Historian and Volunteer Information Specialist for Preston Ridge Chapter NSDAR

Some of the memorials I create are based on documented cemetery relocation records, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers records.

In some cases, the location of the relocated grave is known, but the identity of the individual could not be determined from the surviving records. These are not "Burial Details Unknown" memorials. The burial location is documented; it is the identity of the person that is unknown.

I created these memorials to preserve the documented grave location and historical record. In some cases, an unidentified individual may eventually be identified through additional research, including who they were originally buried near, family groupings, grave numbering, relocation records, headstone photographs, or other cemetery documentation.

Preserving these memorials may therefore help reconnect unidentified graves with the people and families they originally belonged to.

I have also completed an NSDAR Genealogical Records Committee (GRC) cemetery transcription project for Crossroad Cemetery in Celina, Texas. That work reinforced the importance of preserving documented grave locations, inscriptions, photographs, and unidentified burials so future researchers may be able to make connections that are not apparent today.

Preserving these memorials may therefore help reconnect unidentified graves with the people and families they originally belonged to.