Status: overwhelmed with edit requests - responses may be delayed.

Please note: I do not have an Ancestry account - if you're using an Ancestry source that is not available elsewhere, please provide the actual image - not just the name of the source.

The best way to contact me is through the Send Message button, above. If you send me an e-mail because you need to provide an attachment, please let me know via the message system. When I'm backlogged, I do not monitor e-mail in real time. Thanks!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What happened to your old page?

The time has come to take an electronic weed wacker to my old profile page and start again. While the old page contained a lot of useful info, it was written and added to over the course of several years and it became much overgrown. It has been archived, and the useful info will be reborn as an independent website where active links and much better formatting can be used.

What research platform do you use?

I use FamilySearch exclusively. I do not have an Ancestry account. Each platform has their own strengths and weaknesses. The source material is generally the same on both. Occasionally some documents may be found on one, but not the other, usually due to indexing problems. Unlike Ancestry, FamilySearch is available for free, though it does require you to register, just like Find A Grave did when you first signed up here.

What is a FamilySearch ID?

One of the strengths of FamilySearch is that once a person has been fully researched, there should be one and only one profile for that individual, which is referred to by an alphanumeric ID. That ID will bring up that person's profile, which contains not just his personal info and family tree, but more importantly, his sources.

What is the URL for a FamilySearch ID?

The base URL for a FamilySearch ID is:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/

simply add the ID to the end of this base URL to get the full URL. You will be asked to sign in, if you're not already logged in, or to create an account if you don't already have one.

What are your sources for this edit?

The FamilySearch ID will get you to this person's profile, where all the info that I've reviewed, including sources, may be found.

Occasionally, additional info comes from cemetery databases and/or obits or other documents posted to the memorial.

Do you accept other sources?

I'm happy to post a WikiTree URL and/or a single Ancestry URL. I will not accept multiple URLs for a single platform - this is not intended to be a link farm.

What cemeteries do you do active field work in?

I have done extensive field work in the following Malden, MA cemeteries:

• Bell Rock Cemetery
• Saint Mary's Cemetery
• Forest Dale Cemetery

What other cemeteries do you do research on?

I have done additional research, but not field work, in these additional cemeteries in or near Malden, MA:

• Salem Street Cemetery (open only by advance appointment)
• Hebrew Charitable Burial Ground (no cemetery database)
• Holy Cross Cemetery and Mausoleum (cemetery database is very incomplete)
• Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose (no cemetery database)
• Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett (part of Malden when the cemetery was founded)
• Glenwood Cemetery in Everett (no cemetery database)

There are also 25-35 small Jewish cemeteries in Everett, all part of one complex, but independently owned and managed. Likewise, there are 6 Jewish cemeteries in Melrose, as well, in two locations.

What is your primary research interest?

I am a local historian, researching Malden, MA, as well as Melrose (North Malden) and Everett (South Malden) and the Greater Boston area in general. Malden was founded as a Puritan farming town in 1649 and was transformed by the arrival of the Boston & Maine Railroad in 1845. North Malden broke away as Melrose in 1850 and became a railroad suburb of Boston. South Malden broke away as Everett in 1870 and became a streetcar suburb of Boston. Malden Centre remained a relatively independent community before becoming more integrated into the Greater Boston area at the dawn of the 20th century.

Genealogy, along with land title research and archival research is one of the many tools I use.

Why aren't you responding to my edits/requests?

Sometime I get backlogged when doing a research project and/or get flooded with a large number of edits. I make every effort to process edits within the 21 days allowed by Find A Grave. Please be patient. Messages may take a bit longer if the backlog is extreme. Please see my status line for my current situation.

Why did you decline my edit?

After a good faith effort to research your person, if I cannot find sources to document certain facts, I will decline them and post what information I do have documented. Often this involves a middle name when only an initial is documented or a specific date / place when only a general date / place is documented.

How can I provide a source to you from other platforms (e.g. Ancestry)?

If you have a source that you found outside of the FamilySearch platform, you may provide a copy either by email or posting it to the memorial. If you do post it, please remember to change the default Photo Type to Other. Either way you choose, please let me know which way it's available via the message system. Thanks!

But FamilySearch says ....

The main "Details" tab on a FamilySearch profile sometimes contains information that is not documented by the attached Sources. Since it is very easy to determine within FamilySearch that this is the case, I generally leave this undocumented information intact there, as info that could possibly be correct, in hopes of attracting a Source for it at a later date. But since there is currently no documentation for it, I will not accept it on Find A Grave. Find A Grave should only contain documented info. Find A Grave information is usually exported to other platforms, including FamilySearch, where it is used as a "Source" in their systems. This would create a "feedback loop" where undocumented information suddenly becomes "documented" by its blindly being copied into Find A Grave.

Why did you decline my detailed bio submission?

Some users have submitted very lengthy bios containing lots of redundant info, dozens of URLs, or copy and pastes of texts from other websites. There is no need to duplicate what has already been done here or on other sites, usually in a much better format. This defeats the very nature of the Internet.

What I will include is information that cannot be otherwise posted, such as the names of parents / children that do not have memorials (usually because dates of death or burial locations have not yet been found), or marriage dates/places (since the Find A Grave database currently only accepts a year). I will also accept a well-written obit, particularly for newer deaths (after 1950) when other sources are not available due to privacy regulations.

Why don't you give your name?

I prefer that people focus on my research, and not on me as a person. My username is in full compliance with Find A Grave policies.

What does "GPS is outside of the cemetery." mean?

When pics are taken with a modern cell phone, GPS information is usually embedded into the picture, which, when posted on Find A Grave, is automatically posted to the memorial. Unfortunately, cell phone GPS does not work like the super-precise surveyor's GPS. Notably, it only uses one satellite signal rather than the three required for accurate surveying. Also, if a satellite signal isn't available, the phone may fudge a location using cell tower info or other sources. Generally cell phone GPS is good enough for its primary function, real-time driving directions, but not quite what we'd hope for at this site. I often find graves "located" in the middle of streets, houses, rivers and lakes, or even in different cities or in the Atlantic Ocean. When I find a bad GPS location, I'll submit an edit to remove the GPS info so that a good location can be posted later.

What if I have other questions?

By all means, please message me. I'll respond when I can, and perhaps add it to this FAQ as well.