Contribute to the Somerset Cemeteries Project

Cemetery transcribers have made this one of the most useful parts of Somerset County MDGenWeb. If you can safely document a family graveyard or church cemetery, your work may preserve information that otherwise could be lost.

Before entering private property or attempting cemetery cleanup or stone work, obtain appropriate permission and review current preservation guidance. The Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites’ Guide to Burial Site Stewardship is an excellent place to start.

1. Describe the Cemetery

Begin your transcription with a short paragraph describing the graveyard’s location and condition in enough detail that a researcher unfamiliar with the area could understand where it is. Note whether the cemetery was well tended, overgrown, difficult to reach, or otherwise unusual when you visited.

2. Transcribe the Stones Consistently

As much as possible, please use the following format:

Capitalize surnames and use normal capitalization for given names: John SMITH.
Abbreviate born as b. and died as d..
Use written month names or standard month abbreviations rather than numeric dates: Jan. 15, 1868, not 1/15/1868.
Separate the name and dates with commas: John SMITH, b. 1812, d. 1841.
When only birth and death years appear, use a space, hyphen, and space: 1828 - 1901.
Include relationships stated on the stone, such as “wife of” or “son of.”
Include military and fraternal information.
If an age at death is given, record it.
Epitaphs are optional, but you are welcome to include them.
If part of an inscription cannot be read, mark the uncertain or illegible portion rather than guessing.

Examples:
Milton E. LARMORE, son of William and Roberta, b. Dec. 3, 1881, d. Jun. 25, 1895
Valentine INSLEY, 1834 - 1928
Susan WILLING, wife of James A., d. Aug. 15, 1888, aged 59 years, 11 months, 7 days
Carl Lee WALTER, Md. CSPS USNR World War I and II, 1896 - 1959
Matthew A. HORSMAN, b. Dec. 10, 1859, d. Apr. 5, 1930

3. Use a Plain Text File

Please save the transcription as a plain text (.txt) file. Avoid spreadsheet, database, table, or delimited formatting; simple text is easiest to preserve and convert into a web page.

4. Send Your Transcription

Attach the text file to an email and send it to Email the Somerset coordinator.

The transcription will be formatted for the Somerset Cemeteries Project and added to this site so it remains freely available to Somerset researchers.

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