A great resource for gravestone data can be found at
http://www.gravestonephotos.com/index.php
I found details of an ancestor's gravestone with information on it that expanded my knowledge of that person. Well worth a visit and going back from time to time as more graveyards are being photographed and recorded. I have also been inspired to volunteer to document the graveyard where my parents are buried, making a start yesterday photographing the first batch of gravestones and indexing them this morning.
One of the bug bears of the smart match technology - which is great by the way is the WAY people have entered their data. You may not know, but there is a world wide accepted way of entering data in family trees. For example Joe Blogs, instead of joe blogs - only minor, but when printing out charts etc, a more standard professional look, and dates, because USA enter dates differenty from the rest of the world genealogists used standarised date entry, so for april fifth 2010 is entered 5 Apr 2010 not 4 5 2010 or 5 4 2010, this makes the date absolutely clear. Also when entering PLACES, if you enter wang, vic people outside your country will have aboslutely NO idea what you're talking about and if you've published your tree to the net then people outside your country WILL be looking at it. So instead of your own shorthand, which locals might be able to work out, please write the name in full, seperated by commas. As Wangarratta, Victoria, Australia - this too applies to America, for example Greenfields GA, ummmmmmm I don't know where that is, so if it's Georgeia, please write Greenfields, Georgia, United States of America, that way there is no confusion, people don't record wrong information and pass it down to others. If you choose to publish your tree to the web, PLEASE think of the others who are reading it. If Sarah's birth name was Sarah, please don't put Fanny in the first name field - because that's the name she went by. A nickname is not often listed on legal documents, and doesn't help to compile records, of COURSE add Fanny as a nickname in notes, that will be great, but remember it's not only YOU who will be reading this, keep it plain and simple and set out CLEARLYif you choose to publish your tree! PLEASE??
Hiya, Didn't know where else to post this. Is anyone else having problems with the free family tree software? Mine keeps crashing. Also how do I hide the living in this program? Can't find the option to hide the living.
