We have met today (August 28) for the fourth time this month. We are currently working at the New Mexico Special Collections library for the past 3 months. It is way too hot to be out working on the cemetery grounds, so we are transcribing data from old, old records at this special library. Now this may sound boring, writing about all these deceased people, but the group of people that work with me make it exciting. And we make those deceased people come alive!
First of all, I want to thank my patient husband Rich who has worked with us since his retirement in late 2007. He doesn't like writing ad nauseum in notebooks or reading about all these 'old' folks that died, but he hangs in there. His hand may cramp, his rear get tired of sitting on the hard chairs, or get just bored, but he never complains - or quits! The fact that chocolates and candy are used for bribery each time help some too.
Another wonderful worker is Wink. He has been with my group since 2001! Yes, from day one he has stuck with me. He is pretty awesome too. Although he has another life (unlike me) he shows up all the time. He, too, writes tirelessly and puts up with our silly jokes and comments. But he enjoys the chocolates too. And he is a rare breed (kind of like me) in that he loves searching out new cemeteries. He and I have the National Geographic Topo maps on our computers and we are always emailing back and forth that we found a new one! He even gets in his car and goes and finds some!
Betty came to me at the very beginning of 2001 also. What a faithful friend she has been. She is a wonderful volunteer all over this city. She is very busy with volunteering at the State Fair, any election in the city, the Balloon Fiesta and even the theater. But she has always found time for Tombstone. And she always has a smile and great encouraging words for me. She is a good friend.
Gloria came to me about 3 years ago. She has never balked at any assignment given to her. She quietly sits (or walks) and gets everything done. And she is a wonderful source of translating Spanish for us. None of us speaks Spanish and at times the inscriptions and names get too much. You would think by now we would remember that enero means died....or is it born!?
Barb has been with me so long that I don't remember when she started. She drives a long ways to come to our meetings whether it is the library or cemeteries. Such a happy lady that her smile always gives me a lift. And she never complains about the length of the book she needs to transcribe. She enjoys history of our state and loves to find strange deaths!
And my most recent victim, eh, volunteer, is Lee. He is an amazing man. He and his wife travel all around the world! He has just come back from Kenya and stunned us all with his pictures and tales of the trip. We are all living/traveling vicariously through him. A retired German professor, he is a joy to have in our group - and I know Wink and Rich welcome another male!
To everyone who has ever volunteered with this group, you have my eternal thanks. I know you have all put up with cold feet, freezing fingers, sun scorched necks, wet feet, sprinklers that suddenly come to life as well as holes that open up into the earth to trip you. I give you all a huge HUG and my love! God Bless you!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Getting the work done
I have finally found some wonderful people to help me with Tombstone Transcription data entry. Over the eight years that we have been collecting data, I have been the only one to enter data into the computer.
About six months ago, a wonderful lady by the name of Rachel Rumschlag was introduced to me and she worked long and hard to create a database for Tombstone. We have so many names that we were running out of space on Excel spreadsheets. Now we have a wonderful database that I can get all our cemeteries merged into. It takes a bit of work to move them from a spreadsheet into the database, but will be worth it in the end. We will now be able to search for names alphabetically and not search through 100's of cemeteries one at a time.
I have also met a fantastic group of people who are offering to help enter this data. One of them is Shirley Ash. At this point (August 2009) we have over 100 notebooks full of information that need to be added. I did a mass training Saturday (August 15) and 8 people signed up and attended. I also trained 3 additional ladies that want to help. Hopefully, these 11 people will take notebooks home and enter the data. We should be able to get through all the notebooks in about 6 months.
After they send the information to me it still takes awhile to get it ready to upload to the internet and merge into the database. But this has to be alot quicker than me entering all the data myself.
About six months ago, a wonderful lady by the name of Rachel Rumschlag was introduced to me and she worked long and hard to create a database for Tombstone. We have so many names that we were running out of space on Excel spreadsheets. Now we have a wonderful database that I can get all our cemeteries merged into. It takes a bit of work to move them from a spreadsheet into the database, but will be worth it in the end. We will now be able to search for names alphabetically and not search through 100's of cemeteries one at a time.
I have also met a fantastic group of people who are offering to help enter this data. One of them is Shirley Ash. At this point (August 2009) we have over 100 notebooks full of information that need to be added. I did a mass training Saturday (August 15) and 8 people signed up and attended. I also trained 3 additional ladies that want to help. Hopefully, these 11 people will take notebooks home and enter the data. We should be able to get through all the notebooks in about 6 months.
After they send the information to me it still takes awhile to get it ready to upload to the internet and merge into the database. But this has to be alot quicker than me entering all the data myself.
Friday, August 7, 2009
How it began
My name is Cheryl Harris and I live in Albuquerque, NM. I have longed to finish my personal genealogy for over 15 years but not had much luck. And because of that, I decided to do something that would help others in their search for parents, siblings, grandparents, great grandparents and all those that have been lost through death.
In 2001 I started the volunteer group Tombstone Transcription Project for New Mexico. I have a solid group of volunteers that have worked continuously since 2001 gathering information from every death source we can find. We have walked cemeteries and written down every tombstone/headstone we found. We have visited cemeteries that have only one visible stone left after a hundred years of weather. We have gathered more than 900 sources of information from the Special Collections Library listing mortuary, death certificate and family information.
Our group has gathered over 350,000 names in our eight years of work. All of this is eventually transcribed and posted to the internet for the world to see.
During the hot summer months here in the desert, as well as when there is snow on the ground, you will find our group in the library. The rest of the time we are joyously walking cemeteries writing down information. We love to be outside!
My wonderful group of volunteers has persevered through wind, sprinklers, mud, holes, drunks, stones that are almost totally unreadable, freezing temperature or unbearable heat. These people are heroes in my mind and I'd like to list them here for all to give them thanks. Some of my dedicated volunteers are:
Wink Winkeljohn
Gloria Henderson
Betty Lamberti
B.J. Minshall
Barbara Borowy
Richard Harris
With this blog, I would like to keep you informed of our progress as well as any surprises we come across. If you would like information, or any of the names we've found, please contact me through posting comments.
In 2001 I started the volunteer group Tombstone Transcription Project for New Mexico. I have a solid group of volunteers that have worked continuously since 2001 gathering information from every death source we can find. We have walked cemeteries and written down every tombstone/headstone we found. We have visited cemeteries that have only one visible stone left after a hundred years of weather. We have gathered more than 900 sources of information from the Special Collections Library listing mortuary, death certificate and family information.
Our group has gathered over 350,000 names in our eight years of work. All of this is eventually transcribed and posted to the internet for the world to see.
During the hot summer months here in the desert, as well as when there is snow on the ground, you will find our group in the library. The rest of the time we are joyously walking cemeteries writing down information. We love to be outside!
My wonderful group of volunteers has persevered through wind, sprinklers, mud, holes, drunks, stones that are almost totally unreadable, freezing temperature or unbearable heat. These people are heroes in my mind and I'd like to list them here for all to give them thanks. Some of my dedicated volunteers are:
Wink Winkeljohn
Gloria Henderson
Betty Lamberti
B.J. Minshall
Barbara Borowy
Richard Harris
With this blog, I would like to keep you informed of our progress as well as any surprises we come across. If you would like information, or any of the names we've found, please contact me through posting comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)