Looks great. I bet by gg-grandfather, William Rea Smith (1848-1927), and his wife, Margaret Jane Doty (1857-1917), had some adjustments going from the hilly, tree-filled Belmont Co. to flat, few-small-trees McPherson Co., Kansas. I've never been that far east and really enjoyed seeing pictures of where the family comes from. Thanks. --- Jae BROWN <jberry@indy.rr.com> wrote: > I did a quick catalog of the gravestone photos I took in > Belmont County and loaded them on my mother-in-law's Web site ... > http://www.pentecostalsongs.com/Belmontcounty/ > > Jae Robert M. Lindsey http://www.geocities.com/rlindsey58/ My published writing (including blogs) http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=rlindsey My genealogy http://community.webshots.com/user/poncho58 Genealogy pictures __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

In a message dated 10/31/2006 5:04:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, hsdlsd@earthlink.net writes: Certainly a mason or monument business would know. Dear Members: Just wrote oversees to a cousin and asked her about it because they did have a mason,stone business for yrs. Will see what she will answer me. Boger's in Belmont Co.,OH..

I did a quick catalog of the gravestone photos I took in Belmont County and loaded them on my mother-in-law's Web site (if you are interested in Indiana in the 1930s, or the depression era, you might like my MIL's charming family stories.) I did not get all the stones identified. Anyway here is the link. http://www.pentecostalsongs.com/Belmontcounty/ Jae

I agree....it's a shame that something can't be done, although I wonder just how many old graves would actually get any attention. The problem is, of course, that unless something is an economic money maker, no one is going to work and experiment to come up with a substance that will do the trick Another aspect is that often, what seems like a good idea today, may well prove to have been a disaster in 10 years....look at all the permanent records that well meaning people have plastic-coated......and earlier restorations on paintings that now have to be removed, etc. Whoever did those in the first place were trying their best...but, they just made things worse. Sandra " You would think there would be a clear non invasive polyurethane based preservative that could be painted over what little remains of these old stones. " -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: 10/31/2006

I don't know that such a product isn't already on the market. I know of no one who has ever researched this. Certainly a mason or monument business would know. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandra Ferguson" <ferg@ntelos.net> To: <ohbelmon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:18 AM Subject: Re: [OHBELMON] My trip to Belmont County...using crayons? >I agree....it's a shame that something can't be done, although I wonder >just > how many old graves would actually get any attention. The problem is, of > course, that unless something is an economic money maker, no one is going > to > work and experiment to come up with a substance that will do the trick > Another aspect is that often, what seems like a good idea today, may well > prove to have been a disaster in 10 years....look at all the permanent > records that well meaning people have plastic-coated......and earlier > restorations on paintings that now have to be removed, etc. Whoever did > those in the first place were trying their best...but, they just made > things > worse. > Sandra > > " You would think there would be a clear non invasive polyurethane based > preservative that could be painted over what little remains of these old > stones. " > > > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.21/509 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > >

I'm not a geologist, but I know that sandstone is formed of loosely compressed layers that flake easily - as anyone can see by looking at old gravestones make of sandstone. I saw some up in Knox Co. that had the faces completely flaked away - fortunately someone had transcribed the information before it was gone. Perhaps the geologist didn't realize the fragile materials that were sometimes used - if everyone had used granite or marble, we wouldn't have the problem! I respect people's need to read what's on the ancestors' stones, but they won't be there for the next generation if we aren't careful. Joanne Gaudio

