Working Against Time

Good evening, all!

Thanks for the great comments, tips, and websites provided in your comments - keep them coming, I'm having a great time reading and discovering!

My main purpose for starting this discussion group was to meet others interested in *any* cemetery that was abandoned or pretty much destroyed - as well as those who were 'seasoned' in preserving a cemetery.

The cemetery I'm attempting to preserve is one that a good majority of my "great-greats" and "greats" are buried on. I had (and still have!) no idea what i'm doing in regards to locating this cemetery. Someone sent me the latitude/longitude coordinates, and from there, I found my way to where it is located - but to no avail. Though I was on the right land, there is nothing left to distinguish where my ancestors are buried. I wrote to the person last known to own the land (it is unproductive farmland) but never received an answer. I intend to try and track down some of his ancestors, and write them as well. Perhaps they would be willing to donate that "patch" on the uninhabited piece of land that their name is still associated with. In the meantime, I plan on investing in a shotgun or two (coyotes, folks, and mountain lions - i don't want to get mauled!) so that I can make my way out there to the land, and thoroughly search for something that indicates burial ground. I figure that once I can get some pictures of the actual spot, I can go about claiming it by "blood" kinship. Though I may never be able to establish who is where, I do want my ancestors to know ow much I love them, even if we didn't meet, and how much I want their stories told. What fascinating stories they have! If you're interested in the background of some of my people, please feel free to check out my website, www.myspace.com/lookingforlegends

Some hints I did want to pass on, that I've learned so far, are that local genealogy societies can be your one hope in getting started finding what you need, as well as learning the rules and regulations per state to claiming abandoned cemetary land. See the link below for an example of what I found out when I started poking my nose where it didn't belong! In the meantime, I'm outtie! My family reunion is next weekend, and I'm working on a physical manifestation of my family tree - so I've got to get going. Until we meet again! (ps - the websites I am talking about will be on the next discussion post, vs. this one!)