RECORDING MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS

RECORDING MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS

Why make records of MI’s
Recording in the field
Organising the records on computer
Planning – first steps
Abbreviations
Presenting records
A scale plan of a graveyard
Worn inscriptions
Who will want a copy
Organisation in the field
Decorations
Photography

Why make records of Monumental Inscriptions?

Monuments, whether they are grand obelisks, war memorials, gravestones, or whatever, are a part of our heritage. They are a record, usually engraved in stone, of an important event. Our forefathers probably thought of them as being something which would last forever. What could be more permanent than stone itself? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The surface of the stone may be weathered away over the years by a variety of means. Rain, wind, frost, vegetation and chemical actions all take their toll on the surface of stone, no matter what kind of stone it is. Some stones are laid on the ground and get walked upon by countless feet and the inscription is literally worn away. Gravestones get broken (by accident or by vandalism), fall over and become buried and overgrown, and in many cases, stones are simply removed from a burial ground either because the land is being re-developed, or because it makes a churchyard easier to maintain.
The phrase, ‘etched in stone,’ is commonly used to denote permanence. But for those concerned with recording monument inscriptions, the fallacy of the phrase is evident. For stone is not permanent; and the inscriptions upon it even less so.

Monumental inscriptions are far from being a permanent record. One only has to visit a local churchyard to find out for yourself. A legible gravestone from the 1500’s or 1600’s is a very rare sight indeed. Our local church at Cinderford was only consecrated in 1845, and yet probably 40% of the stones are broken, removed or illegible. Some types of stone do last better than others (slate in particular), but in most places the material used is a local stone. It is a sad fact that most gravestones, although erected to commemorate someone’s life, are no longer visited, or considered to be important by subsequent generations of descendants. Most people do not know where their grandparents were buried, never mind their previous ancestors. Sooner or later, some family member might just become interested in family history. They are told first to speak to their oldest living relatives before they die. Unfortunately, many do not have the opportunity to look for gravestones before they are lost forever too.

It is fact that a grave stone can provide a very valuable amount of information to the genealogist. Birth, marriage and death certificates only provide a limited amount of information. The Inscriptions on gravestones provide us with valuable information about relationships where people are buried in multiple graves.
James Howes…. son of Francis Howes…. also Hannah his wife… also James, son of James and Hannah… also their daughter Mary Wilkinson……

The inscriptions provide exact death dates, and often birth dates too. They often give clues as to how the person died. Our local graveyard has facts such as “killed in an accident at Lightmoor Colliery”, “tragically killed in a road accident”, “killed in action”, and so on. Without records of the monumental inscriptions, this valuable information will become lost forever. Stone is not permanent.

A SCALE PLAN OF THE GRAVEYARD

Before you can start work, you need to have a scale plan of the graveyard. This will be used to mark grave numbers, so the plan will need to be large enough to contain a rectangle for each grave, and for each rectangle to contain a number.

For anything but the smallest graveyard you will probably need a master plan, showing areas, and then several larger scale plans for each separate area. Fortunately, most graveyards have natural sections, divided by major pathways.

You don’t need professional equipment to survey and plot out a graveyard, and you don’t need to be a surveyor. All you need is a little time and a fine day.

A long measuring tape – you will need a 30 metre (or 30 yards) surveyor’s tape. It can be quite expensive to buy, but you will find one at a local builder’s merchant.

It is well worth the investment. Alternatively, you might try contacting a surveyor or builder and asking if he has an old one which can be mended.

Some pegs and thick string

You will need a few wooden pegs, even large tent pegs will do, and a large roll of thick orange nylon twine, again from the builder’s merchant.
With this simple equipment you can make a pretty good job of accurately surveying a churchyard. It is done a little at a time, and in sections, with the parts adding up to make the whole completed plan, which can be drawn to scale on A4 sized paper. Some people, when starting to survey a site, start by laying down one reference line from one end to the other, or start from one boundary. However, unlike surveying an empty field, we usually have a really good reference structure in the centre. The church! We can use its walls as base lines, and work outwards from there.

WHERE TO START

The cemetery building

The first job, then, is to measure the church itself, complete with any abutments and porches etc. This is an easy task, by working around the outside, but it will need two people. As a quick double check, make sure that the measurements along one side add up to the same as those on the other!
The outside walls of the church are going to act as our reference lines. All other measurements will be distances out from those walls at 90 degrees.
You may be fortunate to have a straight main path up to the church from the gate. Many churches do have a straight pathway. This path is going to be your second major reference line. If the path isn’t a straight one, it doesn’t matter, as it can still be plotted relatively easily.

