1 Dec 2021: UPDATE: My husband and I, both fully vaccinated, are recovering at home from CoVid 19. We do expect to recover, but my edits have become somewhat out of control. I am getting to them as quickly as I am able, and giving each memorial my full attention as it comes next in line. Your patience and documentation is appreciated. Thank you for all the wonderful information added to these memorials.
-----
Special note to photographers. THANK YOU. This is a general note based on the many "No Marker" "Problems" I am notified of too frequently of late. I share it with you without judgement. We all have our limits and unmarked graves are VERY HARD to do!

Tonight, I wrote:
Hi, Alan,

I see you've been volunteering for Find A Grave for a long time. On behalf of all of us who follow, thank you for doing so!

You recently responded to a photo request I submitted somewhere along the line by marking NO MARKER as a problem.

I'd like to share with you that I don't need a big fancy grave stone. I don't need an obelisk that was set with block and tackle. I need to see the place of final disposition. I need to know where he rests, so that I can properly pay my respects, and wish him God-Speed and a good journey.

Find A Grave has recently changed the request system. When a request is marked with a problem, it is taken from the main request queue and goes into what I call photo purgatory. No one ever looks for it again.

I have found the grave sites of many. Obviously, I don't live coast to coast. A member of my son's family had been lost to his family since the 19 teens. He "disappeared." His mother went to her grave looking for her son. She froze his portion of her estate for seven years. She never found him. His son never found him. I did. It was both a joyous and a melancholy day when I found him, for many more than he imagined noted his absence with sorrow. To "not know" is so difficult.

He had mining in his blood. He showed up in a mining town hospital with a name of John T. Degman, jaundiced and apparently incoherent and without assets. He had only his name at that point, and he was critically ill. He died alone in that hospital about a week later, as I recall. And I found his grave ON PAPER.

For more than two years I had a photo request out. Nothing happened. This was kin. So we set our winter vacation compass to Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove through Death Valley to get to Tonapah, Nevada on December 30, 2019. We spent the night in a motel and then we visited the county offices on the morning of New Year's Eve, armed with J.T.'s death certificate. His name was misspelled in the books. [NOT IN CEMETERY RECORDS] We had his burial date, and we found his grave plot. We had a map, a plot number, and careful instruction from kind people.

So on the last cold windy raw day of 2019 we walked through the mining shale and paid final respects on behalf of his family, my son, his flesh.

And now all who wonder (it was a large family) know the status of his final disposition. The honor and respect is no less felt because there is no marker. Understanding his love of mining is no less because his grave was not marked. One could argue it was greater. We could look around us at the majesty of the mountains and the paucity of cemetery markers beaten blank by mountain winds, saying, "What a Life." It's not a life I'd choose, but he did.

I had found his wife's marker the year before, and his grandchildren were able to put a stone that marked her final resting place. He'd be beside her had anyone known who or where she was. She died when his son was just a baby. That son became the father of MY son's father. He is my people.

Here is his memorial: John-Thomas-Degman

I think it illustrates my suggestion for you to consider just passing by that unmarked grave if you can't make yourself take a photo of an unmarked grave. Just leave it. Someone will get it sooner or later. The only PROBLEM is that we have not yet photographed that grave as it is on this date in time!

Please - if there is no marker but you're at the grave, please take a photo of the grave, of the surround. Let us visit virtually, because, my friend, I cannot experience, "NO MARKER."

Thank you for your kindness.

jane

PS - I'm going to put this on my profile now in the hopes that others will understand the mission of finding the FINAL DISPOSITION OF REMAINS. And no matter who the departed are, I believe they are owed that honor. I hope that going forward, you will share that vision.

jane - Nov 2021
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Six generations of my family are at rest at Waterman Cemetery, O'Brien County, Iowa. I visit them often as they're only a mile away. I have also visited the graves of some of my ancestors in Maine, and hope to return to carry that into their genesis in Boston, Massachusetts and surround. We also made a special day trip to family in Tonopah, Nevada, to memorialize a man lost since the early 1920s.

I am currently working on photographing cemeteries local to me in O'Brien, Buena Vista, Cherokee and Clay Counties, Iowa. I build on the work of others who have worked or who are currently working these cemeteries. It really is a group project. My husband joins me when he's able, and he's really good at deciphering those old worn stones that are half buried. And he's not afraid of snakes. And he's good company.

