I have to take a second to vent just a little bit of frustration. I just returned from vacation where my plans included going to Crystal Springs and other parts of Copiah County to do some research. While I was gone, I sent a message to this list asking for directions (which were promptly sent). Part of that message indicated there had been some vandalism committed at the cemetery and (basically) not to get my hopes up. Well, since I was almost 2 hours away from Crystal Springs, I thought I would check for an online transcription just to make sure the markers were still in existence for my ancestors. I really didn't want to waste the trip. I did find an online transcription. In this transcription, there are a total of 38 stones listed. Mine were not among those listed so we decided not to go. The day we were leaving I asked my husband if we could just stop by the cemetery and look around (just to make sure). We did......I was in utter shock. Yes, there was evidence of some vandalism and the overall age of the cemetery. There were many broken, weathered and missing stones --- however, there were hundreds of stones present and legible. This leads me to believe that the online transcription must represent the contributor's family and nothing else. Why, then, does the link to it not indicate that information? I don't have a problem with a researcher contributing information pertaining solely to his/her family, but this should not be linked as THE transcription of the cemetery. I can't believe I almost didn't go! Not only did I find James Armstrong Sturgis and Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe Sturgis, but I also found Matt Lockwood Sturgis (grandson of above) and Charles E. Wolfe (brother of Sarah). I was so overwhelmed by it all that I had to choke back the tears. Sandra Sturgis Tipton Contact Information EMail: dooziet@home.com ICQ #: 3000482 Home Phone: 615-451-1517

I am so glad you went, there has been vandals, always will be, but when we went 2 years ago, we found many of Our Lindsey family, and that is our home, Crystal Springs, the , cant remember, who is in charge of the cemetery, but its large, we had a blast, the only bad part was to the very end, which were old graves, glad you were able to find your family At 02:03 PM 07/28/2001 -0500, Sandra Tipton wrote: >I have to take a second to vent just a little bit of frustration. I just >returned from vacation where my plans included going to Crystal Springs and >other parts of Copiah County to do some research. While I was gone, I sent >a message to this list asking for directions (which were promptly sent). >Part of that message indicated there had been some vandalism committed at >the cemetery and (basically) not to get my hopes up. Well, since I was >almost 2 hours away from Crystal Springs, I thought I would check for an >online transcription just to make sure the markers were still in existence >for my ancestors. I really didn't want to waste the trip. > >I did find an online transcription. In this transcription, there are a >total of 38 stones listed. Mine were not among those listed so we decided >not to go. > >The day we were leaving I asked my husband if we could just stop by the >cemetery and look around (just to make sure). We did......I was in utter >shock. Yes, there was evidence of some vandalism and the overall age of the >cemetery. There were many broken, weathered and missing stones --- however, >there were hundreds of stones present and legible. This leads me to believe >that the online transcription must represent the contributor's family and >nothing else. Why, then, does the link to it not indicate that information? >I don't have a problem with a researcher contributing information pertaining >solely to his/her family, but this should not be linked as THE transcription >of the cemetery. > >I can't believe I almost didn't go! Not only did I find James Armstrong >Sturgis and Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe Sturgis, but I also found Matt Lockwood >Sturgis (grandson of above) and Charles E. Wolfe (brother of Sarah). I was >so overwhelmed by it all that I had to choke back the tears. > >Sandra Sturgis Tipton > >Contact Information >EMail: dooziet@home.com >ICQ #: 3000482 >Home Phone: 615-451-1517 > > >==== MSCOPIAH Mailing List ==== >The listkeeper is Annette Womack. >ACWomack@aol.com > > >============================== >Shop Ancestry - Everything you need to Discover, Preserve & Celebrate >your heritage! >http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog > > > God Bless Lynda