On a visit to Rock Hill Cemetery a few years ago I was totally unable to read the date on my ancestor's tombstone. It was cloudy that day. On a repeat visit a few days later with the sun shining, I was just able to make it out. Lighting can make a big difference. Neil In a message dated 10/31/2006 10:32:23 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, hsdlsd@earthlink.net writes: You would think there would be a clear non invasive polyurethane based preservative that could be painted over what little remains of these old stones. I realize as field researchers and collectors of information, none of us has the authority to do this, but it just seems since we're aware of the deterioration problem, there surely must be a solution to control additional deterioration and that this might be a far better solution than everyone coming along rubbing stones just to gleem a couple of letters or numbers. Once this preservative has been applied and a resistant surface achieved, rubbing becomes less of an issue to the stone. Just a thought. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joanne Gaudio" <jgaudio@charter.net> To: <ohbelmon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 9:50 AM Subject: Re: [OHBELMON] My trip to Belmont County...using crayons? >I hate to be a voice of dissent, but after seeing first hand the fragile > state of some of the old gravestones in Belmont Co., I sure hope folks are > using good hard common sense when deciding how to "read" them. I visited > an > ancestor's grave this past summer in the St. Clairsville Methodist Church > Cemetery, and I was very sorry to see how that old red sandstone (if > that's > what it is) that some of the old monuments were made from, has crumbled. > It > just seems to flake off. My particular stone had a nice big, starkly > white, > bird dropping on it too, but I didn't try to wipe it off because I was > afraid of causing more erosion. The cemetery book had mentioned a repair > on > the stone that obliterated part of the date, but it was actually just a > spot > where the facing had crumbled away. ANY sort of touching would cause more > erosion on many of those old stones. So please, please folks, be very > cautious and err on the side of NOT touching when in doubt. Even tape can > be destructive, as can rubbing over paper with a pencil. My husband took > the best pictures he could and has worked on making them clear back at > home > with his Adobe Photoshop - not a perfect solution, but one that does no > further harm to the stone. Joanne Gaudio > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.21/509 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I've done the shaving cream too, and it works well....but, some folks even feel that this method shouldn't be used. (However, I once asked an acquaintance, a geologist, if this could be harmful to a headstone. After giving me the "are you crazy?" look, he said that he didn't see how anything that didn't harm the skin could harm stone...I explained that I flooded it off with water, after 'reading' it. ) Good luck with church sextants and extant records....believe me, they are often as scarce as hen's teeth. If these records were always and readably available we wouldn't have to struggle to decipher headstones! Many of our ancestors are buried in abandoned and/or private plot cemeteries, with no hope of a record anywhere. Sandra "I have never tried this ,but a friend of mine tried shaving cream sprayed on the stone and than wiped off leaving the white in the recessed areas. It worked very well and apparently it wipes off with the spray bottle of water which they bring along." I think the best hing to do is to get the photo and contact the church or cemetery sexton to get the records and give you the info from that. I have had great succes doing it that way." -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: 10/31/2006

I hate to be a voice of dissent, but after seeing first hand the fragile state of some of the old gravestones in Belmont Co., I sure hope folks are using good hard common sense when deciding how to "read" them. I visited an ancestor's grave this past summer in the St. Clairsville Methodist Church Cemetery, and I was very sorry to see how that old red sandstone (if that's what it is) that some of the old monuments were made from, has crumbled. It just seems to flake off. My particular stone had a nice big, starkly white, bird dropping on it too, but I didn't try to wipe it off because I was afraid of causing more erosion. The cemetery book had mentioned a repair on the stone that obliterated part of the date, but it was actually just a spot where the facing had crumbled away. ANY sort of touching would cause more erosion on many of those old stones. So please, please folks, be very cautious and err on the side of NOT touching when in doubt. Even tape can be destructive, as can rubbing over paper with a pencil. My husband took the best pictures he could and has worked on making them clear back at home with his Adobe Photoshop - not a perfect solution, but one that does no further harm to the stone. Joanne Gaudio

Even a water washing can be corrosive (unless it's distilled). Distilled water has a neutral pH value, meaning it is neither acidic or basic, but drinking water or tap water is not noramlly chemically neutral. In nature, polluting exhaust from fossil fuels mixes with rainwater forming a weak sulfuric or carbonic acid which is deposited on typically limestone or sandstone monuments dissolving the cementation, leading to the disintegration. These acid rains can travels hundreds of miles through the atmosphere. The polluting source need not be adjacent to the area being contaminated, since all internal combustion automobiles contribute to the problem. Granite monuments are much more resistant to this acid wash. If rainwater was pH netural, these monuments would be largely preserved. The exception would be the effects of freezing and thawing. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandra Ferguson" <ferg@ntelos.net> To: <ohbelmon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 10:21 AM Subject: [OHBELMON] grave rubbings > I've done the shaving cream too, and it works well....but, some folks even > feel that this method shouldn't be used. (However, I once asked an > acquaintance, a geologist, if this could be harmful to a headstone. > After > giving me the "are you crazy?" look, he said that he didn't see how > anything that didn't harm the skin could harm stone...I explained that I > flooded it off with water, after 'reading' it. ) > Good luck with church sextants and extant records....believe me, they > are often as scarce as hen's teeth. If these records were always and > readably available we wouldn't have to struggle to decipher headstones! > Many of our ancestors are buried in abandoned and/or private plot > cemeteries, with no hope of a record anywhere. > > Sandra > > > "I have never tried this ,but a friend of mine tried shaving cream sprayed > on the stone and than wiped off leaving the white in the recessed areas. > It > worked very well and apparently it wipes off with the spray bottle of > water > which they bring along." > I think the best hing to do is to get the photo and contact the church > or > cemetery sexton to get the records and give you the info from that. I have > had great succes doing it that way." > > > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.21/509 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > >

