Author: VCrawf@aol.com at mime Date: 10/3/98 8:32 AM Listers on the Cook county Illinois (Chicago) list have recently been trading tips on making the most of quick trips to genealogical destinations. Everyone wants to visit his or her ancestors' resting places for information - but copying inscriptions can be madly time-consuming - and it is a challenge to take photographs that capture readable text. Of course, no one wants to damage the stones. This led to detailed discussions on method. After much backing and forthing on this issue, a lister sent the material that appears below, and for the good of the order I am forwarding it, with thanks to the listers who sent it in and to the Internet Genie Society for the information itself. I hope some of you will find this useful. Regards to all - Ginny Crawford on the Monterey Peninsula in California (VCrawf@aol.com) Subj: Gravestone Care 101 Date: 10/3/98 8:44:54 AM Central Daylight Time From: Czaplewska@aol.com To: COOK-CO-IL-L@rootsweb.com I found this in regards to the dicussions on "to rub or not to rub" gravestones....answered most of my questions! Anne >From "The SIGNAL" Newsletter of The United States Internet Genealogical Society (October 1, 1998) at http://www.usigs.org/signal/98-10-1.htm#stones --John Tombstone Inscriptions Revisited To cream or not to cream, That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to be environmentally safe Or to slather shaving cream on tombstones Or to choose some other method -- To cream, to read, Aye, there's the rub -- But is the rub better? Or is snapping a photo or a video, bouncing light, washing with a specially prepared solution? The whole purpose is to read the inscription and to transcribe it for future generations in a graveyard that fast is coming under the heels of vandals, of bulldozers, and of an acidic atmosphere that is eating up the stones of time. After one writer-genealogist outlined what he considered his tried and true methods of deciphering epitaphs in a recent issue of The Signal (see What do flour, shaving cream, tracing paper, and chalk have in common?), the editors were inundated under a flow of protests, suggestions, questions. Genealogy mail lists across Cyberspace pounced on the thread, and the stream of suggestions became a tidal wave of advice. In only one respect was there agreement -- on the necessity of recording these epitaphs in a secure place now before even more vandals, bulldozers, acid rain, and time obliterate the fading, chalking letters beyond redemption. Over and over readers offered that refrain - Whatever we do, let us do it now, soon! Keep the tombstones intact so long as possible, but don't let them disintegrate. Even hastening the demise is better than letting an old tombstone just die away out in a lonely pasture somewhere. Having offered that little tidbit of encouragement, however, we hasten to look at what may be both environmentally safe, as well as effective in obtaining vital records for the family root searcher. [On cemetery visits, a hand-held recorder of some sort is essential for quick capture of information about the stone, its location, its condition, its neighbors, its inscription, etc. Unless you have a recorder, you will have to write all this in your notebooks, as see below.] What to use on the inscriptions: Spraying shaving cream on the faint lettering long has been a method of choice, but many shudder at its continued use. The white foam will make the letters stand out, but chemicals in the foam are bad for the stone itself, say many. Not so, counters one correspondent who claim shaving cream has had a bad rap. Everything is either acidic or caustic, he points out, and one is as bad for the stone as the other. He claims to have checked with five manufacturers of tombstones and all say shaving cream will not hurt the tombstone if the stone is washed down afterwards. One suggested using dishwashing soap and a soft brush to wash the stone. Another suggested using a weak vinegar solution (an acid) or a bleach (a caustic) to kill the moss which may be encrusting the stone. This correspondent says he takes a two gallon container of water with a spray attachment with him and "It works well." I checked with the management of a large, privately owned cemetery and mortuary in my area, and he seconded these recommendations. "We do not object to shaving cream on our old stones if you want to wash them afterwards," he said. Besides taking plenty of fresh, cool water and a light brush to the cemetery, other readers suggested taking along everything from aluminium reflectors, cameras, cardboard, chalk, rubbing paper, mirrors, flashlights, tape recorders, notebooks, bug spray, chigger repellent, lunch -- in short, virtually everything but a dead cat at midnight! And one person made a point of suggesting a night-time visit as the best time to read the inscription with the aid of a flashlight, utilizing the contrast of light and shadow. "Be sure and clue in the local police," he cautioned. "You don't want to be taken as vandals!" E-mail, advice from the local mortuary, a listing of DOs and DON'Ts from the Association of Gravestone Studies and other sources have been compiled for further consideration. Picture taking, with or without a chemical bath, was among most popular suggestions. Spritzing with water first may help. Those who shudder at using shaving cream, dishwashing soap, vinegar, or bleach may use a little plain water to wash the stone. With a good lens, either a camera or camcorder does fine. Black and white film, which offers better contrast, may be preferable -- if you have access to a darkroom which will develop B&W these days. Using a mirror to position the light or to flash across the tombstone may be invaluable, suggested one reader, who says he never visits a cemetery without a mirror in his pocket. Aluminum foil, a large piece of white cardboard, or even a white notebook page can be used as a reflector to make the letters stand out. Taking care to direct the light source, either by sunlight or by reflectors, will make the letters stand out more. Light relected from an angle provides better relief and contrast than a head-on shot may. You may want to try both ways. A tape recorder is also handy for note taking, describing the grave itself, its position in the cemetery and nearby burial sites. Lacking a recorder, the researcher will want to make copious notes in his binder, leaving nothing to memory. Rubbing is a centuries-old method of preserving inscriptions along with the original lettering and other decoration on the