I’d tried posting this before when the list was down: A lot of stones are in such rough shape at the LVBG that it can be hard to read anything on them. They also wicked up water from sprayers as if they were sponges. We got several rows near the back more or less done. Some might need to be re-checked. There’s still some rows in the back to be done, but there seems to be relatively few headstones in them. There’s several stones that are inscription-side down, but for the time being the Lansingburgh Historical Society wasn’t comfortable with those being moved. The LHS plans to be there again Saturday the 28th, starting earlier - 8:30 AM. TIGS has scheduled for work at St. Mary’s, though. I might try to do a little work at both. There’s also going to be people at New Mount Ida - busy day! One stone that we found I was particularly happy about, Stephen Mealy Jr. (1796 - 1843). One of my correspondents, a third cousin of mine, is a Mealy and Stephen Mealy Jr. is his 4th great grandfather. Another broken stone nearby might be Stephen Mealy, Sr. (1770-1846), his 5th great grandfather. Don Rittner's Lansingburgh book has a photo of James C. Mealy’s ice truck - same family. James C. Mealy (1858-1842) was a son of Stephen A. Mealy (1826-1911), who was a son of Stephen Mealy Jr. I also stopped by Schaghticoke, and found another buried headstone there. Though the little cemetery doesn’t date back as far as the LVBG, a number of the stones are of the same era but they’re in far better shape than the ones in the LVBG. That the cemetery they’re in had been so neglected worked in their favor, in a way. I suspect the LVBG headstones in the 1970s might have been subjected to some harsh cleaning - perhaps wire brushes, pressure washing, or some kind of cleaning product like bleach or acid. I found an article from the 1970s indicating someone in Baldwinsville, Onondaga County, New York, used “muriatic acid” (AKA hydrochloric acid) on headstones he’d found in his house’s foundation to clean them. Not such a good thing to use: “Hydrochloric acid may result in ferrous chloride (rust) staining and the deposition of soluble salts." http://web.archive.org/web/20100704200952/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iamcpcrp/pcri/cleaning.htm "A long-standing method of cleaning marble headstones is dilute hydrochloric acid ('spirits of salts'). It is effective but, as it dissolves calcium carbonate, it is very likely to remove the surface from the stone, leaving a saccharoidal (sugary) finish and its use for this is, therefore, not recommended.” Hill, P.R. and J.C.E. David. Practical Stone Masonry. NY: Routledge, 2013. 207. Many of the LVBG stones are very sugared. They also suffer from pitting and layering. "Strong acids, including muriatic acid, hydrochloric acid, or others are too harsh and will dissolve the stone surface. Because they are corrosive, they can also be hazardous to workers.” "Best Practice Recommendations for Cleaning Government-Issued Headstones." National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. http://ncptt.nps.gov/wp-content/uploads/Best-Practices-Final.pdf Some people still use it - yikes! "Alright, all we did was pick a few that had obviously not been cleaned in awhile and started spraying on the hydrochloric acid (make sure to put your gloves on). We let the acid sit for a few minutes and eat away at the hard water spots. You can hear it fizzle and see white bubbles. Then we started to scrub with our brushes, it kind of gives off a yellow appearance. Reapply as necessary.” http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/2013/05/cleaning-headstones-happy-memorial-day.html The stones *might* look better in the short run, but in the long run they might be seriously, irreparably damaged. Also not so good: “Since the beginning of the actual work on the site [the Van Schaick Burial Plot in Cohoes], the toppled stones have been righted and cleaned by sandblasting.” Galu, Joseph. “Yorkers, Girl Scouts Clean Cemetery, War Memorial.” Times Record. October 28, 1966: 23 cols 3-4. “Harsh mechanical devices such as sand blasting, or power tools such as sanders or drills equipped with a wire brush remove the original material of the grave marker.” http://ncptt.nps.gov/wp-content/uploads/Best-Practices-Final.pdf Chris