AKA: How to Write a Book When You Don't Know How

by Karen Burzdak, NVGS Member

Episode Two

Previously, I mentioned beginning with Partrick and Stephen Broadhurst cemeteries. After finishing script on Partrick Cemetery, I delved into Stephen and soon learned that he is listed twice on Find A Grave: the Steven Broadhurst Cemetery (aka Dry Creek) and the East Union Cemetery. This greatly confused me. How do you get buried twice, asked the naïve genealogist?

I contacted the East Union Cemetery in Manteca, San Joaquin County, and spoke to a nice lady who was pretty sure Stephen was buried there. And this is when I realized that many headstones are memorial in nature. This fact should always be considered. A salient example of that is displayed at the Yount Cemetery, where a headstone naming George Yount’s son includes incorrect dates. Son never came to California, though a local author claimed he came “later” (than his father), obviously relying on the headstone engravings.

“Nice Lady” asked me if I knew about a book written by Michael LaSalle entitled “Emigrants on the Overland Trail.” And so, my collection of relevant books began, most of which I purchase from ThriftBooks. The most recent is the “Year of Decision 1846” by DeVoto.

Stopping the research process to read a book is a DELAY. And there have been plenty of them.

DELAY Type One: Collecting information that is not on the internet. D-1 is reading a book, ordering a book, or waiting for the response from a “Contact Us.” It could also include finding the appropriate time to research at the Recorder’s office.

DELAY Type Two: Weather and geography. While there was a time delay (D-1) in locating the right people to access Capell Cemetery, I had to wait for the seasonal creek to dissipate. It was March before I could tour it with a vineyard manager, who was necessary to open the locked gates. I am still waiting to visit Wooden Valley Cemetery.

Many cemeteries, located on private property, require access. Duval Cemetery is found on property now owned by Gallo. Their headquarters put me in touch with the local vineyard manager, who then delegated field workers to find the cemetery, which is barely discernible, covered in wild iris and weeds. I was ghosted by the owner of the property surrounding Partrick Cemetery; there is no easement for visitors.

DELAY Type Three: Stress! There are times when the need for rest (temporarily abandoning the project) takes precedence. This includes vacations.

DELAY Type Four: Rabbit holes. The idea is that the history of cemetery law in California should be included in such a book. Or the history of cemeteries in general would be helpful. How about all the adornments on a headstone? Or, more complicated, finding a simple history of our many land grants and patents.

Mistakes I have made:

We always teach new genealogists to organize their work using forms and citing sources. I have taken photos of books, recorded documents, etc., and have not linked them to the source immediately. This requires a do-over.

I have taken notes on paper smaller than 8 ½ by 11. They get lost, thrown out, or are just plain annoying.

I have also used one page to take notes on more than one person. Where do you file that piece of paper?

Collecting facts and transferring them to a document:

Research is the fun part. But getting all those facts organized and onto paper (Word document) is the hard part. I remember when working on the St. Helena Cemetery’s York and Hudson facts, that typing something just to get it from my head to paper was the first step. Later, it could be used, deleted, rewritten, or moved to a different paragraph.

Editing your own work happens ad nauseam. Next time, I will tell you what happened when Co-pilot came into my life. And Grammarly. And ChatGPT.