tomb. Long before photography, family rooters were out rubbing, rubbing, rubbing. It has been turned into a fine art with many rubbings suggested as 'suitable for framing.' Rubbing in the field, however, offers different challenges from using black art paper and golden chalk in a place like Westminster Abbey. For one thing, the rubber does not want to use his bare hands on the tomb, warns one reader. "The mold and other things that grow on the stones will give you a rush you will remember long afterwards. It is not funny if you itch like crazy for a few days," he says. Rubbing may harm the stone in other ways, also. In order to make deep impression on the paper, the researcher may have to get into an awkward crouch position and push against an upright stone, which can cause it to tumble over. Even if the stone is a flat one in the ground, force of rubbing may crumble off the already deteriorating letters. Only infra-red was not suggested as a method of preserving. Probably that is only because at present it is inconvenient to carry an infra-red producing light source to the cemetery. Once a portable machine is practicable, watch out! Is there no way, then, to read the tombstone and not send it to its own grave faster? "Chalk the surface," says one reader. "Brush a little mud on," says another. "Splash with water," came other replies, over and over. We finally came up with this list below from the Association of Gravestone Studies http://www.berkshire.net/ags/ -or- http://www.oklahoma.net/caretom.txt Cleaning Stones Procedures to Avoid Avoid acidic cleaners on marble or limestone. Avoid sandblasting gravestones. Avoid high-pressure spraying. Do not attempt to clean any stone that is unstable. Do not attempt to clean stones without first receiving proper direction. Never use wire brushes or any metal instrument in cleaning stone. Do not substitute household cleaners for those listed here. Do not clean stones often. Even the most carefully cleaned stone loses stone particles with each cleaning. Do not plan to clean stones more often than once every several years, or longer. Avoid treating stones with "protective" coatings that are impermeable to water vapor. Tools for Stone Cleaning Plastic pails Goggles Rubber gloves Tampico (natural bristle) or plastic scrub brushes Toothbrushes Smooth wooden sticks such as ice-cream sticks or tongue depressors Q-tips Spray bottles Water source DOs and DON'Ts of Stone Rubbing 1.Remember -- reverence! No running or jumping on stones or in their vicinity. 2.Always supervise children, and consider not bringing children under 12 into the cemetery while you work. Some cemeteries forbid any children under the age of 10 from rubbing stones regardless of supervision. 3.Limit gravestone rubbing to sound stones only. Before proceeding, check each stone for stability. Do not work with any stone that appears fragile or unsound. 4.Limit the cleaning of a stone to dusting with a soft-bristled brush. Do not attempt to remove lichens or moss that may be growing on stones. Never use a wire brush on gravestones. 5.Use a heavy grade paper or pellon so ink does not bleed through onto the stone. 6.Cover the image amply with paper to avoid overrubbing onto the stone. Do not make any marks on the stone. 7.Attach paper with masking tape to the back of the stone. Be sure to remove all bits of tape from the stone and nearby ground before leaving. 8.Avoid rubbing deeply-carved stones. Such stones can be easily damaged and generally do not make good rubbings anyway. 9.Avoid rubbing marble or other stones with course-grained textures, as coloring agents may bleed through the paper onto the stones. 10.The best choice of stones for rubbing are slate stones in good condition with low-relief or incised carvings. These produce the best images on paper and are less easily damaged inadvertently. 11.Check the work site before leaving to be sure no tape, paper, or trash has been left behind. But whichever way you finally choose, please do this. Be careful, inscribe carefully, and preserve the notes you take. The tombstone you read today may not be there tomorrow, or next year, or in the next century. Their days may be numbered with ever-increasing speed. by Joan Rose- JRose10700@aol.com --Boundary_(ID_5wQVh5XNe7oiTy1w8J98PA) Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT RFC-822-headers: Received: from CONVERSION-DAEMON by mail.hac.com (PMDF V5.1-12 #26580) id <0F0900G01CX4ZG@mail.hac.com> for "debra l elliott"@mime.mail.hac.com; Sat, 3 Oct 1998 08:41:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: from PROCESS-DAEMON by mail.hac.com (PMDF V5.1-12 #26580) id <0F0900G01CX3ZF@mail.hac.com> for "debra l elliott"@mime.mail.hac.com; Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:41:27 -0700 (PDT) Received: from fw-tu05.hac.com by mail.hac.com (PMDF V5.1-12 #26580) with ESMTP id <0F09009GICX204@mail.hac.com> for "debra l elliott"@mime.mail.hac.com; Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:41:27 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mtiwgwc01.worldnet.att.net ([204.127.131.16]) by fw-tu05.hac.com (8.9.0/8.9.0) with ESMTP id IAA22856 for <dlelliott@west.raytheon.com>; Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:42:40 -0700 (MST) Received: from fp-1.rootsweb.com ([207.113.233.233]) by mtiwgwc01.worldnet.att.net (InterMail v03.02.05 118 121 101) with ESMTP id <19981003154208.VHQI19406@fp-1.rootsweb.com>; Sat, 03 Oct 1998 15:42:08 +0000 Received: (from slist@localhost) by fp-1.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id IAA14520; Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:31:15 -0700 (PDT) Resent-date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998 08:31:15 -0700 (PDT) Date: Sat, 03 Oct 1998 11:32:58 -0400 (EDT) Resent-from: GenConnecticut-L@rootsweb.com From: VCrawf@aol.com Subject: [GenConnecticut-L] Gravestone inscriptions Resent-sender: GenConnecticut-L-request@rootsweb.com Resent-message-id: <"e3UU8B.A.YiD.BNkF2"@fp-1.rootsweb.com> Message-id: <81bf179c.361643aa@aol.com> MIME-version: 1.0 X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 224 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Precedence: list Old-To: GENCONNECTICUT-L@rootsweb.com, HUNT-L@rootsweb.com, SWITZERLAND-L@rootsweb.com Old-Cc: OXFORDSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <GenConnecticut-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/1455 X-Loop: GenConnecticut-L@rootsweb.com --Boundary_(ID_5wQVh5XNe7oiTy1w8J98PA)-- --------- End forwarded message ---------- ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]