Judy, You have done a wonderful job and should be highly commended. Regards, Michelle ----- Original Message ----- From: "JM Stell" <stellva@msn.com> To: <lower-delmarva-roots@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 2:04 AM Subject: [LDR] Cemetery Plots/Records Software Program > I've been a church secretary for two churches for more years than I can count now and one has a small cemetery. When I came to the church, the only record for the cemetery was a hand-drawn map on 4 pieces of cardboard with the name of the person who bought a plot and it was anyone's guess how many plots where included 'cause the number of boxes on the map weren't too clear. Some of the 'boxes' were filled in with names, the edges were crumbling and the ink fading in some places. The little cemetery's not big enough or the folks who decided to use the land for that purpose didn't think of having 'sections' and the men who marked off grave sites did their best at trying to keep straight lines. Originally, there were supposed to be several 'paths' that divided the cemetery into four sections, but some of the 'paths' now have gravesites in them because some families bought 5 plots instead of 4, etc. and the guy who made the map made some major mistakes. Of course, the fella who ! > took care of marking it off for new arrivals was the son of the man who originally drew the 1st map and he died a week after I started working there and the guys who took over from him were on the clueless side. Oh, a lot of the plots have no headstones. > > When the church started the cemetery, they gave purchasers a slip of paper and the church's only record was marking a name on those pieces of cardboard. Then a single grave site was $2. > > I've walked the rows more times than I can count, writing down names & dates on headstones and trying to identify filled spots without headstones. I re-drew the map and plugged everything into MS Works. For each plot I have name and dates and my own 'locator' - old section, 4th row from the sidewalk, 5th headstone from the fence, etc. I also put in original purchaser because a lot of the plots are descendents of the original purchaser and the funeral home can give me maiden name and then I can find it. At least the guys on the cemetery committee can find what they need faster and then it's up to them to measure and figure to mark off before the funeral home people come. > > In the office, it gives me a much faster way to look when I get a phone call from someone trying to find great grandpa's grave or when someone wants to sell an unused spot. At least I don't have to go outside and tromp around 'looking' with the old cardboard in hand! We ran something in the church bulletin a good while back and asked if anyone could identify unmarked graves and we had a couple ladies who knew where so-and-so was buried; but there's still a good number of unknowns. MS Works is the only database software the church has and it doesn't help a lot that the surnames Robinson and Grubbs seem to be nearly half of the surnames in the cemetery, but it's better than it was before! > > Judy Stell > Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:14:17 -0800 (PST) > From: Fred Howard <fredericklhoward@yahoo.com<mailto:fredericklhoward@yahoo.com>> > Subject: [LDR] Cemetery Plots/Records Software Program > To: Lower DELMARVA Roots <LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com<mailto:LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L@rootsweb. com>> > Message-ID: <853509.84771.qm@web53903.mail.re2.yahoo.com<mailto:853509.84771.qm@web53903 .mail.re2.yahoo.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Would any LDR members recommend a specific cemetery records computer software?program? I serve on a cemetery committee and believe that it would greatly benefit our group to maintain our cemetery records using one of the current software programs. > However, when I "google" cemetery records many sites appear. And many of the sites appear to be geared for super-size cemeteries. > ? > Your feedback would be appreciated. > ? > Thanks, > Fred > > *************************************** > QUESTIONS about POSTING GUIDELINES, SUBSCRIBING or UNSUBSCRIBING? > Visit The Lower DelMarVa Roots Mailing List FAQ: > http://www.tyaskin.com/handley/ldrfaq.htm > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message