You can achieve a clear, durable impression of a tombstone engraving by using wax crayons and interfacing material, such as Pellon, found at your local fabric store. Interfacing fabric is wonderful for tombstone rubbings because it is inexpensive (about £1.00 / $1.25/yard), folds neatly into a suitcase (unlike paper) and doesn’t tear.
To create the perfect rubbing start by ensuring that the stone is stable, is not crumbling and that you have permission to do the rubbing (in some states it is actually illegal). Next cut a piece of non-fusible interfacing material slightly larger than the face of the stone. Use masking tape or a partner to hold the material tightly around the stone. Rub gently, but firmly, over the inscription with the side of a jumbo wax crayon or a block of rubbing wax until you have a good impression of the entire tombstone inscription. Once you get home you can preserve your rubbing by placing it wax side up on an ironing board, then cover with an old towel and iron. This will set the crayon or wax into the fabric and preserve it indefinitely.
Just because an old photograph of your ancestors doesn’t have names and dates written on the back, doesn’t mean you won’t find a variety of useful clues for your research. You can help to determine the date a photo was taken from items within the photo that represent a time period such as old cars, household items, clothing or hairstyles. There are a variety of Web sites which can help you to ascertain which dates a particular item or style may have been in fashion including such sites as: Gallery of Classic Cars, a photo gallery of classic cars from the past 100 years; The Costumer’s Manifesto, photos of clothing worn from Ancient times to today and Hairstyle History, from the Costume Gallery. Other possible clues found in photographs include the size of the image, which can help you determine the type of photograph, and the photographer’s imprint, which can lead you to the location and time period the photographer was in business.
The 101 Genealogy Top Tips Full Ebook is now available from Here
The ebook and partworks, along with a wide range of Downloadable PDF Charts are also available from our DOWNLOAD PAGE
The Final part of my 101 Genealogy Top Tips is available for Free Download from Here
All parts of 6 parts are now available from the FREE GENEALOGY DOWNLOAD PAGE also available on the Download Page are a wide range of Free Charts and Free Software
Part 5 of my 101 Top Genealogy Tips is available to download from Here
Parts 1 - 4 and a wide range of Downloadable Genealogy Charts are available on my DOWNLOAD PAGE
Part 4 of my top Genealogy Top Tips can be downloaded from Here or from my download Page.
By mid Week I will have uploaded all 6 parts of the Top Genealogy Tips and may upload the whole set as a complete Downloadable EBook
The latest part of my 101 Top tips is avaiable from Here or from my Download Page
Part 2 of 101 Genealogy Top Tips is now available for download, you can download it from here or from our Download Page, parts 3 - 6 will be uploaded either first thing tomorrow or late next week.
I will upload the full 6 parts at some time in the future as a Complete PDF Ebook
Don’t forget that there are a wide range of genealogy forms available to download from the Download Page
I have put together a number of 1 or 2 page PDF Reports containing Top Tips to help you with your Genealogy / Family History research, part 1 is now on my Download page which you can access Here or from the link at the top of the page. Part 2 will be uploaded tomorrow and further parts will be uploaded ove the next week or so.
You can access todays Chart Download Individual Record Sheet from here or from the download Page