The main path

Let us consider a straight main path first. Stand on one edge of the path and sight along its edge to the church building. Have your partner mark where the line of sight hits the building itself. Measure along from a prominent corner of the building to this point and note this measurement. Effectively you are saying “if this edge of the path were to continue to meet the church wall, this is where it would meet it”. If the path is at 90 degrees to the church then fine! You could simply plot the line of the path very easily on paper. Similarly, if the path runs parallel with the church wall then it would be just as easy. Carefully measure the length of the path to the gate of the churchyard, and also measure its width.

Unfortunately life isn’t always as simple as this. The path may lead away at an angle, or it could be a curved path. What we need therefore, is a straight reference line from one corner of the church building to the boundary wall. Effectively we need to “project” one of the walls outwards to where it meets the boundary. This line, instead of the path itself, then becomes the reference line. This is where the orange twine comes in handy. Get one person to hold it against the wall of the church, whilst you unroll it, walking backwards out to meet the boundary wall. The knack is to keep sighting along the line and the church wall to make sure that your line is a “continuation” of the wall. Try to peg down the line at each end once you are sure that it is dead straight. Measure the exact distance from the church wall to the boundary.

It is quite important to get this first main reference line as accurately positioned as possible, as other lines will be set out at 90 degrees to it later on.
Measure the other main reference lines out from the corners of the building (B, C, D, E, F, G) to the boundaries as in the diagram.
All other dimensions can now be measured outwards from known points on these lines (the green lines in the diagram, for example). Some of them are to the boundaries, others to features such as pathways etc.

Furthermore, you can now measure accurately out from these reference lines to actual grave plots.

Once you have a general survey like this, plot it out on paper to a convenient scale. It is a good idea to have an overall plan like this, and then decide on “sections” of the graveyard, and then draw a separate plan, to a larger scale, for each of these sections. You can plot the actual graves onto these separate diagrams. Sections are best defined by using natural features such as pathways etc.

You will find that it is not uncommon to have two graves with a space for two or three between them, especially in older sections of the graveyard. Either the stones have been removed, or the relatives couldn’t afford a stone. But if there are two stones with the same surname, and a space between them, the chances are that the missing grave could also be of the same family.

Give each section a reference letter. Then each grave within that section can be given a number. For example, the graves in section A would be numbered A1, A2, and A3 etc. Plot out the graves in each section, draw them onto your plan and number each one. Don’t forget to number graves which do not have a headstone. It is as important to record the “missing” ones as it is the ones with headstones.

These are the grave reference numbers that you will be using in your records. If you are to be having a team of people working on recording the inscriptions, it will be a good idea for you to make some tags to mark each grave number on the ground. Plastic plant labels (the sort you stick in a plant pot) will be ideal for this purpose. It will save any confusion on behalf of those doing the recording. Don’t leave it to chance. Decide on the grave numbering first, before you start the recording, not as you go along.

Draw out the plans for each section at home. Keep the master copies carefully, and make some photocopies for use in the field. It doesn’t matter so much if they get mud, rain or grass stains on them.

You are now ready to pay some attention to organising people in the field.

If you are fortunate to have a team of helpers, then you will need to do some basic preparation for them in advance.

NUMBERING THE GRAVES

It is a good idea to number each grave with a plant marker before work starts. This includes the graves for which there are no stones. The small white plastic markers are ideal, and a number can be written on with a soft pencil. (Felt-tip pen washes off in rain, unless it is a special waterproof marker pen). If the grass is long, then you may need to trim a small area with garden shears before “planting” the marker. Do not under any circumstances mark the stone itself. Markers can be quickly and easily removed once the job has been done, with no evidence that they were ever there. It has been suggested to use strips of masking tape stuck to the stone, but I would disagree with the use of anything such as this.

CLEARING THE SITE OF VEGETATION

It may be necessary, especially in the summer months, to clear some of the vegetation around the base of a stone so that the inscription can be read easily. There should be no problem in agreeing with the vicar or churchwarden that this can be done, and the best tool for the job is a pair of garden shears. Brambles are more difficult, but again there should be no problem in removing them with a pair of secateurs, although you should agree where the clippings are to be put, rather than just leaving them on the ground where they fall.

Some other types of vegetation do present a problem. In particular ivy, which may be clinging to the surface of a headstone? Pulling it away can sometimes also pull away the surface of the stone, together with its inscription. I have known a vicar of a church who wanted the ivy to remain on the headstones. There can, however, be little doubt that the “suckers” on the ivy cause more damage to the surface than natural weathering. The point here, is ask the vicar’s opinion before you remove any ivy.

