Some Hints for Making Headstone Photos More Legible

I'm no expert at this by any means, but since I've been struggling a bit for blogging material, I thought I would share a little success I had this week making headstones more legible in Photoshop Elements.

I can't remember how long ago it was that I saw some kind of social media or blog post about photoshopping hard to read headstones. And I didn't bookmark it, of course, so I saw what photoshop could do, but not how. I've made a few attempts at it since then but hadn't had any success until this week.

On Monday morning Donald and I went to pay our respects to his grandmother. She is buried at Mount Saint Mary Cemetery in Flushing, a peaceful and very well kept cemetery, but huge. Being me, I always look at other headstones as we drive and walk through the cemetery, knowing that the information on some of the older stones may be soon lost to time if it isn't already.

On this visit, I only had time to photograph a few non-family stones but when I got home I realized that I had never uploaded my last batch of photos to Find A Grave! So, of course, I immediately got to work.

Soon, I encountered this photo.

The Find A Grave page for this cemetery does have a link to a diocesan site with plot and grave numbers, which are also engraved on many of the stones there, but I was striking out with the name at the top and encountering conflicting information on some dates, so I tried Photoshop again and got this.

While this result is not ideal, I was able to see some details that I couldn't with the original photo, so I was very happy. Then I got lucky and discovered that I did have a better photo already.

Still, I was excited by the progress I had made and when I encountered the photo below the next day, I was encouraged to try again.

Photoshop helped make these names much more legible.

Unfortunately, this is not my family so I still don't have quite enough information to put this stone up on Find A Grave. I'm thinking that the bottom name is a surname and the first three names are given names, but I'll have to do some more research to find out for sure or contact the cemetery office to see what they know since I struck out on their site.

Meanwhile, I cannot tell you exactly how I got the photo to this point but I was able to almost duplicate the result.  

I opened the original in PSE again, went to Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Shadows and Highlights and made the following changes:

Then I went back to Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation and made these changes:

Of course, every photo and headstone presents unique challenges and these settings surely won't work in every situation, but if you are having trouble with legibility, this could help you.

And while we're on this subject of headstones, I had a great experience yesterday with the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness group on Facebook. I have no Polish ancestry or experience with the language, in fact, I had to use Google Translate just to figure out what language this is on the headstone below.

But within minutes of posting a request for help to the RAOGK group, three members had jumped in to provide me with a translation. I just love it when the genie community comes together!

This cemetery is filled with interesting headstones, I mean, if you're into that! One headstone had so many names I'm still wondering how everyone fit in the plot. I also discovered after we got home that the Ronzoni family mausoleum that we pass every time we visit is in fact THE Ronzoni pasta family.  
After again consulting the Find A Grave page for this cemetery, it looks like volunteers are fulfilling photo requests pretty quickly, so when we visit Tessie, I will concentrate on finding stones that look to be deteriorating. I'm sure I'll have to turn to Photoshop again, so if you do know of a good tutorial or know yourself what other settings I could play with, please let me know.

It is going to be a busy summer for me, but I do hope to have some research to share soon. In the meantime, I have another Honor Roll post ready for July 1st and I wish you happy hunting!

Operation Overlord was more than D-Day

Although there are many holes in my knowledge of my grandfather's experience of the Normandy invasion, I felt I could not let the 75th anniversary go by without acknowledging it.

He was not career military, but my maternal grandfather, Lt./Col. George Washington Smith, O.B.E., E.D., C.D., was the commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers during WWII. I heard many stories of his time overseas when I was little because my father was absolutely fascinated by them, but it wasn't until I watched the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan with my mother years later that I learned that the 3rd Battalion landed in Normandy on D-Day plus four (June 10th) and it was only a few years ago that I received documentation that they were also involved in the preparations for the invasion.

I did know that my grandfather was the recipient of a high military honor when he was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

But even my mother did not know specifically why my grandfather was awarded the O.B.E. She thought it was for the 3rd Battalion's work on an important pipeline, but it was actually for the part that my grandfather and his men played in preparations for Operation Overlord, the codename for the Normandy invasion.  I learned this when I received my grandfather's service file from Library and Archives Canada a few years ago*.

The form below was not actually part of my grandfather's service file, but the diligent archivist at LAC who made the copies of the file for me noticed that there was no documentation in the file of this award. He took it upon himself to find this recommendation for the medal by Brigadier General Storms because he knew it would be meaningful to his descendants.

This officer has commanded this unit since 1941 and, due to the fact that it is entirely composed of French Canadian personnel, 80 per cent of which have no knowledge of the English language, the organization and preparations of the unit to perform its task in France has been a most difficult one.

It was under Lt-Col Smith that the Engineer Base Workshop was built in preparation for Operation OVERLORD. This installation at Liphook, Hants, was deemed urgently required and decided on very late in the planning stage. the estimated time of completion was six months. The work was completed in two months and served the purpose of rebuilding, examination and packing of all types of engineer equipment used in France from the start of operations. That this work was accomplished so successfully was to a very great extent due to the inspiration of this officer.

I have to admit that I was taken aback a bit by the reference to the difficulties of working with a French Canadian unit. Although my grandfather was English-speaking he spoke fluent French, so I don't believe that language played any part in making his command more difficult. In fact, the men of the 3rd Battalion were known to be very hard workers and certainly, the honor of the O.B.E. belongs as much to them as to my grandfather, a sentiment with which I am sure he would agree. One of the news clippings that my grandmother saved makes reference to their work ethic, telling of their building "army camps for other units at breakneck pace which almost exceeds the supply of materials". Obviously, though, the O.B.E. is a great honor which made all my grandfather's friends and family proud.

