Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - October 9, 2008
The October 9, 2008, meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library in Edwardsville, Illinois.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
Jim Pauk of
Highland, Illinois, made a presentation on Photographing Tombstones for findagrave.com. Jim combines a
love of history and knowledge of computers for his hobby of taking digital
photographs of tombstones and posting the information on www.findagrave.com for
those doing genealogical research. He is working towards having photos and
Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) readings on every cemetery in Bond County,
Illinois. After pursuing his hobby for less than a year, he has posted more
than 1,000 photos on the website.
Jim said that people who take pictures of tombstones have been referred to as
"crypt-tographers."
Pauk has separated cemeteries into several
categories: those that are peaceful and delightful to look at, historic sites
and individuals, those established by special groups (e.g., labor unions,
insurance societies, etc.), and family groups.
Jim has a special project - to photograph the tombstones of all deceased
Illinois governors.
Mr. Pauk encouraged those present to join
findagrave.com and post photographs to the site. This was a very enjoyable and
informative presentation.