Headstone Photos

[LarryB]

I would like input on how people capture and record headstone photos. I can see using them as a multimedia attachment to Death and Burial sources. Do you use headstones as a source? Which source?

Comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.

[James Milne]

Re: Headstone Photos

I would like input on how people capture and record headstone photos. I can see using them as a multimedia attachment to Death and Burial sources. Do you use headstones as a source? Which source?

FWIW I use each headstone (Memorial Inscription (MI)) photo as a unique source, along with a PDF transcription of the headstone. Depending on the age, some headstones are impossible to decipher from a photograph, and a PDF transcription makes for more accurate data entry and will enable others to read what has been recorded on the stone. MI's will have people's names and additional information, possibly dates of death and birth, age, place of death, etc. I cite each piece of information on the MI to the relevant event for that person e.g. name, death date, etc. Unfortunately, because someone's name is inscribed on an MI, it does not follow that they are buried there. So unless the headstone specifically states that a person is buried there, I would not cite the MI against the burial event. (There may also be someone who has been buried there but is not mentioned on the headstone).
All my sources were input from TMG as "Free Form" so this is what I am using at present. I may get round to changing them to a specific source type as time allows.
Hope this helps.