I thought this article was interesting. It came from Renee on the Smith L List. Just thought I would pass it along. Betty Heryford The following is the complete article that the information for dowsing came from.  Yes, I wrote it.  I am the President of a small cemetery collection group with big hopes.  The Cemetery Collection Process. Written May 2002 by Renee L. Waring of ICM How to number the graves: Go to the front of the cemetery with the names facing you.  Folks are usually buried with their heads facing west and their feet facing east, I suppose it is because when Jesus comes back again he will rise in the East and the dead will rise to greet him.  If some of the stones are facing the other way, the bodies were still buried in the row that the stones are in with the head to the West.  Go to the very left of the row.  This will be your first grave to record (see "Dowsing" below).  This grave is Number 1 in the Row of 1.  If it is in a family plot (which is usually marked with four small stones at each corner) you would list it with a Plot number.  Any other grave stones in that plot should have the same plot number, that way they can be recognized as being buried with those family members.  You continue to collected the rest of the cemetery in the same manner, always working left to right.  Some questions that may arise: 1) What if some rows are shorter than others? Answer: Check to see if there are unmarked graves.  Without the original grave layout plans the only way to tell without someone there that can tell you different is to dowse the ground.  More on that later.  If you find that there is an unmarked grave, then you will need to assign it a number.  You want the grave yard to work like a grid. 2) What if the grave yard is broken up into several areas? Answer: Break it into sections and give it a Section Letter such as A, B, C.  A road is something that would break it into sections A and Section B.  Use your best judgment on how it is to be broken up.  If the grave yard is divided into several sections, this is how your numbering system would go: The first grave in the first section:  Section A, Row 1, Number 1, Plot 1 The second one in the first sect:   Section A, Row 1, Number 2, Plot 1 The 15th grave in the 3rd sect:      Section C, Row 1, Number 15, Plot 28 I hope this makes sense. 3) What if someone asks me what I am doing? Answer: Let the local police department and newspaper know you are working in the area.  Perhaps you can get some coverage for your group.  If someone asks you what you are doing, tell them, then pump them for information.  That is how we found the single grave on the mountain in Clearfield County.  Folks that care enough to stop and ask you may just want to jump in to help as well.  Perhaps if you are working at a local church in their grave yard contact them before hand, they can get someone out there with some information who also wants to help.  It also lets them know you are there working.  They should appreciate the fact that you considered their feelings enough to notify them. 4) What if I find a grave yard that needs some upkeep? Answer: Find out what the local laws are first off.  Who is legally responsible for the upkeep?  Sometimes these folks are older and not in the shape to get out there to work on the graves and do not have the funding.  If this is the case, then suggest to them that possibly if you work together you can find a group (such as the Boy or Girl Scouts) that might help put the cemetery back into shape.  How do you find the owner?  If everything else fails, go to the local real-estate taxing department at the local court house and ask who owns the property.  Try to have an idea what the address is.  If you are not sure, go to the mapping department and ask them.  I have worked with both departments and either one could tell you. 5) Why take a walking stick? Answer: You can use it to push shrubs aside to see the stone.  You could use it to test the ground for holes.  You could use it to throw unwanted things into the bushes (creepy crawly things).  If you put a nail in the end, you could use it to see if there is a stone buried under the ground (which the care takers do, or time).  You could use it to lift a stone off the ground to see if there is writing on the other side.  Or you could use it to just walk with. 6) How do I read a partially illegible stone? Answer: This is a touchy subject.  There are several ways to try to read a stone that seems illegible.  You could try a mirror, you could try a digital camera looked through at different angles (try to put shadow on the letters as with the mirror), or you could try a piece of sidewalk chalk.  I have contacted the chalk company of the brand that we use, and they assure me that it will not damage the stones due to the fact that the substance that they use in the chalk is softer than the stone.  There is one type of stone that is very porous and I would not suggest using the chalk on and that is marble.  Unfortunately, during the years just before the Civil War and afterwards they used mostly marble.  Touch is the best way then.  I get down and finger the letters.  You will become accustomed to the feel of the letters and sometimes that is the easiest way.  You could say you are giving the stone the personal touch.  It certainly brings you closer to the one buried there. What is dowsing, and how do you do it?  Dowsing is what they have used in the past to identify sites where water could be found.  It is also a way to identify unmarked graves.  Don't ask how it works, just know that it does.  I know of a case out in Hendricks County Indiana that they wanted to build a road past the County Home that dated back into the 1800s but there was a cemetery in the way with many, many unmarked graves.  The authorities dowsed the ground to identify the graves, then dug them up and reburied them elsewhere. Justin Houser and I have both used this method to identify graves, and we have asked others who walked by to try it.  It does work, and surprises everyone.  This is what you do: Take two metal hangers and cut them so you have two pieces of metal shaped like an "L's."  Go out to the local grave yard and hold the rods out in front of you like you are holding a steering wheel in the 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock position but not tightly.  Walk across a row of graves that you know to be there.  As you walk, you will right away notice that the rods cross at the same intervals as you cross over each grave.  WOW!!!  How does this thing work?  I have no idea.  Now walk over a row of graves that has a few stones missing.  If there are graves there, you will again have the rods crossing at regular intervals.  Now, walk across a whole field of unmarked graves as I did in Osceola Mills in Clearfield County and you will be amazed!!!  There were the crossings at the same intervals as the rest of the marked cemetery.  The real shocker was when the rods didn't cross, but went violently outward!!  I asked Justin Houser what the heck that was.  I had never felt that kind of movement before, not with such force.  He said "water."  Amazing. If you would like to join the group, let me know. Sincerely, Renee L. Waring List Administrator for: www.internationalcemeterymonth.org/ http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ICM-WGW   http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/WaringFamily ICM-WGW@smartgroups.com ICM Chat Room, to be used on special occasions: http://mercury.beseen.com/chat/rooms/q/19806 GEN-STORIES@rootsweb.com Waring Family Board Room:  http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/t/57567/ Subscribe to the ICM List at this address: <A HREF="mailto:ICM-WGW-subscribe@yahoogroups.com">ICM-WGW-subscribe@smartgroups.com Subscribe to the Waring List at this address: WaringFamily-subscribe@smartgroups.com</A> Peggy Memphis,Tenn

I appreciated very much the article on cemeteries. I am glad to see the strong recommendation for a recording by geographical location within the cemetery. [Too often, people go to all the trouble of recording on index cards the inscriptions on tombstones and then sort these alphabetically. That way you have no knowledge that Mary Brown is buried next to John Smith.] An index is helpful but by all means tell the researchers who is buried near whom. It is not absolute proof, but it sure does help in knowing where to look. About Dowsing - I understand: - metal rods bent into L shape - hold in front of you at 3 & 9 o'clock like a steering wheel. However, does any one know: [I'm dense!] - Is the rod you are holding held vertical or horizontal? - In what direction is the other part of the L pointing? Is metal preferred over wood? "Divining Rods" used for water at usually wood. Good Searching - Good Finding - Good Luck! David Huffines Searching HOFHEINZ/HUFFINES/HOFFHINES/HUFFHINES/ HOFFEIN/et.al.and WILLIAMSON, WAKEFIELD, UNDERWOOD, PAISLEY, SIKES, LIPSCOMB