Imagine a crisp, autumn day when the sun’s rays are falling on leaves
that carpet the ground in red and gold. There’s no better day than this to
visit a cemetery—it is likely to beckon even the library-bound genealogist
to walk and to reflect.
But the true value of a cemetery visit lies beyond an appreciation of the
aesthetics of a headstone and graveyard. Cemeteries play a significant role
in genealogical research. Gravestones are an immediate and generally
reliable source of information about our ancestors. Of course, gravestones
contain discrepancies, just as public records do. You might find that the
names of individuals buried in a plot are not included on the headstone, or
that a name is carved on a headstone when the individual is buried
elsewhere. And frequently, the information that is not carved on a
gravestone is more important than what appears. The stories gravestones tell
or don’t tell can be a major help in moving your genealogical research
forward.
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