Greetings all,

I am currently working with the War of 1812 Society in Virginia on an ambitious project to document all servicemen in the War of 1812 who are buried in Virginia. The database currently has over 3500 entries. Its goal is document the service (rank, unit) with source codes, and their burial places. This includes the name of the cemetery, dates and other data to be gleaned from the tombstone, biographical data, and the like.

I must say, I've done my fair share of cemetery work, but this project has astounded me! I am literally shocked by how much genealogical and biographical can be gleaned just from cemetery records and tombstones. I am surprised at the number of re-interments, and I am surprised at the number of people who served in the war who were natives of Great Britain (meticulously recorded on tombstones!)

We have used a variety of sources and volunteers for this project, including of course the WPA surveys from the 1930s, even though some of those stones no longer exist.

The publication goal is next year and we have a somewhat arbitrary cut-off date for adding new data of 30 June.

What I am hoping you will do is to make us aware of people you know had War of 1812 service and who are buried in Virginia. The service did not have to be from Virginia, just the burial (we have several from other states, which is another interesting aspect to this.)

This would most likely be some obscure graveyard that only YOU or your local historical society would happen to know about. Of course I hope you can reply here (list master allowing), or please feel free to email me directly at [log in to unmask], or you can visit the War of 1812 Society in Virginia web site at:

http://1812va.org/

The link to this project is under "categories" on the right hand side of the web page. Be aware that the data on this web site is over 6 months old, and hundreds of new entries have been made, some deleted due to lack of proof, and otherwise edited and cleaned up. Still, if you find something in error, we'd like to know. And if you don't find a name please let us know, even if it has already been entered.

Many thanks in advance. This project was first conceived in 2001. It is naturally a very ambitious project, but one which we hope will of great service to researchers in the near future. Your participation can only improve it.

Remember, this database is only for known burials of known War of 1812 servicemen. Known burial sites can be marked with special markers by the Society.

Craig Kilby
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