Lichen is a totally different matter. Our graveyards are often the only remaining habitats for lichens in the area. Some of them may be quite rare. If in doubt, never remove all of the lichen. I would tend to remove perhaps just enough to be able to view the inscription, but no more, and even then, it should be done very carefully with a small wooden stick. Lichen is protected by the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Plants Act 1975. The Society do respect that some lichen may have to be removed from a stone to record inscriptions, and they have no problem with this, but no chemical whatsoever should ever be used on a stone.

Some stones in some graveyards are laid flat on the ground rather than standing upright. This can present a problem in that the surrounding grass will have crept over the stones in the course of time, often obscuring all but the central area of the stone. You will need to agree on a strategy with the vicar. Are you to cut back the grass and its mass of roots to the edge of the stone, or are you to lift it temporarily and then return it in place after making your record. There can be little doubt that a stone covered with a root mass of grass will have its inscription in better condition than a bare one! Perhaps that answers the question.
Never use any chemical or rough abrasive on stones. Not ever. I have seen all sorts of things suggested, from shaving foam to detergents, rubbing the surface with grass or mud, chalk, charcoal, a scrubbing brush, and so on. Just don’t do it!

ORGANISING TEAMS OF PEOPLE

If you have the luxury of several people to help you, then organise them into pairs. It can be more fun working in pairs, and two brains are better than one when it comes to deciphering the difficult inscriptions.

The person who did the writing should always read the inscription back to the other person as a double check for accuracy, spelling difficult words and surnames. One of the team might also be usefully employed as a photographer.

Checking is mandatory. Ideally it should be done by someone other than the person who recorded the inscription.

Try to recruit as many people as is practical, but also be aware that local people might not like the idea of a crowd of people trampling around their graveyard. This can be a sensitive area.

So now we get down to the process of actually recording the inscriptions in the field.

SAFETY

A word or two about safety once you start walking around the graveyard. You don’t want any accidents. Many graves, especially those with kerbstones (a rectangle of stone around the plot), have a stone cap over the grave. In time this can be undermined and result in a cavity beneath it. Quite often the capping stones are broken, and present a distinct danger if you were to tread on them. Be wary of this. It might also be a good idea to take along a small first aid kit. At the least you will be torn to shreds by brambles and thorns if the graveyard is overgrown.
Be very wary indeed about lifting fallen stones to read the inscription. They are very heavy indeed, and can cause injury. The best way to lift a stone is to lift it onto its side edge, not back onto its foot. Two people are required to lift a stone onto its edge, and a third to record the inscription. Gently lower the stone back into place afterwards. Do not think that it is your job to right all fallen stones. It is the job of a professional. Never try to lift the stone up from its head, so that it is in a natural position upright. The chances are that the stone will break in half under its own weight, with disastrous results to both the stone and yourself.

Watch out for things that hurt. You may certainly encounter ants’ nests, possibly bees or wasps, and possibly even snakes. Our local graveyard is home to probably dozens of poisonous adders during the warm months of the summer. Don’t worry, they won’t literally attack you – they prefer to slide away somewhere safe when they hear you coming, but don’t catch one by surprise, it is then that they will strike. If you know there are snakes around, just shuffle your feet a lot, and makes lots of ground noise. If in doubt, wear Wellington boots, even in the summer.

Do take care in the summer to protect yourself from the sun.

Recording a section of the graveyard

Be methodical. Number each of the graves first with plant tags, and then record them in numerical order. Always number a grave which has no stone, and make a comment in your record book.

Make records like this:

143
ELIZABETH/ wife of ISAAC MILLS / October 17 1870 / age 64 / also ISAAC MILLS / September 18 1883 age 71 /
also FREDERICK / their youngest son / April 28 1875 aged 24 / who was interred at Accrington Cemetery / also HARRIET WALKER / eldest daughter / died November 20 1898 age 64
Upright headstone. Poor condition.

Use a “/” to denote a new line on the stone. Always use upper case letters for first names and surnames as a standard convention.
If there is a bible quotation, or a message of any kind, always record it in full. If there is a note of the stonemason’s name or initials, record this also. If there are any special carvings, angels or whatever on the stone, it is a good idea to make a note of them. Sometimes the stonemason added his own insignia instead of his name.

If you wish, make use of abbreviations for standard phrases such as ILMO for “in Loving Memory of”, etc. I have included a list of abbreviations elsewhere on these pages.

There may be several different types of stone marking a grave:

upright headstone
a footstone (usually with just initials, but it may contain more)
kerbstone (a rectangle around the grave)
cross
pillar
small obelisk
chest (literally a stone chest on the ground)
flat stone (a stone laid flat on the ground intentionally)
urn
vase
etc.

