Don't Keep Quiet About Your Research

Tell everyone in your family you are researching your family history: after all, it’s their history, too! Santa brought a very special gift to me this Christmas. My first cousin once removed – my mother’s first cousin, knew I was doing research so …. He took it upon himself to re-visit the cemetery in Pennsylvania where so much of our family was buried. I’m sure I met him a long time ago but do not remember where or when but he remembered that I was doing research. He had visited the cemetery previously but the office was closed, the gravestones and property were in deplorable condition and we gave up ever finding more information on any of our relatives there.

Well, surprise! The former cemetery owners repurchased the property, re-opened the office, weeded and mowed, and righted the stones! Bill spent quite a bit of time getting all the plot records and even sketched out the plots. Then, the biggest thing – he sent the information to me. I now have 13 burial cards from Montrose Cemetery that I never had before and lost hope of ever seeing.

So – Merry Christmas to me!

I write this to let you know that you, too, may have a relative who still lives in the area of your mutual ancestors and might be willing to do a little leg work for you, too.

The other “take away” is that cemeteries change hands and what might have once been a lost cause can suddenly be a treasure trove of information. So don’t write off any avenue of research forever. It would be wonderful if the same thing would happen in Cobb Creek Cemetery in Philadelphia but I’m not hopeful. Just the same – I’ll keep checking.

Happy New Year and Happy Hunting!

(Regular weekly blogs will now resume.)