What happens when the tombstone is no longer there and you have a photograph taken prior to its disappearance (theft, vandalism, sunk in ground)? I have been putting the cemetery as the source and the photograph is just to back up any transcriptions if they are readable. I put myself as the transcriber and photographer. The stone was available at the time I did the transcription and took the photo, but for future generations if the tombstone is gone there is no way for them to verify the information from it unless there are other photos of it floating around like my own additions to Find A Grave.
Would future generations take my word for it that the photograph is indeed from that cemetery? While still maintaining that the photograph was taken at a specific cemetery, but the tombstone is no longer available, would the source become the photograph and the cemetery remain the repository. Unless the cemetery or another person also a photograph of that grave, my photo could be the only one in existence if the stone is gone. I've had this happen with a lot of disappearing tombstones after taking photos. One very large stone placed on the ground in the late 1800's has information on it that indicates an ancestor of mine was from Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. The information was provided by the children because they are mentioned on the inscription. This is the only real source I have of this. Now that it has disappeared, would I change my source from being the actual stone to the photograph since future generations can no longer access it, or just make note that the stone is gone which is what I now. Other ones have just sunk into the ground, and some were stolen since probing proved no stone was below while cemetery records revealed a memorial had been there once. When no stones were ever available, I just use cemetery records. For missing stones I will take a photo where the grave should be especially for one cemetery where I have all their records and plot information. ------- Bill Boswell -----Original Message----- From: Connie Sheets [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 1:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Photos as Sources-----Sources for Photos No, it is not necessarily a matter of semantics.� It is a matter of writing a source citation that is specific enough that you (and hopefully others) know where you got the information AND can evaluate the quality of the evidence. Technically, the tombstone itself is an original source; a photograph of the tombstone is a derivative source, but if the inscription is completely readable in the photograph (they often are not), the photograph can be considered equivalent to the original for the purpose of evidence evaluation. I would cite a tombstone as the source only if I've been to the cemetery and seen the tombstone myself.� For example: Anna A. Walton tombstone, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Harrison County, Missouri, viewed by Connie Sheets on 19 June 2004. Otherwise, I most frequently cite someone else's transcription of the tombstone (e.g. a cemetery book or an entry at Find-A-Grave). Particularly for sites like Find-A-Grave, I note in my citation whether a readable photograph of the tombstone is included. For example: "Find A Grave Memorial," database and image, Findagrave.com�(www.findagrave.com : accessed 2 Apr 2010), for Frances Flowers (sic) Allen, Memorial 19217825; a photograph of what appears to be the top of a broken tombstone is provided.� Only "Frances F. wife of James Allen" is visible; the source for the dates of birth and death is not recorded. If someone sends me a photograph of a tombstone that I've never seen, my citation would look something like this: Photograph of Anna A. Walton tombstone, Cedar Hill Cemetery, Harrison Co., Missouri, taken by John Doe 12 Dec 2009 and e-mailed to Connie Sheets on 1 Feb 2011. In all cases, my citation is attached to the event/fact or piece of information I can derive from the tombstone, e.g. location of burial, date of birth, or date of death. Connie Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
