I have been researching my connected genealogy for 50 years. Yes, I started in my youth, working with the several generations that I was fortunate to know personally, and the ancient cemeteries we decorated every Memorial Day. It has become a lifelong passion since then.

Several books have been published that have used my research, and I am now occupied with proving ancient and obscure lines with DNA. Of course, I have helped the occasional living person find their biological lines as well. How could one not?

As always, I am still willing to help other researchers, and if I come across information that is missing I will take the time to submit it, to help others, even if it is not my line.

When I request a headstone photo from a willing volunteer who has reached out as a contributor to help make this site a great place to visit, when one can't necessarily travel to visit a loved one's grave, I just assume that the photographer will take as pleasant a picture as possible, and help to recreate that experience in a virtual manner. I am always surprised and disappointed to see a headstone photo that has been cropped so closely as to only show a slice of the name and the dates. What is the reason for cutting out the graceful artistry of the stonemasons of the day, or the way they spelled the surname at that time, or who they share the stone with? In most cases, the genealogy researchers have confirmed the actual vital dates, etc. What happened to recording the monument as it stands, so loved ones feel a vicarious comfort of having visited the grave? Have we really become so cold and efficient that we have lost our sense of history and artistry?

Please show me the respect and courtesy of discussing and sharing valid sources if either of us finds a questionable entry. One person may have a source the other doesn't. NEVER deface memorials by writing rude comments in flower sections or posting unsolicited photos that are duplicates or make statements that pertain to a different memorial.

I have been researching my connected genealogy for 50 years. Yes, I started in my youth, working with the several generations that I was fortunate to know personally, and the ancient cemeteries we decorated every Memorial Day. It has become a lifelong passion since then.

Several books have been published that have used my research, and I am now occupied with proving ancient and obscure lines with DNA. Of course, I have helped the occasional living person find their biological lines as well. How could one not?

As always, I am still willing to help other researchers, and if I come across information that is missing I will take the time to submit it, to help others, even if it is not my line.

When I request a headstone photo from a willing volunteer who has reached out as a contributor to help make this site a great place to visit, when one can't necessarily travel to visit a loved one's grave, I just assume that the photographer will take as pleasant a picture as possible, and help to recreate that experience in a virtual manner. I am always surprised and disappointed to see a headstone photo that has been cropped so closely as to only show a slice of the name and the dates. What is the reason for cutting out the graceful artistry of the stonemasons of the day, or the way they spelled the surname at that time, or who they share the stone with? In most cases, the genealogy researchers have confirmed the actual vital dates, etc. What happened to recording the monument as it stands, so loved ones feel a vicarious comfort of having visited the grave? Have we really become so cold and efficient that we have lost our sense of history and artistry?

Please show me the respect and courtesy of discussing and sharing valid sources if either of us finds a questionable entry. One person may have a source the other doesn't. NEVER deface memorials by writing rude comments in flower sections or posting unsolicited photos that are duplicates or make statements that pertain to a different memorial.