Graveyards of Chicago; the People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries is a wonderful resource for genealogists, local historians, and lovers of the arts and social sciences.
I carried the first edition with me in April during my Thousand Mile Journey, referring to it before and after every cemetery visit. As soon as I returned home, I purchased the newest edition.
In her dedication of this gloriously revised and expanded book co-authored with Matt Hucke, Ursula Bielski writes in part, “…and all the neglected and forgotten dead.”
I was re-inspired by these and other phrases that summarized the need for cemetery preservation.
As individuals we may not be able to save an entire cemetery from demise. But we could do something.
We could each take just one headstone picture. Transcribe just one obituary. Remember just one family member.
We could all become advocates of the dead by adding a memorial to Find A Grave or another site that preserves our history.
Their history.
We need to do this sooner than later.
Because this
2010 photo taken by Find A Grave contributor Sharon (#47194094)
turned into this
2015 photo taken by the author
in just five years.
Go graving this weekend.
Prevent another headstone from fading away.
where2look4ancestors 
In the 1970s my parents visited a family graveyard in Moultrie Co, IL, which they found only with the help of someone who knew it was there. Ten years later, it had melted into a neighboring farmer’s field. Fortunately for posterity–and the past–some group unknown to me took on this small graveyard as their project and researched it, cleaned it up, posted it on Find-A-Grave, even undertook to keep it cleared over time. I’ve seen the pictures, and it can be done.
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