January 2015 Cemetery Challenge Week 2 - January 8-14 - Post your updates here!

+17 votes
422 views

Wow! What an amazing first week of the January 2015 Free For All Challenge!

Of the 11 of us who have recorded points earned so far, Star Kline is currently leading the scoreboard, having earned 979 points!

Here are some stats showing what we've accomplished in just the first week of the challenge:

  • Tombstones photographed: 532
  • Names transcribed: 2685
  • Profiles created: 757
  • Profiles with tombstone photos added to them: 665
  • Profiles connected to the global family tree: 68

That is amazing! I can't wait to see what those numbers look like at the end of the month.

Keep posting your updates here! Share what cemeteries you're working on, any interesting stories you come across, or any questions or comments you have about the challenge.

Update: The week 3 post is up!

in The Tree House by Liander Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (451k points)
edited by Liander Lavoie
This is awesome! The cemetery challenges have been such a success.
Great work, everyone!!!

Question on the rule 5 for “Each profile from a cemetery you're working on that gets connected to the tree is worth 1 point.”

How do I connect a profile to the world tree?  So far all I did was check for connections using the Connection to AJ tool. Then I have added the {{Global Family Reunion|steps=xx}} to the profiles.

Do I actually have to request a connection some place?

You do not need to request a connection.  The process you've listed is we've used in other Challenges - check for a connection and add the {{Global Family Reunion|steps=xx}} tag with the appropriate number of steps.  If you've been connecting multiple profiles together to make the connection, you may need to wait until the overnight update for the connection to appear (just don't want you to miss a valid link!).

thanks Star!
And just to clarify, you don't even need to include the Global Family Reunion template on a profile for it to count. As long as the profile was NOT connected to AJ prior to January, and it IS connected to him now, then you get the point for it.

16 Answers

+10 votes
Added Causey cemetery a page today and continuing to work on transcriptions for Magnolia cemetery this week.  Will probably also add a page to our small family cemetery located not far from Causey as well.
by Lisa Franklin G2G6 Mach 2 (25.9k points)
+9 votes

Question, really.  Should I give myself points for tombstones photographed if I took the photos several months ago (and never posted them before)?  Or should I only take credit for transcribing them and posting them to profiles, which I'm doing now?

by
No, you only get points for whatever you do during the challenge. For instance, I took a lot of my photos during the September challenge, but I'm just uploading them now, so I'm not earning any photo taking points (it's way too cold for tombstone photography right now in Winnipeg!!).

So you get points for any transcribing, adding them to profiles, etc. Whatever you do this month.
+9 votes
YEA!! was able to upload a total of 5 photos to profiles!  Added 1 new profile, and transcribed 18 more names completing 2 more cemeteries!  plan on bukling down this weekend after work and uploading more photos!
by Liz Parker G2G6 Mach 2 (22.6k points)
+8 votes
Began work on a new cemetery today in Kentucky. It has a tombstone for a dog! What do I do with that? Name, birth and death dates and all. Does the dog get a profile page?
by Martha Riley G2G6 Mach 1 (16.8k points)
Haha! No, no profile page for the dog. You could list the dog in the transcription table, though. :)
Add the dog's headstone to the cemetery page.  Love it when man and dog are honored and remembered.  Pets are family!  Thanks for posting.
In theory, you can create a free space page for the dog. At least I think that sorta makes sense.
+9 votes

Another 5 new profiles and 5 photos uploaded for the St Boniface Oblate Fathers' Cemetery. Only 29 to go!

My main goal for this challenge is to finish creating profiles for the three cemeteries I've completely transcribed. They're all small so I can totally achieve this! If I have extra time (or just feel like something different), I'm working on transcribing the cemeteries I've completely photographed.

by Liander Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (451k points)
+10 votes
Yesterday added 7 new profiles, and was able to upload 10 photos!  Today has not gone quite like i wanted it to, been busy in the "other world"!! have added 6 profiles so far, gonna try uploading some more photos!
by Liz Parker G2G6 Mach 2 (22.6k points)
+9 votes
Just finished the Cowbell Cemetery in Bighill, Kentucky! I would put a link to it here, if I knew how, so you could see how pretty it turned out.
by Martha Riley G2G6 Mach 1 (16.8k points)
edited by Martha Riley

Here's a link. That's a pretty one!

Thank you!
How are you adding infant profiles with no dates?  I have several and feel they need to be included! Great job on your cemetery page.
Based on the other tombstones around it, I just picked "after 1900" for the birthdate. I am doing several cemeteries in the same county, so I may come upon the parents or other siblings. Then I can narrow that date down a bit more. Thanks!
+11 votes

Started off with a nearby cemetery

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Washington_Park_East_Cemetery

However, this is a huge cemetery and it's slow going so far. Only 12 profiles total created there, and 8 photographed.

