Hi Pat It can be a problem. I was looking for two graves in Ruthwell, about two pages apart in the book, yet when found they were only one inch apart. Some books have maps, which is great, but others don't. It can help to work out when the first burial would have taken place and look for the section that might apply. Most early stones are near the church. Most graveyards have an extension added about 1875 when the act prohibiting re-using of graves was passed. Ruthwell was surveyed over 40 years ago so some stones may have been lost or are unreadable now. Best wishes Ian A McClumpha Researching Scottish Family History; please look at our website> www.imchad.freeola.com -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pat Stanistreet Sent: 02 June 2011 11:40 To: [email protected] Subject: [DUMFRIES-GALLOWAY] Locating grave stones Could any one advise me if it is possible to use printed MI's as a guide to locating a particular gravestone? I attempted this at Ruthwell recently and could not work out the route the recorder took. A friend and I walked along all the rows and checked to no avail and we did not have time to investigate the flat stones covered by moss & grass. As  these are early 19th century stones I appreciate the inscriptions may be lost to erosion or the stones themselves may be broken. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated Pat Stanistreet Also taking the opportunity to repost my interests: Researching in South West Scotland FLINT - All areas; KIRKPATRICK - Closeburn; PORTEOUS, WRIGHT, TAYLOR - Ruthwell; KERR - Dumfries; COPLAND - Dumfries; BLACK - Tinwald, Durisdeer; SMITH - Conheath; DALZELL/DALZIEL - Tinwald. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message