Delores, You certainly are correct. There are many, many woops. We find the WPA Graves Registration Survey with so many omissions. In many instances one side of the gravestone was recorded but it was forgotten that there are 4 sides to many gravestones. The WPA Graves Registration Survey also appears, for some reason, to have skipped children in so many instances. The LDS reading of inscriptions nearly 40 years ago was completed with much more correctness, but then again, as you said, we are only human. Large monument inscriptions were again missed. Also, I imagine, because of the inscriptions being another 30 years weathered, the soft marble was a little more impossible to read. After viewing persons doing a wire brushing of the soft marble to clean the inscription, I imagine irreparable damage has accelerated/added to the process of weathering of many stones. Some use shaving cream to help read inscriptions, unknowing that the softening agents contained therein chemically loosen the binding agents of the stone, and the stone will crumble like salt when touched. I have received requests where the descendants knew a double inscription was on the gravestone because they had seen pictures of it. But, I used light reflection, flour, and wetting process to attempt to read it. It wasn't there. Picture wasn't either. In re-reading, the Van Buren County Genealogical Society does incorporate the information of the WPA Survey, and the 1960's reading into to our re-reads (listing entries even though no stone is found) as well as going to death records, obituaries and biography publications to complete our record and to include maiden names where found. I hope your finding of the missing inscription was not in one of the 40+ of our 114 Van Buren County Cemeteries that we have recently reprinted. If it was, I hope you have notified us of this. We are attempting to make the cemetery records as correct as possible, because, in many instances, it is all there is. It is such a slow process. Don ----- Original Message ----- From: <Draines22@aol.com> To: <IAVANBUR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2001 4:50 PM Subject: Re: [IAVANBUR] MENDENHALL > Not all cemetery listings are correct. I was in IA several years ago & did > some cemetery research. I found a cemetery index that listed my gg grf, but > couldn't find anything about his wife. My brother & I went out to the > cemetery to at least get a photo of his grave (I am from Oregon, so don't get > to IA) and found his wife was buried next to him. It must have been a woops. > We are only human and can make mistakes. I was just delighted to find her > as well. - Delores > > > ==== IAVANBUR Mailing List ==== > Share A Piece of Your Family's History With Yet-To-Be-Found Cousins > By Posting Your Obits - Bios - Wills - Bible - Pensions - Deed Records > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iavanbur/