I live in Southeast Missouri & I think too many of our cemeteries are being lost. I try my best to document what I find in hopes that it helps others.

Looking for burial info on James Socrates Richey(in AR) he married Maryann Oldham 1-16-1881,had a son Oliver Jackson.

I enjoy looking thru cemeteries,new and old.

I will gladly transfer any name I have added to you at your request.(Except my family names.) :)

Thank you to everyone who leaves tokens for my family. It is a pleasure to leave tokens for yours.

THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERY

BY THELMA GREENE REAGAN

Today we walked where others walked

On a lonely,windswept hill;

Today we talked where others cried

For loved ones whose lives are stilled.

Today our hearts were touched

By graves of tiny babies;

Snatched from the arms of loving kin,

In the heartbreak of the ages.

Today we saw where the grandparents lay

In the last sleep of their time;

Lying under the trees and clouds-

Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.

Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;

Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?

Was it a babe, child, young or old?

No indication could be found.

Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.

We had been here once before

On a day we'd all like to forget,

But will remember forever more.

Today we recorded for kith and kin

The graves of ancestors past;

To be preserved for generations hence,

A record we hope will last.

Cherish it, my friend; preserve it,my friend,

For stones sometimes crumble to dust

And generations of folks yet to come

Will be grateful for your trust.

THE CEMETERY PHOTOGRAPHER

Wandering among the stones I see

The stones so weathered and worn

'Tis difficult to find the date

On which the babe was born

I stare at the stone and am struck with awe

At the life that I knew was gone

This was someone's child, a babe so sweet

With loved ones to carry on

So I take a photo for all to see

For the family that remains

An everlasting memory of

A child of God's domain

I brush the weeds back from the stone

And say a silent prayer

For the babes that had no chance to live

And for mothers everywhere

The dove calls out it's mourning song

Among the stones so still

Echoes of the woes, through time

The choirs of despair

The stone will someday perish

The flowers will be gone

But a photo now remains of this

Their memory lives on!

And so my friend, don't hesitate

To film the weathered stone

Those who live within your hearts

Are never truly gone