In a message dated 98-10-16 17:47:48 EDT, you write: << I second your response- but I do wonder how complete the stone surveys are, since I could not locate my great-grandmother. >> Hi, Paul ... My quess is that the people who recorded the tombstone inscriptions did as thorough a job as they were able. Many of the older stones were sandstone so on some the names and dates have been worn away by years of weathering, rendering them unreadable. Some have been broken by vandals and/or time. And I personally know of at least 2 smaller stones that have simply sunk into the ground. And then, of course, sometimes our ancestors aren't buried where we think they should have been. I've been surprised where I've found some of mine. I am so thankful to the people who spent a great deal of time and effort to record the inscriptions from the stones in so many cemeteries. I know I found some of my ancestors only after checking the books ... even though I'd walked the cemeteries a number of times. You'd be surprised (I was) at how many times you can walk past someone you are looking for without even seeing their stone. Uggg. Anyway, hope this explains well enough why some of the people we might be looking for aren't in the records. I do have names of some places that might have the original cemetery records if anyone is interested. But have not had the time to check any of the sources myself. Sue Sablic Indiana [email protected]