Always record what type of monument it is. Sometimes there may be more than one associated with a grave, for example, a headstone with a kerbstone, or a headstone with a footstone. (In many older graveyards, the footstone may have been removed from its proper place and leant against the back of the headstone).

It is quite common also to find stones propped up against the church wall or the boundary wall. They are obviously not marking an actual grave, but may have been moved there either because they fell, or because some misguided person in the past has decided that the churchyard should be tidied up. In such cases note the site of the stone, and note that it no longer marks the actual grave. Some stones have even been removed and laid down to make pathways. (Unfortunately, some of these may even be laid face down and cemented in place, in which case there may not be much you can do to record the inscription). Horrendous examples of this type of churchyard vandalism are unfortunately all too common.

It is very important to record the inscription absolutely as it is written. You may recognise that there are obvious mistakes, but nevertheless record it exactly as it is. Stonemasons do make mistakes. By all means add a footnote to the record describing any suspected mistakes. If you are lucky enough to have a copy of the burials register, and the name on the stone is spelled differently to that on the register, then assume that either or both could be wrong! Never record what you think it should be – record what you see. Just as it is possible for you to make mistakes when recording the inscription or when writing it up later, so could the stonemason have made a mistake, or even the entry in the register could be in error. It does happen.

I recently saw a gravestone where the mason had obviously made lots of mistakes:

“MILLIS” which should have been “MILLS”
“MELLINSAM” which should have been “MILLS”
“aged 18 years” which should have been “aged 81 years”
“of Bunney” which should have been “of Bunny”

All of these mistakes had been obviously filled in and re-engraved. With time and weathering, the result was a mess. Interestingly, on this stone at the bottom were the words “Re-engraved by his affectionate grandson – George”. I dread to think what the family must have made of the errors at the time, or how the mason could have made such mistakes!

In this case I recorded the corrected inscription, but also made a full note of the original inscription.

If you are in any doubt, ask someone else to give you a second opinion on the inscription. Some inscriptions are very difficult to decipher.

Always go back and double check your recording. Better still, have someone else do it for you. It is very easy to make mistakes. Complete a whole section of the graveyard before progressing onto the next. Be methodical. Be sure to keep your notebooks safe and dry.

Deciphering Monumental Inscriptions

One of the most demanding tasks when it comes to recording inscriptions is when the stone has become so weathered that the lettering is almost impossible to read.
Different types of stone weather differently. Some just lose their sharpness where the lettering has been inscribed, and others actually physically lose their surface, where a thin layer of stone literally peels way, and with it, the inscription. Some types of stone, particularly limestone and granite, suffer from chemical erosion. Rainwater is actually a dilute carbonic acid, and this acid can have a disastrous effect on limestone. Granite is made up of three minerals, quartz, mica and feldspar, and the feldspar decomposes slowly but surely in rainwater. Without doubt, the longest lasting inscriptions are those made in slate. Many modern gravestones are made from a rock known as labradorite, a crystalline rock similar to granite, but with purplish hues in the crystals when viewed from different angles. This rock, especially when the surface is polished, appears to retain an inscription well, but only time will tell. It is a very attractive stone, which is used in many modern buildings too, and which has therefore earned itself the nickname of “shop frontite” amongst geologists.

An inscription on a headstone relies on light and shadows for its clarity. The stone is, after all, just the same throughout. The eye is tricked into perceiving that the inscription is of a different shade or colour purely because of the shadow cast in the inscribed lettering. It is when a stone becomes weathered, and the sharp lines of the lettering softened, that it becomes difficult to read, as the shadows are much less distinct. The trick in reading such stones is therefore to view them in such a way that the shadows are intensified.

This can be done in several ways:

1 wait until the sun shines across the stone at a shallow angle, casting deeper shadows
2 shine a strong light across the stone – such as a torch (this is particularly effective at dusk or at night)
3 use something to make a shadow on the stone, and then use a mirror to redirect the sun’s rays parallel to the surface of the stone
4 use a viewing tube, (a 2ft length of plastic drain pipe), held against the stone to prevent light entering, and then tilt the end of the tube touching the stone
slightly, so that a little light enters, and then view the inscription through the tube

Once you have recorded a few headstone inscriptions, it becomes obvious that certain phrases are used, such as “In Loving Memory of”, “who died”, “who departed this life”, and so on. Also certain important parts such as the person’s name, date of death and age, often appear in a certain order. It is not always necessary to be able to read the entire inscription letter by letter to understand what it says!

