Special note: My apologies for lateness in message replies, edit requests, etc., as I have been adversely affected by having to stay-at-home a lot because of COVID19. Not because I actually have it, but due to other health issues my energy and attention levels have been affected. I'm trying to catch up. Please be patient with me!

rkt/July 24, 2020
------------------------------

Note: due to the new edit system, not all edit requests are vetted for accuracy. I try to weed out obvious edit errors, but some do slip through.

Some edits provide information above and beyond the local family group sheets and other sources I have available to me - I'm having to trust others with their edit sources but if there are questions please be aware that in accepting new edits I can't always source them.

I try to indicate on the memorials the date of any edit request changes, but with over 2500 edits received so far (a good thing) I can't always determine who sent the edit if something is found to be in error - the system allows for edit accepted to be viewed in batches of 25, so the time it takes to search for that information has become untenable. I'd like to consult with those who sent edit requests that turn out to be in error, but not always possible.
--------------
Note: Beginning October 6, 2015, I started receiving transfers of memorials from contributor Lyle Fulton for management. I'm not necessarily related to these memorials (nor is Lyle, for that matter), but Lyle wants them to be managed by a fellow contributor for any edits rather than just turning them over to F/A/G for management.

As a result, my statistics for memorials added are now overtaken by memorials managed.

If anyone finds one of Lyle's original contributions now under my management, please feel free to contact me for edits, etc.

In the past I've tried to keep my memorials managed ratio less than memorials added in the spirit of filling transfer requests or for circumstances when others could/would manage certain memorials better than I could.

Just wanted to let others know why this ratio is changing - I'm not one to stick to the four-generation only transfer guideline and don't want anyone to think that I've requested management of memorials far beyond what is mathematically possible using that guideline.

I'm humbled that Lyle has entrusted care of his memorials to my care and management.

--------------
I have also documented with memorials and, if possible, headstone photos, several entire small, rural cemeteries to keep them preserved for future generations.

As needed, I use the genealogy resources of the Jefferson County Genealogy Society at the Fairfield Public Library (Fairfield, Iowa) for much of my local "documentation" and sourcing; I also take advantage of the courthouse vital records and probate materials to examine first hand some of the materials that help me put on genealogy information and determine relationship links for my memorials, and to suggest corrections or updates to memorials made by other contributors where possible. Of course, there are online genealogy websites that I often use as well to confirm or not confirm some family information and relationships.

------
Note: I (and others) also have contributed headstone photos to Iowa Gravestones Photo Project website for linking purposes from the IaGenWeb.org/Jefferson county genealogy website. My screenname on IGPP was formerly "thompsonrb". That has now been changed for all of my submissions to "iowagenealogy.jeffersoncounty" because of my email address change.
-------

The new edit system now allows for suggested links to parents and spouses - for the most part I'll accept them "as is", but reserve the right to verify if possible. Be aware that spouses can be linked either way, from either memorial to the other, so as long as they are indeed already linked, it is not needed to send a spouse edit on the memorial that is already linked to - doing so creates a duplicate link.

----------
Thought you might enjoy this sense of humor! (I am not a bagpiper myself, just found this story about one):

""As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Saskatchewan back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together.

When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.""

-----------
//Richard - /May 3, 2020 (profile updated)

Special note: My apologies for lateness in message replies, edit requests, etc., as I have been adversely affected by having to stay-at-home a lot because of COVID19. Not because I actually have it, but due to other health issues my energy and attention levels have been affected. I'm trying to catch up. Please be patient with me!

rkt/July 24, 2020
------------------------------

Note: due to the new edit system, not all edit requests are vetted for accuracy. I try to weed out obvious edit errors, but some do slip through.

Some edits provide information above and beyond the local family group sheets and other sources I have available to me - I'm having to trust others with their edit sources but if there are questions please be aware that in accepting new edits I can't always source them.

I try to indicate on the memorials the date of any edit request changes, but with over 2500 edits received so far (a good thing) I can't always determine who sent the edit if something is found to be in error - the system allows for edit accepted to be viewed in batches of 25, so the time it takes to search for that information has become untenable. I'd like to consult with those who sent edit requests that turn out to be in error, but not always possible.
--------------
Note: Beginning October 6, 2015, I started receiving transfers of memorials from contributor Lyle Fulton for management. I'm not necessarily related to these memorials (nor is Lyle, for that matter), but Lyle wants them to be managed by a fellow contributor for any edits rather than just turning them over to F/A/G for management.

As a result, my statistics for memorials added are now overtaken by memorials managed.

If anyone finds one of Lyle's original contributions now under my management, please feel free to contact me for edits, etc.

In the past I've tried to keep my memorials managed ratio less than memorials added in the spirit of filling transfer requests or for circumstances when others could/would manage certain memorials better than I could.

Just wanted to let others know why this ratio is changing - I'm not one to stick to the four-generation only transfer guideline and don't want anyone to think that I've requested management of memorials far beyond what is mathematically possible using that guideline.

I'm humbled that Lyle has entrusted care of his memorials to my care and management.

--------------
I have also documented with memorials and, if possible, headstone photos, several entire small, rural cemeteries to keep them preserved for future generations.

As needed, I use the genealogy resources of the Jefferson County Genealogy Society at the Fairfield Public Library (Fairfield, Iowa) for much of my local "documentation" and sourcing; I also take advantage of the courthouse vital records and probate materials to examine first hand some of the materials that help me put on genealogy information and determine relationship links for my memorials, and to suggest corrections or updates to memorials made by other contributors where possible. Of course, there are online genealogy websites that I often use as well to confirm or not confirm some family information and relationships.

------
Note: I (and others) also have contributed headstone photos to Iowa Gravestones Photo Project website for linking purposes from the IaGenWeb.org/Jefferson county genealogy website. My screenname on IGPP was formerly "thompsonrb". That has now been changed for all of my submissions to "iowagenealogy.jeffersoncounty" because of my email address change.
-------

The new edit system now allows for suggested links to parents and spouses - for the most part I'll accept them "as is", but reserve the right to verify if possible. Be aware that spouses can be linked either way, from either memorial to the other, so as long as they are indeed already linked, it is not needed to send a spouse edit on the memorial that is already linked to - doing so creates a duplicate link.

----------
Thought you might enjoy this sense of humor! (I am not a bagpiper myself, just found this story about one):

""As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Saskatchewan back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together.

When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.""

-----------
//Richard - /May 3, 2020 (profile updated)