After I retired as a museum curator (insects, especially moths & butterflies), my obsession with creating order out of chaos transferred from identifying insects to identifying my ancestors: both of my parents came from exceptionally fecund families.

I never knew most of my relatives, so felt compelled to find them and add them to the Donahue-Purtee tree that now has over 12,000 people in it.

I became involved in Find a Grave when I discovered that many of my relatives were not linked to their parents, children, or spouses--so I have discovered yet another time-consuming rabbit hole to get lost in.

Then I got REALLY involved with FaG after a botany and birding trip to South India in 2018. While visiting Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where I had graduated from high school, I saw a grave marker for John Scudder, a surname shared with one of my classmates and the name of generations of American missionaries to India.

That cemetery was not in the Find a Grave database, so after creating a record for the American Mission Cemetery I began creating Memorials for the people buried there, with the assistance of the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery who lived next to the cemetery.

Having finished documenting the people buried in that cemetery, which closed in 1904, my colleagues in Kodaikanal and I (in the U.S.) realized that there was no Find a Grave record for all the (mostly) Europeans and Americans who had died since then and were buried in a larger cemetery (still called "Christian Cemetery" on Google Maps). Find a Grave created a record for St. Peter's Church Cemetery in Kodaikanal, and thanks to the help of several volunteers "on the ground" I obtained and transcribed burial records and photographs and began creating memorials for the several hundred people buried there. (COVID-19 kept me from traveling and allowed me to devote virtually all my time to this project.)

I have no familial connection with anyone buried in Kodaikanal, and I will gladly transfer management to anyone who is interested.

Also, since no one in my family is involved with Find a Grave, I do not have a legacy manager ('Steward") to assume responsibility for managing my memorials when I am no longer able to do so. Contact me if you are interested.

After I retired as a museum curator (insects, especially moths & butterflies), my obsession with creating order out of chaos transferred from identifying insects to identifying my ancestors: both of my parents came from exceptionally fecund families.

I never knew most of my relatives, so felt compelled to find them and add them to the Donahue-Purtee tree that now has over 12,000 people in it.

I became involved in Find a Grave when I discovered that many of my relatives were not linked to their parents, children, or spouses--so I have discovered yet another time-consuming rabbit hole to get lost in.

Then I got REALLY involved with FaG after a botany and birding trip to South India in 2018. While visiting Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where I had graduated from high school, I saw a grave marker for John Scudder, a surname shared with one of my classmates and the name of generations of American missionaries to India.

That cemetery was not in the Find a Grave database, so after creating a record for the American Mission Cemetery I began creating Memorials for the people buried there, with the assistance of the unofficial caretaker of the cemetery who lived next to the cemetery.

Having finished documenting the people buried in that cemetery, which closed in 1904, my colleagues in Kodaikanal and I (in the U.S.) realized that there was no Find a Grave record for all the (mostly) Europeans and Americans who had died since then and were buried in a larger cemetery (still called "Christian Cemetery" on Google Maps). Find a Grave created a record for St. Peter's Church Cemetery in Kodaikanal, and thanks to the help of several volunteers "on the ground" I obtained and transcribed burial records and photographs and began creating memorials for the several hundred people buried there. (COVID-19 kept me from traveling and allowed me to devote virtually all my time to this project.)

I have no familial connection with anyone buried in Kodaikanal, and I will gladly transfer management to anyone who is interested.

Also, since no one in my family is involved with Find a Grave, I do not have a legacy manager ('Steward") to assume responsibility for managing my memorials when I am no longer able to do so. Contact me if you are interested.