RM Jones’ Adventure

I have been attempting Genealogy (notice I said attempting not doing) for a number of years. One thing I noticed when looking at information other people had put together, was the differences from one to the other for the same family member. I think this must be due to records that other people created from word of mouth information or inaccurate records in things like family Bibles and note books. I’m sure that the people compiling the data did the best they could with the information they had to work with.A few years ago I was trying to think of a way I could help others get the correct information for people that had lived in this area. One of the requirements would be to supply them with a copy of the actual records. You know how things go, the important ones get put off and the fun stuff gets done. I’m no different, until last year. Last year I decided to locate the records for the cemeteries in Le Claire, Iowa (the town I live in) and put them on the internet along with documenting photographs. That was a lot easier said than done, let me tell you.

I decided to do the main cemetery in Le Claire first. This was a very big undertaking for a first time project. There are about 2,558 people buried in Glendale and for a first timer that was almost overwhelming. The first problem that arose was the fact that cemetery records (at least Glendale’s did) have private and personnel data in the records so I couldn’t just photo them and stick them on the internet. The people in charge of the cemetery were supportive and very helpful (I want to take this opportunity to “Thank” them again) and allowed me to take photographs providing that I kept them for use in compiling the data but not to release to the public. What do I do now? I want some kind of proof of the information so people that find it on the internet can rely on the information I provide and use it as a “source” with a high value. Why not photograph the headstones and put the photos with the records? Sounds like a good idea to me. That’s what I’ll do. That posed a lot of problems to and I’ll get into them in a day or two. Right now I want to stick with the Glendale Cemetery records.

The next problem was the fact that there were at least three types of records depending on how far you go back. The original data, going back into the early to mid 1800’s, was hand written of course. This had been painstakingly transferred to file cards and the person, or people, that performed this job did an excellent job. However, typos are bound to happen. And they did. Not many but one is bad if it is on the person you are researching. At a later date someone put the data into a book form for easy use. The typo problem is bound to pop up again and it did in a few cases. I want to say here and now that the work performed by the people keeping the records was outstanding and I am in no way faulting the work they did. I have no doubt that I could never come near their quality with a typewriter. Thank God for computers and data files.

This is getting a little long so I will continue it in the next post.
Please come on back and check it out. I will probably run 3 or 4 parts in this series and then get onto something else. Sooooooo, if you aren’t interested in cemetery records and photos of headstones, please come back and I promise I will get to other things in a few days. Things a little more fun and uplifting.

If you want to take a look at the data files and photographs of Glendale Cemetery and others you can find them on my website at www.rm-jones.com

Have a Great Day
Bob Jones