- 1). Contact the cemetery to obtain permission to begin the mapping project. Inquire about cemetery hours and rules. Some cemeteries may be off the beaten path, belong to a church that has a building elsewhere or located on personal property. In these cases, contact the property owner, town clerk or church to gain permission to map the cemetery.
- 2). Prepare a bag of supplies to take with you. This bag may include bottled water, snacks, clip board, pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser, graph paper, graphing chart or drawing paper, and a digital camera to photograph the graves.
Water and snacks are also important because you may not want to stop and leave for lunch when you get hungry. In addition, water fountains may only be in the office. Non-potable water spouts may be found in the cemetery to water flowers. - 3). Visit the cemetery and sketch a boundary line on the paper. The line can represent a fence at the cemetery where you begin mapping or if no fence exists, the first row of graves.
- 4). Draw a square for each headstone and write a number in each. On a separate sheet of paper use the headstone numbers to record the grave information. Write down all the information from the stone, which may include the full name of the individual or individuals, birth and death dates and places, gender, veteran status, war and unit information, children, spouse, parents and religious or organizational affiliations.
- 5). Continue mapping each headstone and recording the information. Establish new boundary lines as you move through the cemetery.
- 6). Photograph each headstone as you record the data. This allows you to review the written information at a later time for accuracy. Write the image filename on your headstone information sheet as you review the images.
- 7). Submit the finished cemetery map and photographs to your local historical society, church or genealogical society. All three should have an archive to store and share the information. Another option you have is to publish your cemetery map and transcription. Some genealogical societies may offer to do this in exchange for your information.
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