THE MUSKINGUM COUNTY CEMETERY TRANSCRIPTION PROJECT
30 July 2008
aka: “UNDER MUSKINGUM’S SOIL”
Sponsored by Muskingum County Chapter Ohio Genealogy Society
First I want to thank Brenda Wolfe for her leadership and foresight in acknowledging the need for this project to go forward. We who research our family’s history are very good at remembering. But our memories last for only as long as we are here. The days of our lives will someday become by all as "Unremembered Days". These tombstones have always meant to be a lasting memorial to the lives of those gone before.
The purpose of this project is to organize volunteers who will work together to create a lasting tribute to our ancestors. In the next three years we will visit every cemetery in Muskingum County, trying to conclude by 1 January 2012. We will transcribe tombstone inscriptions and will archive that work for future use which will be accessible by all. This project is about remembering our dead and preserving our history. A true genealogical endeavor. We have limited windows when reading cemeteries. It is almost impossible to read cemeteries in cold weather and just awful in weather like we are having now. The best times are spring and fall and sometimes warm winter days above 40 degrees.
Most cemeteries in Muskingum County were located and recorded in the late 1970's or early 1980's. It is time to re-read and update these cemeteries. There however have been new discoveries, many deaths and new cemeteries during the past 30 plus years. These will be included in this project. There were some mistakes and omissions in the original readings. 15 tombstones were recently found in a cemetery read in the 1970's that were not included in the original reading. Folks, this is what real genealogy work entails. Recording what is there accurately and to the best of our abilities.
I have divided the county into four sections, with a captain for each of the sections. Those Captains will be the point person organizing and getting the information to our central point for computer input. We will have an individual who will check the obits during this three year time period, so we may include those who are interred during our project time phase. We will also check our already recorded death records to find individuals who may be buried in local cemeteries who do not have a tombstone. Every effort will be made to record all interments in a specific cemetery. Every tool will be used to located graves in these cemeteries, including Pitch Forks, which are very good at locating tombstones under the soil, Digital Cameras, to a GPS device so that others will know the location.
We will need volunteer’s for inputting, checking the obituary and death record file’s, reading the cemeteries and locating known and unknown cemeteries and burial spots. There will be jobs for anyone even if you are not mobile. Somethings can be done in your own home. Please consider volunteering for this project. We will also have a workshop showing how to read the cemeteries and the format we would like. This project is also going to be announced to the public and church and service groups who might want to help. A letter is being sent to all Township Trustee’s via their Township Clerk announcing our intentions to read the cemeteries. Please Contact a captain. Feel free to contact me at anytime.
The captain’s and their township’s are as follows:
TOWNSHIP PROJECT CAPTAINS:- Brushcreek, Clay, Falls, Hopewell, Newton, Springfield
- Adams , Highland, Madison, Monroe, Perry, Salem, Union, Washington
- Blue Rock, Harrison, Meigs, Rich Hill, Salt Creek, Wayne
- Cass, Jackson, Jefferson, Licking, Muskingum
LET’S WORK TOGETHER IN THIS ENDEAVOR
Please Consider Volunteering
R Douglas Kreis
Chairman
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