Even stones which have exfoliated, that is, the surface layer has peeled off, and with it the inscription, can sometimes reveal the remnants of an inscription. It is almost as if the percussive action of the mason’s chisel has “bruised” the stone, and even though the surface has completely peeled off, there may be some hint of the lettering remaining.

COLOURING OF THE SURFACE

It is sometimes possible on a uniformly coloured stone surface, to lightly brush the surface with the palm of your hand, which raises a light dust (often dead lichen), and leaves the recessed inscription as a dark colour. It is often worth a try!

One must always be careful not to damage the stone however, and I have seen some people prescribe the use of a wire brush on the surface to gain a similar effect. Personally I would never do this.

The use of chalk, lightly rubbed over the surface, can sometimes highlight the edges of worn lettering. Some people have had success rubbing mud into the stone’s surface.

Even clean water applied to the surface can sometimes show up parts of a well worn inscription.

Abbreviations used when recording Monumental Inscriptions

When recording inscriptions in the field, it can be a little daunting to have to literally write down everything on every stone in the graveyard. There are three schools of thought:

1 record just the basic details
2 record everything in full
3 record using abbreviations

The same goes for your final printed record. Most people consider option 1 out of the question, because if a record is worth keeping, then it should include everything on the gravestone.

There can be advantages and disadvantages in using abbreviations.

It takes less space in the final publication if it is to be a printed one, and therefore take up fewer pages. It can be faster to make records in the field once you are used to the abbreviations. It can make the reading of a final document somewhat difficult.

Another consideration here is if you are using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word) to write down the records, where you can turn on the auto-correct feature, and type ILMO and it automatically re-types it in full “In Loving Memory of”. It can save a lot of typing!

The following list of abbreviations is suggested as a standard:

a above
a60y aged 60 years
a5m aged 5 months
an above named
ata(n) also the above (named)
b beloved
b(d)o beloved (daughter etc.) of
(b) brother
B born
(d) daughter
D died
eir entered into rest
(f) father
(h) husband
IAMO In Affectionate Memory Of
ICMO In Cherished Memory Of
IDMO In Dear Memory Of
IELMO In Ever Loving Memory Of
ILMO In Loving Memory Of
IRO In Remembrance Of
KIA Killed In Action
(m) mother
o of
ota(n) of the above (named)
(s) son
STMO Sacred to the Memory Of
tb(d)o the beloved (daughter etc.) of
TMO Treasured Memories Of
TTDMO To the Dear Memory Of
wd who died
wdin who died in infancy
wdtl who departed this life
wdw widow
wf wife
wfa who fell asleep
wpa who passed away
/ – indicates the end of a line of inscription

The finished article looks a bit odd but it is quite effective, here is a sample from St. Edith’s, Shocklach, Cheshire
2. Headstone (Large upright)

IARO / SARAH CHALLONER / of Shocklach / wd May 19th 1893 / a79y / Also
GEORGE (s)ota / JAMES & SARAH CHALLONER / wd March 16th 1895 / a41y / Also
ta JAMES CHALLONER / wd October 30th (?) 1895 / a84y / Thy will be done.

Of course you have to use your head a bit. IARO is not in the list of abbreviations but it doesn’t take much to work out that it means “In affectionate remembrance of”.

DECORATIONS ON MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS

These are some motifs found on gravestones with some of the commonly held interpretations of their symbolism.

Angel, Flying- Rebirth; Resurrection
Angel, Trumpeting- Resurrection
Angel, Weeping – Grief & Mourning
Arch – Victory in Death
Arrow – Mortality
Bird – Eternal Life
Bird, Flying – Resurrection
Book – Representation of a holy book; i.e. the Bible
Breasts (Gourds, Pomegranates) – Nourishment of the soul; the Church
Columns and Doors – Heavenly entrance
Crown – Glory of life after death
Cup or Chalice – The Sacraments
Dove – Purity; Devotion
Dove, Flying – Resurrection
Drapes – Mourning; Mortality
Flame or Light – Life; Resurrection
Flower – Fragility of Life
Flower, Severed Stem – Shortened Life
Garland or Wreath – Victory in Death
Grim Reaper – Death personified
Hand, Pointing Up – Pathway to Heaven; Heavenly Reward
Hands, Clasped – The Goodbyes said at Death
Heart – Love; Love of God; Abode of the Soul; Mortality
Hourglass – Passing of Time
Lamb – Innocence
Lion – Courage; The Lion of Judah
Pall – Mortality
Pick – Death; Mortality
Rod or Staff – Comfort for the bereaved
Rooster – Awakening; Resurrection
Scythe – Death; The Divine Harvest
Seashell – Resurrection; Life Everlasting; Life’s Pilgrimage
Skull – Mortality
Skull/Crossed Bones – Death
Skeleton – Life’s brevity
Snake (Tail in Mouth) – Everlasting life in Heaven
Spade – Mortality; Death
Sun Rising – Renewed Life
Sun Shining – Life Everlasting
Sun Setting – Death
Thistle – Scottish Descent
Tree – Life
Tree Sprouting – Life Everlasting
Severed Branch – Mortality
Tree Stump – Life Interrupted
Tree Trunk – Brevity of Life
Tree Trunk Leaning – Short Interrupted Life
Urn – Immortality (Ancient Egyptian belief that life would be restored
in the future through the vital organs placed in the urn.)
Weeping Willow Tree – Mourning; Grief; Nature’s Lament
Winged Face – Effigy of the Deceased Soul; the Soul in Flight
Winged Skull – Flight of the Soul from Mortal man
Wreath – Victory
Wreath on Skull – Victory of Death over Life
Wheat Strands or Sheaves – The Divine Harvest

