<it will be of interest to other graveyard stompers. Is a GPS precise enough to get me back to within a few feet of a grave? < Is a GPS useful in finding "lost" cemeteries? How close does your guess have to be? I have a description of a cemetery which begins with a house which is probably locatable. The cemetery location is described as "down a lane behind the house, past the edge of the field, in a grove of trees," etc. The description is 25 years old, and there were visible stones then. Now, I'm told, the grove has been turned into a field. Would a GPS help locate any gravestones which remain? Thanks, Doris Waggoner Seattle

GPS will tell you very precisely where you are. It will not look for or find anything. If you know where a headstone is, and you stand at that point, then the GPS will help you or anyone who has the coordinates find that exact point again. But if you can't find a headstone, GPS won't help. You will need a low level ground radar or sonar or something else like those which will 'look' beneath the ground and image items hidden from view. You might try an old USGS topographic map for old landmarks. USGS topo maps, especially older ones, will show orchards, fields, often rock croppings, etc which may now be hidden or even removed. They might even have the cemetery marked for you! USGS maps is how we used to navigate before GPS -- and they still work. Allen ----- Original Message ----- From: <doriswaggoner@juno.com> To: <FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 6:42 PM Subject: [FO] GPS for '"lost" cemeteries > > <it will be of interest to other graveyard stompers. Is a GPS precise > enough to get me back to within a few feet of a grave? > < > > Is a GPS useful in finding "lost" cemeteries? How close does your guess have to be? I have a description of a cemetery which begins with a house which is probably locatable. The cemetery location is described as "down a lane behind the house, past the edge of the field, in a grove of trees," etc. The description is 25 years old, and there were visible stones then. Now, I'm told, the grove has been turned into a field. Would a GPS help locate any gravestones which remain? > > Thanks, > Doris Waggoner > Seattle > > > > > > ==== FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS Mailing List ==== > The "Family Origins® Wish List" http://formalsoft.com/wishlist.htm > ??? FAQ ??? -- http://www.graabek.com/fow/fofaq.html > >

If there are any old maps of the area and you can trace that route on the map, you could come up with some coordinates and the GPS could get you to that location even if the lane, house, field and grove of trees are all gone. It would only be as accurate, however, as the map you start with and your ability to follow the directions (e.g. I doubt that the grove of trees would be indicated on the map {shrug}). Good Hunting! -- Paul aka Graveseeker on Geocaching.com where YOU are the search engine. ----- Original Message ----- From: <doriswaggoner@juno.com> To: <FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 5:42 PM Subject: [FO] GPS for '"lost" cemeteries > > <it will be of interest to other graveyard stompers. Is a GPS precise > enough to get me back to within a few feet of a grave? > < > > Is a GPS useful in finding "lost" cemeteries? How close does your guess have to be? I have a description of a cemetery which begins with a house which is probably locatable. The cemetery location is described as "down a lane behind the house, past the edge of the field, in a grove of trees," etc. The description is 25 years old, and there were visible stones then. Now, I'm told, the grove has been turned into a field. Would a GPS help locate any gravestones which remain? > > Thanks, > Doris Waggoner > Seattle > > > > > > ==== FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS Mailing List ==== > The "Family Origins® Wish List" http://formalsoft.com/wishlist.htm > ??? FAQ ??? -- http://www.graabek.com/fow/fofaq.html >