If I took a photo you'd like for your own personal use, I would be honored if you displayed it. Please credit me with my name and FindaGrave # shown at the top of this page. Sometimes my photos are great. Sometimes they're good. Sometimes they're not. If I post a photo to your memorial that disturbs you, please let me know and I will remove it until such time that I can get back to it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished Spring/Summer/Fall of 2015 (with *Finished* meaning that I've given it my best shot - pun intended - and am moving on. I believe that the entire cemetery has been photographed and recorded.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Calvary Catholic, Sutherland,O'Brien
Finished: Covey Church,Highland,O'Brien
Finished: Doyle Cemetery, Highland, O'Brien
Finished: Fanny Fern, Douglas Twp, Clay
Finished: Friends, Mapleside, O'Brien
Finished: Liberty, Calumet, O'Brien
Finished: Lone Tree, Everly, Clay
Finished: Oakland, Peterson, Clay
Finished: Pleasant Hill, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: Prairie View, Paullina, O'Brien
Finished: St AnthonysCath.,Calvary,Primghar
Finished:StJohannesLuth.,Brooke,BuenaVista
Finished: StJohnLutheran,Germantown,O'Brien
Finished: Spring Twp Cemetery, Cherokee
Finished: TriMello, Moneta, Clay
Finished: Waterman, Sutherland, O'Brien
Finished: West Prairie View, Paullina,O'Brien
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Spring/Summer/Fall, 2016
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Center Twp, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: East Lawn, Sheldon, O'Brien
Finished: Hospers, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: Hospers Memorial, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: Pleasant View, Hartley, O'Brien
Finished: Randolph, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: Roseland, Sanborn, O'Brien
Finished: St Anthony's Catholic, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: St Cecilia Catholic, Sanborn, O'Brien
Finished: St Patricks Catholic, Sheldon,O'Brien
Finished: St Paul Lutheran, Sheldon, O'Brien
Finished: Steuck, Primghar, O'Brien
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Spring, Summer, Fall, 2017
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: St.Joseph Catholic, Granville, Sioux
Finished:Pleasant Hill, Aurelia, Cherokee (West Annex)
Finished: Woodlawn, Alta, Buena Vista
Working: Oak Hill, Cherokee, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Summer Fall, 2018
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: George Donohoe Site, Cherokee, Cherokee
Finished: Oak Hill, Cherokee, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2019
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Good Hope, Cherokee Rural
Finished: Plainview, Alta, Buena Vista
Finished: Scandinavian, Alta, Buena Vista
Finished: Trinity Lutheran, Marcus, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2020
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2021
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

1 Dec 2021: UPDATE: My husband and I, both fully vaccinated, are recovering at home from CoVid 19. We do expect to recover, but my edits have become somewhat out of control. I am getting to them as quickly as I am able, and giving each memorial my full attention as it comes next in line. Your patience and documentation is appreciated. Thank you for all the wonderful information added to these memorials.
-----
Special note to photographers. THANK YOU. This is a general note based on the many "No Marker" "Problems" I am notified of too frequently of late. I share it with you without judgement. We all have our limits and unmarked graves are VERY HARD to do!

Tonight, I wrote:
Hi, Alan,

I see you've been volunteering for Find A Grave for a long time. On behalf of all of us who follow, thank you for doing so!

You recently responded to a photo request I submitted somewhere along the line by marking NO MARKER as a problem.

I'd like to share with you that I don't need a big fancy grave stone. I don't need an obelisk that was set with block and tackle. I need to see the place of final disposition. I need to know where he rests, so that I can properly pay my respects, and wish him God-Speed and a good journey.

Find A Grave has recently changed the request system. When a request is marked with a problem, it is taken from the main request queue and goes into what I call photo purgatory. No one ever looks for it again.

I have found the grave sites of many. Obviously, I don't live coast to coast. A member of my son's family had been lost to his family since the 19 teens. He "disappeared." His mother went to her grave looking for her son. She froze his portion of her estate for seven years. She never found him. His son never found him. I did. It was both a joyous and a melancholy day when I found him, for many more than he imagined noted his absence with sorrow. To "not know" is so difficult.

He had mining in his blood. He showed up in a mining town hospital with a name of John T. Degman, jaundiced and apparently incoherent and without assets. He had only his name at that point, and he was critically ill. He died alone in that hospital about a week later, as I recall. And I found his grave ON PAPER.

For more than two years I had a photo request out. Nothing happened. This was kin. So we set our winter vacation compass to Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove through Death Valley to get to Tonapah, Nevada on December 30, 2019. We spent the night in a motel and then we visited the county offices on the morning of New Year's Eve, armed with J.T.'s death certificate. His name was misspelled in the books. [NOT IN CEMETERY RECORDS] We had his burial date, and we found his grave plot. We had a map, a plot number, and careful instruction from kind people.

So on the last cold windy raw day of 2019 we walked through the mining shale and paid final respects on behalf of his family, my son, his flesh.