Photographs of Monumental Inscriptions

One of the best ways to record inscriptions on headstones and other monuments is by a photographic record. However, this can never replace a full transcription record.

Some stones are quite easy to photograph, particularly if there is some contrast between the stone colour and the lettering, but all too often there is not, and then we have to play some tricks in order to make the inscription show. There are two main ways of doing this:

Fill in the inscription with a non-destructive material, such as chalk, so that it stands out well.
Alter the lighting: so that the light shines across the surface of the stone, casting shadows into the inscription
Indoor Photography: taking photographs inside a church requires special attention

FILLING THE INSCRIPTION

The use of simple sticks of chalk (school chalk) can be extremely effective in highlighting an inscription, especially on a naturally dark stone such as slate or dark coloured granite, labradorite etc.

It is surprising how the eye can see the inscription, but on a photograph it doesn’t show at all!

Some stones, such as ornately engraved slate stones, look as if they were engraved yesterday, even if they are 200 or 300 years old. Slate holds an inscription really well! However, photographs of slate headstones simply come out as a block of plain dark grey with no detail whatsoever!

This partly “chalked” slate stone illustrates this perfectly. On the left side of the headstone are the husband’s details, and on the right side those of his wife Elizabeth. I first took photographs of this stone in a sunny day in May, and was completely surprised by the total lack of detail. Even an attempt at painstakingly enhancing the digitised image of the photograph didn’t work. So, armed with some sticks of chalk, I went back there in August the next time I visited the area, and carefully highlighted the lettering and the decoration before taking the photograph. It worked!

An overview of types of presentation and compatibility
The permanence of records and data
The format of a paper based publication and entering data into a word processor
Entering data into a database

An overview of types of presentation and compatibility

Traditionally, records of MIs have been typed up and bound into a publication, together with some sort of index. There has, however, been little in the way of any “standardisation” in presentation. The main consideration being has been to “get it down” on paper so that it serves as a reference to others. This in itself is of course, no bad thing. However, many of the ideas relating to the presentation were done “pre-computer” age, and even now, many people do not have computers – surprisingly, the many hard-working people who have taken the trouble to record the MIs.

The next stage in presentation, because it is so inexpensive, and easy to reproduce, was the microfiche. A single piece of film onto which had been copied a publication for a whole church graveyard, or in most cases, for several graveyards – such is the capacity of one single fiche. The principle was very commendable indeed. It enabled anyone with a fiche reader to purchase a whole volume of MI transcriptions. There is only one problem. There are even less people out there with fiche readers than there are with computers, although, in fairness, most genealogists could probably gain access to one.

Then we have computer based records, which themselves fall into two main categories: a word processed file, perhaps laid out in columns using tabs, or a database file. The word processed file has the advantage of “looking” like a paper publication, and has a “find” routine to search for records; but the database is the king of them all, in that it can find many records at the same time, by means of simple search filters. Surprisingly, few people who own a computer learn to use a database. Finally, we have this “new” medium of the Internet world wide web on which to make electronic publications. Clearly this is the way of the future. There can be little doubt of this, and many major newspapers are now publishing “on-line” in addition to on paper. Unfortunately, at this moment, all of us are not ready for the future. The number of those with access to the Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate (with an estimated 1 million people interested in genealogy having access to the net), but if that is the case, then there must still be many more millions of genealogists who do not have access to even a computer.