But I decided to go back to my ancestors and see what turned up there. Much of my semi-recent ancestors are from Kentucky, so I ended up creating:

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Equality_Cemetery

and added 10 profiles to this one, plus:

laid the groundwork for a couple of additional cemeteries in Ohio and McLean Counties in Kentucky (Oak Hill, Beaver Dam, and Nellie Davis).

Definitely harder for me to get the photographs for an out of state cemetery, but I can put in all the key data without the pictures for now, and maybe plan a trip in the future to go down and visit.

by Scott Fulkerson G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
Alright. Finished with my first set of photos. 17 photos profiled and placed on page. Already took more photos and need to start with those. Question tho: Am I just doing it wrong? I feel the need to try to source each of my new profiles even though I don't have many clues about them. Should I just give them all blank profiles for now and worry layer?
+9 votes

Created pages for two in Pemiscot Co, MO with transcriptions and photos

Little Prairie

13 photographs; 20 transcriptions

Maple

21 photographs; 33 transcriptions

by Andrea Powell G2G6 Mach 4 (44.9k points)
+8 votes
Okay, this weekend did not go the way I had planned! But I am use to that! Was only able to add 1 photo! But, I did create 12 new profiles! I am also in the middle of transcribing another cemetery! Mt Carmel Methodist Church Cemetery. I took about 230 headstone photos in the September Challenge. And have transcribed 53 so far! I can say that I am having fun and love seeing all the work and time you guys are putting into this project!
by Liz Parker G2G6 Mach 2 (22.6k points)
+8 votes

I located Mount Pisgah Memorial Cemetery last year.  Lots of my mother's family are buried here.  I was so happy to be able to walk this small cemetery and pay my respects to my ancestors.  My 2nd great grandmother Emeline Jacobs Satcher with which I carry her mtDNA is here. I have completed linking the profiles except for two with no dates and added all photos. 111 profiles.

http://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Space:Mount_Pisgah_Memorial_Cemetery%2C_Quitman%2C_Clarke_County%2C_Mississippi&public=1

Some more this week:

New Coat Cemetery Completed 63 graves.

New Old McNair Cemetery Completed 69 graves.

Since beginning you can see on this link that I have no life and have added many profiles with headstone photos.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Mississippi_Cemeteries/Progress#Table_of_Cemeteries

 

 

by Myrtis Bishop G2G6 Mach 1 (15.5k points)
+12 votes

Spent most of this week creating profiles for those buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Pennsylvania and trying to connect them to the family tree.  Since families tend to be buried in groups I had luck with a couple of families.  Will need to wait until the update tonight to be able to enter the steps from AJ.

by Star Kline G2G6 Pilot (715k points)
I was able to connect 61 people in this cemetery to the larger family tree and have added the steps to AJ on their profiles.  Now to get back to my objective of transcribing my stack of photos.
+8 votes

I created profiles for and added tombstone photos to 1 person from Morris Grace Methodist Church Cemetery (a little old cemetery right beside the highway south of Morris, Manitoba) and 7 people from St Boniface Oblate Fathers' Cemetery. 16 points!

by Liander Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (451k points)
+9 votes

I transcribed 35 and added 5 profiles to Lindenwood Cemetery. I have trouble getting the link in. it looks like http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Lindenwood_Cemetery

Most fun! Received and email comment from a person who had begun research on her greatgrandmother whose profile I had just added. She was very excited.

 

by Shirley Davis G2G6 Mach 3 (38.9k points)
edited by Shirley Davis
That's great, Shirley! Those moments are why I love this project.
+8 votes
Well, all I can say is Sara Rice sure does type faster than me!!  LOL  I can only manage 5 or 6 hundred transcriptions a day at 65wpm.  She must be a secretary and type like my mother used to!  LOL

I have completed the transcription for Magnolia Cemetery, which was my goal.  Will continue to work on profile pages and tombstone photos now.  They take a lot longer, but it is rewarding seeing the transcribed space page for the cemetery finish out.  :)

Also a BIG THANK YOU to Myrtis Bishop who has added several cemeteries in MS where our Sullivan's Hollow folks are buried!  Thx cuz! :)
by Lisa Franklin G2G6 Mach 2 (25.9k points)
+7 votes
Decided I better switch to transcriptions if I want to catch up in this cemetery contest!  Did 200 today so far. They go much faster than creating profiles and researching family tree connections.
by Martha Riley G2G6 Mach 1 (16.8k points)
That's for sure! I've mostly been creating profiles and adding pictures to them (and adding sources as I go), which is why I'm not even a competitor in this challenge. :) But I am happy to finally be getting some of my photos uploaded!

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