You would think there would be a clear non invasive polyurethane based preservative that could be painted over what little remains of these old stones. I realize as field researchers and collectors of information, none of us has the authority to do this, but it just seems since we're aware of the deterioration problem, there surely must be a solution to control additional deterioration and that this might be a far better solution than everyone coming along rubbing stones just to gleem a couple of letters or numbers. Once this preservative has been applied and a resistant surface achieved, rubbing becomes less of an issue to the stone. Just a thought. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joanne Gaudio" <jgaudio@charter.net> To: <ohbelmon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 9:50 AM Subject: Re: [OHBELMON] My trip to Belmont County...using crayons? >I hate to be a voice of dissent, but after seeing first hand the fragile > state of some of the old gravestones in Belmont Co., I sure hope folks are > using good hard common sense when deciding how to "read" them. I visited > an > ancestor's grave this past summer in the St. Clairsville Methodist Church > Cemetery, and I was very sorry to see how that old red sandstone (if > that's > what it is) that some of the old monuments were made from, has crumbled. > It > just seems to flake off. My particular stone had a nice big, starkly > white, > bird dropping on it too, but I didn't try to wipe it off because I was > afraid of causing more erosion. The cemetery book had mentioned a repair > on > the stone that obliterated part of the date, but it was actually just a > spot > where the facing had crumbled away. ANY sort of touching would cause more > erosion on many of those old stones. So please, please folks, be very > cautious and err on the side of NOT touching when in doubt. Even tape can > be destructive, as can rubbing over paper with a pencil. My husband took > the best pictures he could and has worked on making them clear back at > home > with his Adobe Photoshop - not a perfect solution, but one that does no > further harm to the stone. Joanne Gaudio > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.21/509 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > >

Brown actually is one of the names in the cemetery I went to (Pleasant Ridge Methodist). Kind of sad actually: There were five little infant graves in a row. All the same date. That sounds like something intereseting. Did you take a picture of the row or get any of the names or dates? Randi Bowles-Meentzen

I have never tried this ,but a friend of mine tried shaving cream sprayed on the stone and than wiped off leaving the white in the recessed areas. It worked very well and apparently it wipes off with the spray bottle of water which they bring along. I dont know about that technique either. I think the best hing to do is to get the photo and contact the church or cemetery sexton to get the records and give you the info from that. I have had great succes doing it that way. Randi Joanne Gaudio <jgaudio@charter.net> wrote: I hate to be a voice of dissent, but after seeing first hand the fragile state of some of the old gravestones in Belmont Co., I sure hope folks are using good hard common sense when deciding how to "read" them. I visited an ancestor's grave this past summer in the St. Clairsville Methodist Church Cemetery, and I was very sorry to see how that old red sandstone (if that's what it is) that some of the old monuments were made from, has crumbled. It just seems to flake off. My particular stone had a nice big, starkly white, bird dropping on it too, but I didn't try to wipe it off because I was afraid of causing more erosion. The cemetery book had mentioned a repair on the stone that obliterated part of the date, but it was actually just a spot where the facing had crumbled away. ANY sort of touching would cause more erosion on many of those old stones. So please, please folks, be very cautious and err on the side of NOT touching when in doubt. Even tape can be destructive, as can rubbing over paper with a pencil. My husband took the best pictures he could and has worked on making them clear back at home with his Adobe Photoshop - not a perfect solution, but one that does no further harm to the stone. Joanne Gaudio ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Randi Bowles-Meentzen

