I'm not sure I am meant to be a blogger

   I'm not sure I am meant to be a blogger, although I think it is a great idea, it is just not something I think about doing.  On the other hand, I am passionate about putting cemetery information out there to help you with your research in Cass, Miami and Howard Counties.  I work on something cemetery related nearly every day.  I just don't talk (or) write about it much.  I realized a couple of days ago that this blog may be giving some of you the wrong idea about what I am doing.  This happened when I got an email update from a wonderful sexton who had heard a rumor that I was no longer updating the cemetery sites.  This is so not true.  There is so much going on behind the scenes that you may not see happening.
  With 117 cemeteries in the database, plus a few others that have not been migrated over, this project is very time consuming.  Ed Beheler, John C. Anderson and Tom Quinn also manage cemeteries that are not included in my database.  I love that I have sextons who will send me updates on a regular basis in easily managed amounts.  It makes what I do so much easier.  One thing that I am guilty of, is updating it on my computer, but not generating new files to upload, so that you can see the updates.  I am going to really work on that as I have time.  I have already been making my list of those that need to be checked and then uploaded to the websites. 

My current big project is Greenlawn Cemetery at Mexico, Miami County, Indiana.  I am hoping to get up there to photograph headstones when it warms up and the grass turns green.  I am not fond of cemetery photos taken with the bleak colors of winter, nor do I enjoy freezing to death.

Please try not to complain too much, unless you are willing to devote the hours to something like this.  It is hard to walk in another's shoes. 

Stay out of my databases!
Blessings to all, Debby

Gilead Cemetery, Miami Co., IN

Had a fun day yesterday and the day before with my friend Rebecca Miller. Thursday we photographed the south section of the Gilead Cemetery. Friday we photographed the north section of Gilead Cemetery, picked berries and wild asparagus and saw a doe with twin fawns. Then had lunch together.

It will be quite some time before I get this online as I have several others I am working on at this time, but it is coming.

Debby

Peru Mount Hope database has 500 burials added

With this evenings upload of updated pages, I have added over 500 burials to the database since the June 11th upload. There are many new surnames and lots of dates of burial that were in the cemetery burial books. If you have any connection to Peru, Indiana you will want to take a look at the Mount Hope Cemetery database.

Debby

Cemetery updates

I have been busily adding burials from the Peru Mount Hope burial books. Tonight's update adds about 700 burials to the Mount Hope database. Hope this info will help someone break through a brick wall!

I received photos of Center UB Cemetery tombstones yesterday, so sometime in the future, I will be posting about adding them to the Cass County Cemetery data. Photos are by Patrick Jackson. Thanks, Pat!

Debby

Peru Mount Hope Obits added

I added over 500 new obits today and over 200 "new and improved obits" from the collection of recent obits we digitized from Mount Hope files. These are all from the past 8-10 years. I plan to enter the interments in the Mausoleum next, then I will continue adding burials from the early sections of the cemetery including Oak Grove area.

Debby

Peru Mount Hope Additions

I just uploaded a new version of Peru Mount Hope with 482 additional burials and lots of dates and locations filled in as well. There is lots more to come.

Debby

Peru Mount Hope Update

Nearly 2 weeks ago I was contactly by Beverly Jeffers, sexton of Peru Mount Hope Cemetery, with an offer of information for the website. Since Ed and I have a passion for cemetery information and honoring & remembering those who have gone before us, we were happy to have this opportunity.

The next day, we drove to Peru to meet Bev and see what was available. We had our trusty digital camera and fresh batteries ready. We started taking digital photos of the burial books. Bev showed us some of the areas on the cemetery map including the original plat, Oak Grove, baby rows and sections, Potters Field and a Jewish area. There is also a circus area as Peru has a rich history of circuses and performers. This will allowed for a bit more detail in the mapping on the site in the future.

In the past two weeks we have taken 4 trips to take digital photos of the burial books and a collection of obituaries and burial cards from about 2002 to the present. All of this information will be added to the site as time allows. I also have 3000 tombstone photos taken by Regine Brindle waiting to be matched. I believe that having the data in the database will be very helpful to matching photos of the very old and worn stones in the original and Oak Grove areas.

Watch for frequent updates.
Debby

I finished updating the Crider Chapel Cemetery web this evening. Ricky Bellamy sent me tombstone photos recently. Many thanks to Ricky! I have also added obituaries to a little over 1/4 of the known burials. Happy hunting!
Debby

Disenfranchised Ancestors?

Most of us likely have some disenfranchised ancestors. These are people who may not have been accepted into the mainstream of society or even were not accepted my their own relatives. Awhile back I learned that a great-granduncle had a daughter who was termed an "imbecile." According to my aunt, she was secreted away in a padded room upstairs in the family home. I find no record of her existance. When she died there was no known written death record. There was no obituary in the local newspaper. Although the woman had no decendants, she still had a place and purpose on this earth.

In the spirit of giving each soul importance on this earth, I have been compiling with the help of Mark Brubaker a couple of small databases.

• Burials in the Northern Indiana Hospital for the Insane Cemetery. Most of the entries come from burial records of two funeral homes - 1) McCloskey, Hamilton, Gundrum 1904-1953 and 2) Kroeger 1882-1950. I have also found a few obituaries or death notices. The hospital is also know as Longcliff or Logansport State Hospital. When information was available, I also added the hometown and/or place of birth.
• Burials in the Cass County Home/Infirmiry Cemetery. This is an update to an existing listing of burials that I am working on.

It is my hope that these databases will help someone break through their brick wall. Debby

Shiloh Cemetery Update - Howard Co., IN

Visit Shiloh Cemetery at:
http://edanddebby.com/HCC/Shiloh/index.html
I uploaded the update with 437 obituaries and death notices yesterday and I am hoping many will find it helpful to their search.
Debby

Recent website additions March 24th

This week I added photos and an update to Cass County Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Cemetery - http://incass-inmiami.org/cass/cemeteries/bthlhmme/ Mark Brubaker is the photographer. Thanks Mark for all the time and resources you spent on this project.