One of the best things about GenTraveling is the ability to put things in context – that extra bit of information that helps you understand your family history more completely. Before my GenTraveling trip to New York last year, of course I had done my homework. I had located Margret Lewis’ gravestone on Find-A-Grave. This was the photo that was uploaded to the Find-a-Grave site:
In the same cemetery, there was also a gravestone for a Maggie P. Lewis – (was this the other unnamed daughter that was mentioned in the father’s obituary)??? If I would have relied only on the website details, I would obviously determine that there was not a connection between Margaret and Maggie since it recorded Margret as having died 8 months before Maggie would have been born:
However, after careful study of the uploaded Find-A-Grave photograph, it was determined that there was an error in translation. The inscription was difficult to read, but after the Welsh word “Bu Farw” (died), the next word clearly starts with “Rha…” then 15, 1876. “Rhagfyr” is Welsh for December, – not February. Therefore, if Maggie P. Lewis was born in October of 1876, it is possible that her mother could have died in December of 1876. With further research, I concluded that yes, Maggie was the daughter of Margaret Lewis.
This was the photo that was uploaded to the Find-a-Grave site for Maggie:
So I had done my homework before my trip. I was pretty confident of my conclusions after I had analyzed all the data I could find online. But wowza! The photo that I personally took on my research trip (the photo at the top of this post) certainly put things more in context! Compare the two photos from Find-a-Grave to the top photo. From the GenTraveling photo, you can see how closely Maggie’s stone is tucked up against Margaret’s. Look at the size and proportions. Obviously I was even more convinced that my conclusion was correct after my GenTraveling trip!
Can I just say that Find-a-Grave is awesome! But GenTraveling is even MORE awesome!?! It’s the Real Deal Thrill!