Hello everyone, From 1987 to 1992, the Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation carried out a survey of Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg as part of the procedure for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Survey workers recorded names, dates, and inscriptions from over 16,000 graves, and noted the physical characteristics and general condition of grave markers. In the case of some one-third of the surveyed graves, survey workers also took a photograph of the tombstone. These records are now available in the Historic Blandford Cemetery Foundation Survey Records (Acc. 41780). The collection is organized according to Blandford's alphanumeric plot identification system. It would be extremely difficult to search for a record knowing only the name of someone buried in Blandford. Therefore, we have created an online database <http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/blandfordsearch.asp> with which patrons can use an individual's name to obtain the plot identifier. The database contains names and dates of birth and death (when given), but no inscriptions, photographs, or descriptions of the graves. This may be all of the information that some patrons want; for everyone else the complete record is available at the Library (and via interlibrary loan, on microfilm). It is important to keep in mind that the survey ended in 1992, and that it was not a complete record of the graves in Blandford even at that time. Still, we feel that it will be useful to a good number of researchers. To access the catalog record, which contains links to both the online database and the complete finding aid for the collection, search 41780 in the Archives/Manuscripts catalog at http://ajax.lva.lib.va.us/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b . Take care, Jessica Tyree Sr. Accessioning Archivist Library of Virginia ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html