Thought this might be of interest to you. I came to me through the Stewart email list. Doug The following article is from Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.RootsForum.com. - Your Guide to Cemetery Research This week I had a chance to read Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. This book is a reference full of information about not only cemeteries, but also all other records created when a person dies. The book describes just about every phase of cemetery research. Chapter titles include: Records of Death Locating Graves, Cemeteries and Their Records Searching A Cemetery Bringing Home a Tombstone Legally! Cryptic Clues in the Bone Yard American Burial Customs and Folkways Ethnic and Religious Funeral and Burial Customs Cemetery Projects and Preservation Making Cemeteries a Family Affair The book also has several appendixes: Gravestone Art, Symbols, Emblems and Attributes Historical Time Line of Deadly Diseases, Epidemics and Disasters in America 1516-1981 Historical Medical Glossary for Causes of Death A Case History Using Obituaries as Family Histories Cemetery Transcription Forms The book also includes an extensive bibliography and an index. I must admit that my eyebrows shot up a bit when I read the title of the appendix on "Historical Time Line of Deadly Diseases, Epidemics and Disasters in America 1516-1981." I have an interest in pre-1620 settlements in North America, but I know that the year 1516 is a bit early. I quickly turned to that section to find that the author mentioned the "first major smallpox epidemic spread among native tribes in Hispaniola brought by European colonists." Hispaniola is now known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Many other epidemics are listed as well. I noticed that a cholera epidemic was raging in the northeastern U.S. cities at a time when one of my ancestors died at an early age. I think I'll go look at some newspapers of that city at that time to see if there is a mention of cholera being rampant there. I was especially pleased to read Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's advice on photographing tombstones. For many years, genealogists would fill tombstone engravings with shaving cream to improve contrast in the photographs. In later years, many people claimed that shaving cream has a low pH, which means that it is acidic, and will harm the stone. Still others launched counter-claims that only a few brands of shaving cream were acidic and also that the few minutes of exposure to shaving cream acid was far less damaging than the acid rain that falls on tombstones in a single rain shower. Sharon sidesteps the issuenicely by showing how to make high-contrast photographs without shaving cream. Why use it when you don't have to? Your Guide to Cemetery Research has many illustrations to amplify the discussions within its pages.Transcription forms in the back of the book will also help organize a trip to a cemetery. This 263-page publication is a worthwhile addition to your bookshelf. Your Guide to Cemetery Researchby Sharon DeBartolo Carmack sells for $19.99 and is available from most any bookstore. If the book is not in stock, most bookstores will order it for you if you specify ISBN 1-55870-589-9. I also found it on theWeb site of the publisher, Betterway Books, for $19.99 and on Barnes & Noble's Web site for $17.99. _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963