I sure hope you didn't use crayons on the actual face of the tombstone....that would be a REAL no no! What I do, when a stone is hard to read is the following....take a soft brush and remove surface dirt. Using masking tape, I fasten a piece of banner paper (bought at any office supply store) across the face of the stone. Then, using a crayon (using the long side, not the point) or rubbing wax, I rub across the face of the stone. This covers the area of the writing with crayon and allows the areas of the letter indentations to show up as just white paper, often making the unreadable, readable. I always carry with me a mailing tube with the paper, a paint brush and some rubbing wax stuck down in it, some masking tape and scissors to cut the paper. After the rubbing is made, I roll it around the unused paper and stick it back in the tube. (don't ask me what I plan to do with them, but I have a bunch of these rubbings, all rolled in a large mailing tube......every once in a while I get them out and look at them...pretty neat.) Sandra " We found our stones just as we were giving up the search. Though the graveyard is small, the oldest stones, and ours were among them, are severely etched and worn. After a long search in Barnesville, we couldn't locate chalk to highlight the inscriptions and we settled for crayons. " -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: 10/31/2006

You can use chalk or charcoal applied directly to the stone surface as well, then take a photo. It might not have quite the same detail but is a lot less trouble and convenient to maintain. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sandra Ferguson" <ferg@ntelos.net> To: <jberry@indy.rr.com> Cc: <OHBELMON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 6:41 AM Subject: [OHBELMON] My trip to Belmont County...using crayons? >I sure hope you didn't use crayons on the actual face of the > tombstone....that would be a REAL no no! What I do, when a stone is hard > to > read is the following....take a soft brush and remove surface dirt. Using > masking tape, I fasten a piece of banner paper (bought at any office > supply > store) across the face of the stone. Then, using a crayon (using the long > side, not the point) or rubbing wax, I rub across the face of the stone. > This covers the area of the writing with crayon and allows the areas of > the > letter indentations to show up as just white paper, often making the > unreadable, readable. I always carry with me a mailing tube with the > paper, a paint brush and some rubbing wax stuck down in it, some masking > tape and scissors to cut the paper. After the rubbing is made, I roll it > around the unused paper and stick it back in the tube. (don't ask me what > I > plan to do with them, but I have a bunch of these rubbings, all rolled in > a > large mailing tube......every once in a while I get them out and look at > them...pretty neat.) > > Sandra > > " We found our stones just as we were giving up the search. Though the > graveyard is small, the oldest stones, and ours were among them, are > severely etched and worn. After a long search in Barnesville, we > couldn't > locate chalk to highlight the inscriptions and we settled for crayons. " > > > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.20/508 - Release Date: > 10/31/2006 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.0.408 / Virus Database: 268.13.17/505 - Release Date: > 10/27/2006 > >

Jan, You are so right! The roads are pretty mysterious. Such a beautiful place. Brown actually is one of the names in the cemetery I went to (Pleasant Ridge Methodist). Kind of sad actually: There were five little infant graves in a row. All the same date. Jae On Oct 29, 2006, at 5:24 PM, Twhrose@aol.com wrote: > You mentioned Brown as one of your names. I was in Barnesville a > week or so > earlier. I love the land but it is a challenge to find the right > road. My > Browns are from Monroe County but married sisters in Belmont > County. My Browns > in Monroe were Alexander and John. Hobbs and Shotwells in Belmont. > > Jan O'Brien, > Claremore, OK > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to OHBELMON- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

