For many years I've been a genealogy nut and random acts of kindness throughout the years, people have taken photos of my ancestors. When I discovered this site I wanted to pay it forward. I live in Alachua County Florida and can help in this county and could possibly venture beyond if asked. I saw this poem on another's website and loved it.THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERYBy Thelma Greene ReaganToday we walked where others walkedOn a lonely, windswept hill;Today we talked where other criedFor Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.Today our hearts were touchedBy graves of tiny babies;Snatched from the arms of loving kin,In the heartbreak of the ages.Today we saw where the grandparents layIn the last sleep of their time;Lying under the trees and clouds -Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?Was it a babe, child, young or old?No indication could be found.Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.We had been here once beforeOn a day we'd all like to forget,But will remember forever more.Today we recorded for kith and kinThe graves of ancestors past;To be preserved for generations hence,A record we hope will last.Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,For stones sometimes crumble to dustAnd generations of folks yet to comeWill be grateful for your trust. DEAR ANCESTORYour tombstone stands among the rest; Neglected and alone. The name and date are chiseled out On polished, marbled stone. It reaches out to all who care It is too late to mourn. You did not know that I exist You died and I was born. Yet each of us are cells of you In flesh, in blood, in bone.Our blood contracts and beats a pulse Entirely not our own.Dear Ancestor, the place you filled One hundred years agoSpreads out among the ones you left Who would have loved you so. I wonder as you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew That someday I would find this spot, And come to visit you.

For many years I've been a genealogy nut and random acts of kindness throughout the years, people have taken photos of my ancestors. When I discovered this site I wanted to pay it forward. I live in Alachua County Florida and can help in this county and could possibly venture beyond if asked. I saw this poem on another's website and loved it.THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERYBy Thelma Greene ReaganToday we walked where others walkedOn a lonely, windswept hill;Today we talked where other criedFor Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.Today our hearts were touchedBy graves of tiny babies;Snatched from the arms of loving kin,In the heartbreak of the ages.Today we saw where the grandparents layIn the last sleep of their time;Lying under the trees and clouds -Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?Was it a babe, child, young or old?No indication could be found.Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.We had been here once beforeOn a day we'd all like to forget,But will remember forever more.Today we recorded for kith and kinThe graves of ancestors past;To be preserved for generations hence,A record we hope will last.Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,For stones sometimes crumble to dustAnd generations of folks yet to comeWill be grateful for your trust. DEAR ANCESTORYour tombstone stands among the rest; Neglected and alone. The name and date are chiseled out On polished, marbled stone. It reaches out to all who care It is too late to mourn. You did not know that I exist You died and I was born. Yet each of us are cells of you In flesh, in blood, in bone.Our blood contracts and beats a pulse Entirely not our own.Dear Ancestor, the place you filled One hundred years agoSpreads out among the ones you left Who would have loved you so. I wonder as you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew That someday I would find this spot, And come to visit you.