My interest in genealogy was heightened by my discovery of whom was buried in my maternal great-grandmother's plot. His name was Hiram Hooker, and such a unique and interesting name caught my attention. He was the first person buried in this family's plot. I found my information through cemetery records, and it was from that point that I was launched into the genealogical pursuit. Through my initial inquiries, I was led to discover many ancestral colonial tombstones in New England where I resided until 1999.
Tombstones are an often unexpected source of information.
In the library and manuscript collections of the Western Reserve Historical Society and in collections across the United States, there are many opportunities to take advantage of this unique genealogical resource without ever visiting a graveyard. Cemetery, Monroe Street Cemetery, Old Berea Cemetery, Old Rockside Cemetery, Old Rockport Cemetery, formerly at Saint Charles Road and Detroit Avenue, Saint Mary's Cemetery, and Scranton Road Cemetery. This small collection holds nine folders which contain revealing family information, including birth and death dates, place of birth and in some, place of death and the circumstances involved in the person's death, country of birth, family relationships of those interred within the plot, veteran status, branch of the service and military units and occupations. There are also newspaper clippings, surname indexes, hand-drawn maps of the cemetery and major points of reference within the cemetery grounds. Many of the records contain sketches of tombstone art and monuments.