And now all who wonder (it was a large family) know the status of his final disposition. The honor and respect is no less felt because there is no marker. Understanding his love of mining is no less because his grave was not marked. One could argue it was greater. We could look around us at the majesty of the mountains and the paucity of cemetery markers beaten blank by mountain winds, saying, "What a Life." It's not a life I'd choose, but he did.

I had found his wife's marker the year before, and his grandchildren were able to put a stone that marked her final resting place. He'd be beside her had anyone known who or where she was. She died when his son was just a baby. That son became the father of MY son's father. He is my people.

Here is his memorial: John-Thomas-Degman

I think it illustrates my suggestion for you to consider just passing by that unmarked grave if you can't make yourself take a photo of an unmarked grave. Just leave it. Someone will get it sooner or later. The only PROBLEM is that we have not yet photographed that grave as it is on this date in time!

Please - if there is no marker but you're at the grave, please take a photo of the grave, of the surround. Let us visit virtually, because, my friend, I cannot experience, "NO MARKER."

Thank you for your kindness.

jane

PS - I'm going to put this on my profile now in the hopes that others will understand the mission of finding the FINAL DISPOSITION OF REMAINS. And no matter who the departed are, I believe they are owed that honor. I hope that going forward, you will share that vision.

jane - Nov 2021
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Six generations of my family are at rest at Waterman Cemetery, O'Brien County, Iowa. I visit them often as they're only a mile away. I have also visited the graves of some of my ancestors in Maine, and hope to return to carry that into their genesis in Boston, Massachusetts and surround. We also made a special day trip to family in Tonopah, Nevada, to memorialize a man lost since the early 1920s.

I am currently working on photographing cemeteries local to me in O'Brien, Buena Vista, Cherokee and Clay Counties, Iowa. I build on the work of others who have worked or who are currently working these cemeteries. It really is a group project. My husband joins me when he's able, and he's really good at deciphering those old worn stones that are half buried. And he's not afraid of snakes. And he's good company.

If I took a photo you'd like for your own personal use, I would be honored if you displayed it. Please credit me with my name and FindaGrave # shown at the top of this page. Sometimes my photos are great. Sometimes they're good. Sometimes they're not. If I post a photo to your memorial that disturbs you, please let me know and I will remove it until such time that I can get back to it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished Spring/Summer/Fall of 2015 (with *Finished* meaning that I've given it my best shot - pun intended - and am moving on. I believe that the entire cemetery has been photographed and recorded.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Calvary Catholic, Sutherland,O'Brien
Finished: Covey Church,Highland,O'Brien
Finished: Doyle Cemetery, Highland, O'Brien
Finished: Fanny Fern, Douglas Twp, Clay
Finished: Friends, Mapleside, O'Brien
Finished: Liberty, Calumet, O'Brien
Finished: Lone Tree, Everly, Clay
Finished: Oakland, Peterson, Clay
Finished: Pleasant Hill, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: Prairie View, Paullina, O'Brien
Finished: St AnthonysCath.,Calvary,Primghar
Finished:StJohannesLuth.,Brooke,BuenaVista
Finished: StJohnLutheran,Germantown,O'Brien
Finished: Spring Twp Cemetery, Cherokee
Finished: TriMello, Moneta, Clay
Finished: Waterman, Sutherland, O'Brien
Finished: West Prairie View, Paullina,O'Brien
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Spring/Summer/Fall, 2016
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Center Twp, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: East Lawn, Sheldon, O'Brien
Finished: Hospers, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: Hospers Memorial, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: Pleasant View, Hartley, O'Brien
Finished: Randolph, Primghar, O'Brien
Finished: Roseland, Sanborn, O'Brien
Finished: St Anthony's Catholic, Hospers, Sioux
Finished: St Cecilia Catholic, Sanborn, O'Brien
Finished: St Patricks Catholic, Sheldon,O'Brien
Finished: St Paul Lutheran, Sheldon, O'Brien
Finished: Steuck, Primghar, O'Brien
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Spring, Summer, Fall, 2017
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: St.Joseph Catholic, Granville, Sioux
Finished:Pleasant Hill, Aurelia, Cherokee (West Annex)
Finished: Woodlawn, Alta, Buena Vista
Working: Oak Hill, Cherokee, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Summer Fall, 2018
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: George Donohoe Site, Cherokee, Cherokee
Finished: Oak Hill, Cherokee, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2019
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Finished: Good Hope, Cherokee Rural
Finished: Plainview, Alta, Buena Vista
Finished: Scandinavian, Alta, Buena Vista
Finished: Trinity Lutheran, Marcus, Cherokee
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2020
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Spring, Summer, Fall, 2021
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*