My brother Tommy and I have been researching family related graves (mostly in Western Mass). Some of the family names are: Howe, Hapgood, Collins, Tongue, Knight, Chaffee, Newcomb, Rice, Call, Powell, and Sampson. We have been using Ancestry, other online resources and our father's 50 years of old fashion research to learn about our families. We have; ship Captains, farmers, manufacturers of lamp shades and monkey wrenches, a Salem witch, law breakers, lawyers, a church builder, Revolution and Civil war vets, and even Governor Bradford. Our family lines go back to the 1600's so we have plenty of ancestors to locate. When we find the gravestones, we clean, repair and photograph them. We only use Preservation approved methods. Check with the cemetery so you are following any rules they may have on gravestone cleaning and repair.

Cleaning - It is most important to "do no harm" to gravestones. Many of the gravestones we are cleaning are either marble or sandstone. Never use bleach to clean these stones. Bleach will get into the pores of the stone and crystallize, once it crystallizes it will slowly spall
off bits of the stone. During cleaning, we only use plastic and wooden tools to carefully scrape off moss and other growth, wetting the stone with water helps with the removal. For the actual cleaning we only use D/2, a cleaner / algaecide that is used by most gravestone professionals. It has been long term tested to be safe, effective, and will keep the stone clean for several years. Google "D/2" for more information on its use, it is expensive, but we want to use a safe product that does a good job. It is used at Arlington National Cemetery.

Repair - If the stone is broken, we will repair it. We only use epoxies and mortars that are approved for gravestone repairs. We will also reset stones that are sinking or tipping over. The leading cause of breakage of slab type stones is leaning forward or backwards, resulting in stress that breaks the stone. It is much easier to straighten a stone that is leaning then to repair it after it breaks. We get our supplies from Atlas Preservation in Southington Ct. They have a store and a website. They also answer questions and they host free gravestone cleaning and repair programs throughout New England. Their website will have a listing of what cemeteries the programs will be at. The programs are open to the general public, hands-on, and excellent.

Photographing - After cleaning and repair we will photograph the gravestone. We use cell phones with the GPS location activated. This allows us to upload photos to Find a Grave that automatically adds the GPS location of the gravestone in the cemetery! It appears to be accurate to about 20 ft. This allows other people to find this gravestone easily if they have the findagrave App on their smartphone. We also use light reflectors to help highlight the stone's engraving. If you see us adding photos to memorials that already have a photo, it is because we cleaned, repaired, and/or added GPS locations. Sometimes technology is wonderful!

My brother Tommy and I have been researching family related graves (mostly in Western Mass). Some of the family names are: Howe, Hapgood, Collins, Tongue, Knight, Chaffee, Newcomb, Rice, Call, Powell, and Sampson. We have been using Ancestry, other online resources and our father's 50 years of old fashion research to learn about our families. We have; ship Captains, farmers, manufacturers of lamp shades and monkey wrenches, a Salem witch, law breakers, lawyers, a church builder, Revolution and Civil war vets, and even Governor Bradford. Our family lines go back to the 1600's so we have plenty of ancestors to locate. When we find the gravestones, we clean, repair and photograph them. We only use Preservation approved methods. Check with the cemetery so you are following any rules they may have on gravestone cleaning and repair.

Cleaning - It is most important to "do no harm" to gravestones. Many of the gravestones we are cleaning are either marble or sandstone. Never use bleach to clean these stones. Bleach will get into the pores of the stone and crystallize, once it crystallizes it will slowly spall
off bits of the stone. During cleaning, we only use plastic and wooden tools to carefully scrape off moss and other growth, wetting the stone with water helps with the removal. For the actual cleaning we only use D/2, a cleaner / algaecide that is used by most gravestone professionals. It has been long term tested to be safe, effective, and will keep the stone clean for several years. Google "D/2" for more information on its use, it is expensive, but we want to use a safe product that does a good job. It is used at Arlington National Cemetery.

Repair - If the stone is broken, we will repair it. We only use epoxies and mortars that are approved for gravestone repairs. We will also reset stones that are sinking or tipping over. The leading cause of breakage of slab type stones is leaning forward or backwards, resulting in stress that breaks the stone. It is much easier to straighten a stone that is leaning then to repair it after it breaks. We get our supplies from Atlas Preservation in Southington Ct. They have a store and a website. They also answer questions and they host free gravestone cleaning and repair programs throughout New England. Their website will have a listing of what cemeteries the programs will be at. The programs are open to the general public, hands-on, and excellent.

Photographing - After cleaning and repair we will photograph the gravestone. We use cell phones with the GPS location activated. This allows us to upload photos to Find a Grave that automatically adds the GPS location of the gravestone in the cemetery! It appears to be accurate to about 20 ft. This allows other people to find this gravestone easily if they have the findagrave App on their smartphone. We also use light reflectors to help highlight the stone's engraving. If you see us adding photos to memorials that already have a photo, it is because we cleaned, repaired, and/or added GPS locations. Sometimes technology is wonderful!