Never Forgotten2007-2026

I dedicate my work on Findagrave to my beloved Grandma, born Eula Merle Crain, who was my inspiration, my heart, my best friend, and the one who told me the family stories and went through picture albums with me, telling me who everyone was when I was a little girl.

Grandma was a darling little southern gal who used the words and phrases like "well I swan!" - "I got the waddin knocked out of me" - " I got a hitch in my get- along" - " I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" - "britches," - "that food went down my Sunday pipe" and instead of "push the button" she would say "mash the button" and "I'm all stove up" and many others.

I became quite interested in family history in 1988. I had given my grandma a book called "Grandmother Remembers." We worked on this book together, filling out the pages, her answering the questions in the book. We had a real special time with this. My dad noticed what we were working on and saw that there were a few questions left unanswered. He gave me a challenge "Well, figure it out!" And so I did!

Everything I did was "old school" then. Writing letters to historical and genealogy societies, courthouses, and asking questions from my remaining elderly relatives. I learned so much! I even put a few ads in the local newspapers in those towns I was researching. That generated a lot of help from local citizens. I began receiving a lot of information in the mail from these kind and helpful folks, filling in some of the blanks on my family tree. Some of these responses that came in the mail turned out to be from folks that were distantly related, on both sides of my family tree. And some people scanned their entire old photograph albums and mailed these pictures to me. I was blown away. One kind woman actually had two old photographs of my grandmother as a child and mailed the originals to me. Treasures for sure! I've stayed in contact with some of these lovely people and was sad when I learned some had passed away.

In 2007 while working on my family history, I wondered what the headstone of one of my great-grandmother looked like. I knew what cemetery she was buried in, so I wrote a letter to a town historian. This person actually went out to this cemetery and took pictures for me. Then he asked if I'd heard about a website called "Findagrave." That's all it took.

I've also been so fortunate to have inherited entire photo albums of several family members. Photos are meant to be shared and enjoyed. I've also inherited a few diaries from my relatives. These diaries gave such insight into the day-to-day life from many years ago. I cherish these things.

Thank you to members of my family and other generous individuals who graciously shared their memories and photos with me over the 35 plus years I've worked on family history. I couldn't have accomplished as much as I did without your help.

I am also a member of the DAR.