concordia-memories.org

[roger.pape]

(Originally posted March 10, 2009)

Some of you may have checked out the Find A Grave website based on my earlier blogs and/or the link on the Sources page. While it is a good website, I have some mixed feelings about it. Entries are posted by any individuals who choose to register and provide inputs. Some entries are unverified. It's like Wikipedia and all the other Wikis that have sprung up recently. One must understand the source of the entries and treat them as possibly unsubstantiated. If photos of the tombstones are included, one can feel more confident. It's hard to dispute something carved in stone.

Therefore, I reluctantly posted some of my immediate relatives' gravesites for which I had photos. These photos were taken several years ago when I visited Concordia. The time-consuming process required to locate some of the sites was the reason I posted the maps and partial listing of St. Paul's Cemetery. (See the Church Records page.)

A comment should be made about given names. For example, my grandfather H. F. Frerking was baptized as Fredrich Heinrich. However, he had an older brother who was baptized as Fredrich Ludwig. So Grandfather Frerking was always called Henry while his brother was called Louis. If you look on his tombstone, the name engraved on it is Henry F. On the other hand, my Great-grandfather Kappelman(n) was baptized as Heinrich John, but for most of his adult life he called himself John H. The name inscribed on his tombstone is Heinrich J. If you think that's confusing, check the Concordian obituaries for three of my mother's Kappelman uncles. Their father's name is listed differently in each. Note also that, while Uncle Charles was so named in the obituary, the name engraved on his tombstone is Carl. In such cases, the nickname or a comment should be included with the posting about the alternate name.

Considering its size, St. Paul's Cemetery has relatively few postings. People living in the area who are so inclined should consider taking photos of some of the gravesites and posting them on this website. It's a fairly simply process (and free). Be sure to include a photo to validate the entry.