Electronic publishing will come to us all eventually as we move into the 21st century, and we will begin to appreciate the great advantages of being able to read changed and updated information daily. In comparison, paper records, whilst arguably more stable and long lasting, once printed are “fixed” until the next update of the publication. Unfortunately, most paper publications do not ever reach a second edition to contain any updates or corrections of errors. (If this electronic publication needs updating, it can be done in seconds). Paper publications are comparatively expensive to produce, and a large print run is usually required to make them worth while publishing in the first place.

Clearly, any one method of presenting transcriptions of monumental inscriptions will not suit everyone. We are left with the need to use all of the above mentioned methods if we are to make the records available to the widest audience of researchers. We are at an unusual place in time in the history of publications. We need all of the available options, and are not yet (quite) ready for purely electronic publications.

The most important thing, however, is that at this crossroads in time, we do need to make our publications easily adaptable to all of the different media at the same time! Printed records alone are not good enough, and at the other extreme, neither are electronic publications. What we must do, is consider a method of publication which can be changed most easily into any of the forms we have discussed. Writing and producing records, (in our case for monumental inscriptions) must be done in such a way that it can be accessed as:

printed matter
microfiche
computer based (word processor and database)
electronic publishing
without having to re-write it each time!

The only way to do this is to use the computer as the tool. Furthermore, the data should be entered in such a way that it can be easily edited and changed into different formats, not only for different types of software, but also for different types of computers with different operating systems.

Fortunately we do have a “standard” for data interchange. It has been around (in computing terms) for years. It is called the American Standard for Computer Information Interchange; ASCII for short. (So that’s what it stands for!) We owe a great debt to those who had the foresight, so many years ago, to implement this standard. Putting it simply, any data which is stored in ASCII format, can be imported into any word processor, spreadsheet, or database on any type of computer, from the humble Sinclair Spectrum or BBC – (I wonder if anyone is still using one of these? – sure you are!) – to the latest all-singing, all dancing bells and whistles Pentium PC or Apple Mac. ASCII rules! Every word processor, database, spreadsheet or computer ever invented can export an ASCII file. Furthermore, the standard (still) for transferring text information electronically over the internet be it by e-mail or web pages is ASCII. It has to be. That is the only way that we can all read it. The “disadvantage” of ASCII is that it can only contain real text and numbers, abc123. It cannot contain “codes” for formatting the text, such as underline, bold, large, page layout, and so on. The modern generation of word processors can do this of course, (and to a certain extent, so can the html code used to produce this page) but ASCII text must contain pure alpha-numeric characters only, and not even the “extended” character set such as the UK pound character (£ – I used a fiddle to be able to display this!), or Greek characters etc.

So, this being the case, we can produce our documents using a computer, which can be printed (then copied to micro-fiche too), used in a computer word processor, database or spreadsheet, or published electronically. All we need to do now is ensure that the data can be easily converted from one type of software to another, and that is all done in the way that it is formatted and entered in the first place. Just about every computer course or qualification has the words somewhere in its criteria: “Enter data in a way that makes it easy to edit”. This is the key to it all.
If we are aware of this when we type our records into the computer, then we will have succeeded in making it transportable.

TO RECAP:

We want our information to be able to be:

printed
used in a word processor
used in a database
used in a spreadsheet
used for electronic publication

There is a “knack” to making data transferable between a word processor, database and a spreadsheet. Sure it has to be in ASCII format, but it also needs to be in a format that can be easily recognised by a spreadsheet or database.

A database or spreadsheet uses data in “fields”, i.e. separate “chunks” of information separated by either commas or tabs.
in a word processor:

Date Surname First Name Place (separated by tabs)
saved in a way to be able to be imported in a database or spreadsheet, would appear as:

tab delimited DateSurnameFirst namePlace
comma separated “Date”,”Surname”,”Firstname”,”Place”
with a normal carriage return at the end of each line. These are known as (respectively) tab delimited files or comma separated files (CSV for short).
The standard for transferring data between databases and spreadsheets on different software and computers is usually a CSV file containing ASCII text. However, to enable the data also to be used by a word processor, a tab delimited file works really nicely! Fortunately, both a database and a spreadsheet can accept a tab delimited file.

It is simple then. We must produce our records in either:

A word processor (with tab layout)
A database
A spreadsheet
and, if we want to export the file for others to use, we must save it as a tab delimited ASCII file.

The first thing you must learn with your word processor is how to save the document as an ASCII text file. All word processors can do it! When you select to save, you will be offered the option to save as “text only”. Saving as a “word processor document” is not the same thing! A word processor document file contains lots of non-ASCII codes for formatting the page layout etc.

The first thing you must learn with your spreadsheet or database program, is to learn how to save the data to disk as a tab separated ASCII text file.
Then we have complete compatibility between different types and manufacturers’ software and different types of computers.

