Tombstone Transcription
Eagle Projects usually include much time spent in planning,
contacting involved organizations, obtaining authorization,
organizing the volunteer Scouts and community volunteers,
supervising the project and following through with any final
details.
This Eagle Project, completed by a Boy Scout from Troop 105, is
an excellent example. The Project was completed as part of
the The USGenWeb
Project, a group of volunteers working to provide free
genealogical websites for research in every county and state in the
United States. The goal is to encourage an interest in
genealogy in the next generation and to make it available on the
Internet for genealogical and family research. It is
important to preserve the information on gravemarkers before it is
lost to the elements.
The scope of the project included transcription of the names
from all the markers in the Memorial Park and computer preparation
of the data for use on the genealogical website. The
tombstone transcription was also a service to the Memorial Park, as
it provided them with a comprehensive listing of the names.
The Project took over a year to complete, with 346 hours of work
that involved 63 volunteers. 13,178 names were listed, and
submitted in the proper format to RootsWeb.com. To view the
listings for this Memorial Park, go to www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/california/sonoma.html
and scroll down to Cypress Hill Memorial Park.
If you have the time, this is a peaceful location for a walk.
Some of the stones date from the 1850s and 1880s. It will
also give you an appreciation for the need for this kind of
project, since some of the stone and wooden markers are now
difficult to read. The cache is outside the gate, so you do
not have to worry about the 8:00am-5:00pm hours. Please be
careful when crossing the busy road. It is a micro, so you
will need a pen. Coordinates were difficult to pinpoint, so
you may need the hint.
What is “Cache to Eagle”? How do I earn
the patch? The word found inside the cache is a "clue" for
the Cache to Eagle. See geoscouting.com . Click
on Cache to Eagle and then on Get your
Patch!