) Does anyone know when was the first attempt to "restore" Squire-1 and Sarah Boone's tombstones? It seems that I've read that the stones were defaced by souvenier hunters at one point -- is that true? Did anyone ever mount any memorial plaques onto the tombstones? kathryn Just a Note from . . . . . . Nell