LEGISLATURE ALLOWS NAMES ON TOMBSTONES
(Please be aware this post was written in 2003 and published at that time in the Houston Chronicle (Houston, Texas) newspaper. Some of the news in this post, therefore, may not be current. Current and future posts on this blog may revisit and update news on this and other posts on this blog. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please send Mic a note using the comment page -Don’t forget to use the orange “subscribe” button to receive new posts-Thanks, Mic)
In the last legislative session lawmakers voted to allow grave markers in all twelve state hospital and state school cemeteries to be inscribed with the names of the person buried in the grave. They did not, however, allocate monetary funds to facilitate the markings. Currently only small numbered concrete stones mark the graves of those who have died while being patients or employees of the various state hospitals and state schools throughout the state.
In the past many families fearing the stigma of having others know their family members were in state hospitals and schools often abandoned them or allowed them to be buried in state cemeteries anonymously when they died. While a record of the death was maintained by the institution the records in some cases, such as some at the Austin State Hospital, have been lost to fire or other catastrophic accidents.
For a interesting evolutionary history of the modern mental health movement readers may wish to visit http://www.ohiou.edu/~ridges/ a website about the Ridges, a state mental hospital which opened in 1874 in Athens, Ohio and continues to serve that state as the Athens Mental Health Center. A page on the website contains a history of the hospital cemetery which probably reflects the history of many similar state hospital cemeteries, including ours in Texas.
GEORGIA CEMETERY BOOK PUBLISHED
The East Georgia Genealogical Society, a umbrella society representing twenty eight East Georgia counties , has recently published an exemplary two volume reference work covering Walton County, Georgia Cemeteries. The first volume covers cemeteries in the eastern part of the county and the second covers cemeteries in the western portion of the county. The dividing line between the two areas of the county is State Highway 11.
The two volume set is priced at $64 for EGGS members and $74 for nonmembers. They are available, postpaid, from the EGGS, P.O. Box 117 Winder, GA 30680 or from the society website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~gaeggs .
Cemeteries in the book are listed alphabetically and the names of the dead are listed in their natural arrangement, row by row within the cemetery. Information for each cemetery includes a general descriptive location; Land Lot and District; Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, if available; precise directions from the nearest intersection; citations of previous surveys and/or publications; date surveyed and number of graves found; plus any extraneous pertinent information.
Information for each grave includes full name on marker, date of birth and death, the type of grave stone and other informational notes about the grave.
The books include an every name and cemetery index plus three appendixes. The appendices name people born in the Eighteenth Century; all Revolutionary soldiers attributed to Walton County; and an appendix naming all known Confederate soldiers buried in Walton County. Each appendix includes the dates of birth and death , the name of the cemetery where the person is interred and military unit of soldiers when known.
AGS FEATURES LOWE
Mark Lowe will be the featured speaker at Austin Genealogical Society’s 2003 Seminar. The seminar will be held Saturday August 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Norris Conference Center which is located in Northcross Mall near the intersection of Anderson Lane and Burnett Road in North Austin.
Lowe, a Certified Genealogist specializing in research in Tennessee where he lives, will speak on a variety of topics of interest to researchers. His topics will include census research, migration trails, solving brick wall problems and finding birthdates in the late 19th Century.
Registration for the seminar is $40 until August 9 and $45 thereafter. Lunch is included in the seminar fee. Checks made payable to AGS may be sent to P.O. Box 1507, Austin, TX 78767-1507. For more information visit the AGS website at http://wwwAustinTxGenSoc.org or email pat@AGStheoxleys.com .
FAMILY TREE MAKER SOFTWARE CLASS
Paula Perkins will lead an Organizing Your Family Research With Family Tree Maker Software class from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday August 5. This one-time four hour class will be held at Houston Community College’s 1681 Cartwright campus in Missouri City.
Through demonstrations, students will learn step by step how to organize, document family information and sources and publish a family book. Registration for this class is $39. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539. Please note pre-registration is required.
SURFING THE INTERNET
I will be leading a Surfing the Internet for Genealogy class at Houston Community College’s 1681 Cartwright campus in Missouri City. This one session class is a live four hour virtual tour of some of the most helpful and notable genealogical websites on the Internet. The class will be held Wednesday August 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Registration for this class is $39. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539. Please note, pre-registration is required.