The permanence of records and data

The common denominator in our types of publication should always be the paper based publication. There has, since computers were invented, been the concern that computer data is not permanent. Much as we would like to think that this is not the case, unfortunately it is true. The format of computer data changes and the computers themselves change. Furthermore data on disk is not permanent. It degenerates. Sure, paper degenerates too, but at no-where near the same rate as computer data. Your paper record, kept carefully, will last for hundreds of years. Computer data may last 5 years before it either degenerates or the computer and software to read it is no longer available. Do you remember records, you know, those 12″ diameter black plastic disks which revolved at 78 revolutions per minute, and which were read by a needle which trundled over its surface? (As a friend once commented, as he grew older – and wiser – “I used to revolve at 78 but now I’m down to 331/3″). How many people still have equipment which can read this data? How many people still have computer data stored on audio cassette tapes? 8″ diameter floppy disks – or even 51/4” floppy disks for that matter – with no computer to read them! The computer and software which I used to first record my family history stuff (which I still have on disk), is long gone – 7 years – that software won’t even install on my Pentium PC! Paper is very permanent compared with computer data!

The format of a paper based publication

The common denominator to all of our data must still be the paper publication. We must enter the data in such a way that it can be easily exported into other formats, for example, for use in a database, spreadsheet or electronic publication on CD or the Internet.

The key is the way that we enter data of the records into the word processor. So first we should consider the format of the publication, (the way it is laid out).
I found that by entering the details into a table in the word processor, it was possible not only to make it look good, but also to use the information in various other ways, export it to other software, and index it very easily too! (I used Microsoft Word as the word processor).

The information was laid out as in the following example, in the various columns of the table.

Ref Surname First Name Date Year Age Details
N1 NEEP John 11 Jun 1830 78 In / (left)Memory of / John Neep / who departed / this life /
June 11th 1830 / Aged 78 years / He was a good husband /
and honest man / and good neighbour / – / Long was I with
pain oppress / which wore my strength away / which made
me wish for heavenly rest / that never can decay
(right)
Memory of / Elizabeth / his Wife / who departed / this life /
Jan. 4th 1837 / aged 73 years / – /A wife so kind a mother
dear / A faithful friend lies sleeping here / She liv’d in love
and died in peace / In hopes her joys will never cease
(Palethorpe, Nott.)
N1 NEEP Elizabeth 4 Jan 1837 73

Note that the second person noted on this headstone, Elizabeth, is entered on a separate row in the table, but with the common grave reference number. Entries in the records are in grave index number order.

In printed form, it looks very neat indeed. I leave in a single horizontal line (the table border) between each grave, so that it looks like this when printed.

Once all the records for the church gravestones have been entered in this way, it is a really simple task to create a names index!

Simply highlight the first 6 columns of the table, click on copy, and then paste them into a new document. The new document will have the same table but without the description column. Next, get the word processor to sort them alphabetically, first on column 2 (surnames) and then on column 3 (first names), and you have a perfect alphabetical index! It looks something like this:

D4 BRETT Florence 14 Oct 1914 63
D4 BRETT John 12 May 1891 40
D3 DUFTY Joseph 5 Mar 1839 13
D2 DUFTY Susan Martha 29 Feb 1920 95
D2 DUFTY Thomas 13 Aug 1888 70
D1 DUFTY William 27 Dec 1847 67
N3 HEATHCOTE John 19 Sep 1837 64
D4 JOHNSON Edgar G
N12 MILLWARD Elizabeth 5 May 1868 79
N12 MILLWARD Hannah 25 Feb 1857 60
N12 MILLWARD Mary 3 Apr 1856 32
N5 NEEP Charles 7 Sep 1872 35
N1 NEEP Elizabeth 4 Jan 1837 73
N4 NEEP Elizabeth 28 Apr 1840 37
N1 NEEP John 11 Jun 1830 78
N2 NEEP John 30 Mar 1829 5m

In printed form, it is now very easy to look up a name and then next to it, see the relevant grave reference number.
Your final document for publication should ideally of course be securely bound in some way, with a good card cover, and with the index at either the front or back of the document. Don’t forget to include your plan of the graveyard, so that graves can be identified easily.

Exporting the information to a spreadsheet or database

A table in Microsoft Word has the facility to convert a table to text. This is the ideal tool to use in creating a file to export, because the word processor asks how you want the columns of the table handled. The ideal way is to just let it create tabs between each column boundary.
The result is a tab delimited file. Save it as an ASCII text file. This tab delimited file can be imported straight into any database or spreadsheet! The task is done! Easy!