Dear Jae- Re: "Tombstones of Belmont County" Is this book available through one of the gensocs? Like you, I've trekked over three townships looking for the grave of Robert Willis d.1830, to no avail. Dick Kinkead, FFBC Lantana, FL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jae BROWN" <jberry@indy.rr.com> To: <ohbelmon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2006 12:46 AM Subject: [OHBELMON] My trip to Belmont County > > Hi, everyone, > > Some may want to hear about my trip to Belmont County, though perhaps > you might find it uneventful. First, it was very brief -- only about > five hours out of our vacation. But, for me, it was a great > breakthrough in my genealogy of the Berry family. On Saturday > afternoon, I'll send you all a link to the photos I took, including > many graves of Naylor, Powell, Current, Beard, Hinton, Shry, Brown, > Logan, and more. > > Thanks to a member of this list, I have found one of my ancestors in > Belmont County and evidence that links her to the family at large. > Unfortunately, I can't find the list member's name! I'm so sorry and > I hope you will make yourself known to me again. Anyway, this list > member mentioned a book that had inscriptions from a book called > "Tombstones of Belmont County." One inscription in the book was > tantalizingly close to the information I had on one of my ancestors. > But the age was wrong! Blast! > > So we went to Belmont County, hoping to prove the book wrong (and > right) and we did prove it wrong and right. The tombstone > inscription was from a stone at the Pleasant Ridge Methodist Church > graveyard. I suppose I am used to Indiana, because I thought it > couldn't be much trouble to locate a church graveyard. How wrong I was. > > Pleasant Ridge Methodist is a living church but, like most things > near Barnesville, it is extraordinarily rural. Located in the hilly > country of Wayne Township, the church is surrounded by many Amish and > "English" farms and what land is not grazed by cattle is planted in > beans. While the area is remote, it is not backward, as my husband > discovered when he inadvertently touched a farm fence. It was > electrified. (What an eye opener!) > > The directions normally given to Pleasant Ridge got us in the > vicinity but it took the locals to actually direct us to the church. > These 'township roads' are steep hill roads located in lonely areas > of the county! We drove for a long time, amazed by the beauty of the > hills but also surprised when we saw another human. > > The church itself has a delightful white neo-gothic steeple and it is > situated in a most picturesque location. The fall leaves were maybe > one week past perfect but nonetheless the area of vast and lovely. > The church is situated alone on the ridge and the well-tended > graveyard is across the unpaved road. The graves are old but many > stones are new, suggesting that the families are still in the area > and still involved in their history. At least two family groups of > graves are in disarray -- one because it has a tree growing through > the group and one because the stones have collapsed and been piled up > upon each other. > > We found our stones just as we were giving up the search. Though the > graveyard is small, the oldest stones, and ours were among them, are > severely etched and worn. After a long search in Barnesville, we > couldn't locate chalk to highlight the inscriptions and we settled > for crayons. I am thrilled to tell you we found the grave of my gr-gr- > grandfather's daughter, ADA, who died young (age 10) in Belmont > county. The 'Tombstones' book did not include the complete stone > inscription and, with the added detail, we were left without a shred > of doubt that, on the very spot we were standing, also stood my > pioneering gr-gr-grandparents! How difficult it was to scale these > hills and go to church, we can only guess. We found Ada's grave > adjacent to two other graves of ancestors whose names we recognized > from census records. An incredible breaththrough! > > I will post a link to photos tomorrow! > > Jae' > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > OHBELMON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

You mentioned Brown as one of your names. I was in Barnesville a week or so earlier. I love the land but it is a challenge to find the right road. My Browns are from Monroe County but married sisters in Belmont County. My Browns in Monroe were Alexander and John. Hobbs and Shotwells in Belmont. Jan O'Brien, Claremore, OK

You have the wrong Daniel Berry family. Here is the line of descent...and all marriages/deaths, etc but one, were in Belmont Co, Ohio. gen 1....John Berry and Catharine Horn gen 2...Jacob Berry 1797-1877 m Jane Martin March 8m 1821 Daniel Berry m Elizabeth Dunham Nov. 25, 1819..he died Jan 27, 1849, in Monroe County, Ohio, not in Mo...also, he married in 1819, and you have 'your' Daniel born in 1811. (there were other siblings, but I'm just including those that have a bearing on your question. Gen 3. Dunham Berry 1828-1907 m Martha Norris in 1852 (Dunham is my ancestor, son of the above Jacob, and named for his aunt, Elizabeth Dunham, who was married to his uncle, Daniel. Sandra How about Daniel Berry (son of John), b. 1811, Belmont Co., OH; d. 1890, Grundy Co., MO.? Married Anna Dillon. Any information on this family? -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.408 / Virus Database: 268.13.17/505 - Release Date: 10/27/2006

There is no Monroe County on there.