I developed an interest in genealogy at a young age, as a number of my relatives developed extensive family history write-ups, which were shared with and eventually passed on to me. I signed up as a Findagrave (FG) contributor (memorial creator and grave photographer) in 2016 in part to add a new facet to my decades-long interest in genealogy. I like reading stories about local people and sharing same through Findagrave memorials I create, but only when I have reliable information to post.

I am available to take cemetery, gravesite and related photos, assuming the request is feasible and bonified, in the following counties of Maryland: Calvert, Anne Arundel, Prince Georges and St. Mary's. I research information posted by funeral homes and other online services to create the bio section of FG memorials and always try to cite my sources. Note that it is sometimes impossible to first find, and then gain permission to access small cemeteries located on private family properties.

In terms of my own genealogy, I am trying to trace back 11 generations - a daunting task to say the least. My grandmother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and my bloodline includes members of the Continental Army before and during the Revolutionary War (1776-1781). My earliest ancestors in America have been traced back to the late 1600's. I have ancestors from many European locations including England, Scotland and Brandenburg, Prussia (now a region of Germany). I visited Brandenburg in early October 2024 to walk in the same town as my great-great-great grandfather John F. Wolbert did, born there in 1816.

I am an avid landscape and street photographer, so I have a large inventory of cameras to use for my Findagrave photography. I use one of my 5 Nikons or occasionally, a top-end mirrorless Sony A7IV to capture cemetery/grave images in the camera's raw format. I edit the photos with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw and Lightroom to produce a custom jpeg file for Findagrave purposes. Occasionally, I use my Samsung phone camera due to its light weight and ability to produce good images in all conditions.

My wife and I have lived within our 3+ acres of hardwood and pine forest in Dunkirk, Calvert County, Maryland since 1993. We relocated to Calvert in late 1986, me from Baltimore (or Bawlamer as we like to say it). So we are nearing 40 years here in this great Southern Maryland county.

Lastly, although I never worked in the funeral business, my great grandfather Jacob Snyder did - He operated a funeral parlor, on top of his furniture store, in Rockwood, Pennsylvania from the late 1800's until his death in 1911.