A few months ago I learned, I think from Gail Dever of Genealogy à la Carte, that there is a project of the Canadian Research and Mapping Association called Project '44. "Project '44 is an online commemoration project" set to launch this summer. The website "will combine basemaps, unit positions, and war diaries into an online experience focused on the First Canadian Army and the Victory Campaign."  I am very excited to see what I can learn from this project about the experiences of my grandfather and the 3rd Battalion in Normandy. And when I do, I will of course share that here with you.

*If you are researching someone who was killed in WWII you can find there service files on Ancestry for free. If you want a service file for someone who survived WWII, you can find instructions here on the Library & Archives Canada website.

The Honor Roll Project - Glen Cove, NY

As part of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Honor Roll Project, I have transcribed these Rolls of Honor in Glen Cove, NY to make the names visible to search engines like Google and Mocavo so that family researchers may find them. Please consider finding the Honor Roll(s) in your town or village and transcribing them on your blog or website. And even if you don't have a blog or website, see the Honor Roll Project for instructions on how you can submit a transcription.

This plaza is located at the intersection of School Street, Cottage Row and North Lane across from the Presbyterian Church pictured below.

Glen Cove, with its gorgeous views of Long Island Sound, is one of Long Island's older communities. The Civil War memorial here, which appears to my non-expert eye to be contemporary to the period, is evidence of that.

The left side of the monument.

The front of the monument, which reads:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE ARMY & NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE WAR TO PRESERVE THE AMERICAN UNION 1861-1865

MY PARAMOUNT OBJECT IN THIS STRUGGLE IS TO PRESERVE THE UNION

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

The right side of the monument.

The names:

Thomas Appleford, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Edward Bailey, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Edwin C. Bailey, 5th N.Y. HEAVY ART.
Charles Baker, 4th N.Y. Vol. INF.
Edward H. Bennet, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
John Birdsall, 15th N.Y. Vol. CAV.
John Bolden, 30th U.S. Vol. INF.
Charles C. Bromley, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.

Josiah Brownell, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
George Burkhart
John W. Campbell, N.Y. V. CAV
Thomas D. Carpenter, N.Y. HEAVY ART.
William H. Carpenter, N.Y. V. CAV
John Casey, N.Y.S. Vol.
Nelson Cause, U.S. NAVY
John Chester, CONN. Vol.
John C. Coates, CONN. Vol.
Alfred Cock, 2nd N.Y. Vol.CAV
Washington Cock, CONN. Vol.
John H. Coffee, U.S. Vol.
Daniel C. Davis, N.Y.S. Vol.

Jeremiah Davis, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
John Davis, Jr., 12th N.Y. CAV.
Isaac DeVoe, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Levi DeVoe, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Benjamin Dickerson, 12th N.Y. Vol. INF.
Isaac W. Dickerson, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
George W. Dickinson, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Daniel L. Downing, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
W. L. Downs, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
George Duryea, 5th N.Y. Vol. INF.
Henry T. Duryea, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
William H. Flynn, U.S. NAVY
George W. Frances, 14th CONN. Vol.
Joseph Frances, 14th CONN. Vol.
George Germain, U.S. NAVY
John Germain, U.S. NAVY
Joseph Gibbons, 2nd N.Y. Vol CAV.
James Gilday, 14th N.J. Vol.
James Golden, 20th N.Y. BATTERY
Henry W. Gorham, 47th N.Y.S. Vol.
George W. Hall, 20th U.S. INF.
Henry Hall, U.S. NAVY
John Harper, 20th U.S. INF.
James Harrold, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
James H. Hewlett, U.S. NAVY
James I. Hoteling, 37th N.Y. Vol. INF.

Timothy Jackson, 20th U.S. INF.
James Jay, 20th U.S. INF.
Jerome W. Leonard, 26th N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Charles Johnson, U.S. NAVY
Colin J. Johnson, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
John B. Johnson, 5th CONN. Vol.
Joseph Johnson, 2nd N.Y. Vol CAV.
Henrey Lesne, 5th N.Y. Vol. INF.
James V. Luyster, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Furman Lyons, U.S. NAVY
John P. Mackey, 2nd N.Y. Vol.CAV.
Francis H. Mallaby, U.S. NAVY
Seaman Mallaby, U.S. NAVY
James McLoughlin, 14th CONN. Vol.
C. Augustus Miller, 21st N.Y.S. Vol. INF.
Frost Miller, 21st N.Y.S. Vol. INF.
John E. Miller, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Peter Miller, 21st N.Y.S. Vol. INF.
Townsend Miller, 21st N.Y.S. Vol. INF.
Andrew Mingo, 20th U.S. INF.
John F. Morris, U.S. NAVY
Leroy Noon, 28th CONN.
John M. O'Malley, 46th N.Y. Vol. INF.
Isaac Parliman, 2nd N.J. Vol.
John H. Parliman, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
William H. Prentice, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.

James Remsen, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Ferris N. Renaud, 5th N.Y. Hvy. ART.
Stephen Seaman, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Charles P. Simonson, 139th N.Y. Vol. INF.
William H. Springer, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
John Taylor, 2nd N.Y. Vol. CAV.
Thomas Thurston, 6th N.Y. Hvy ART.
Charles Tilley, 5th CONN. Vol.

James Tilley, 6th N.Y. Hvy ART.
John Tilley, 5th CONN. Vol.
John R. Underhill, CONN. Vol.
Napoleon Valentine, N.Y. CAVA.
John C. Aerney, N.Y. Vol. INF.
David Wansor, N.Y. Vol. CAV
John Wansor, N.Y. Vol. CAV
Julius Webster, N.Y. Vol. INF.
Isaac Weeks, U.S. INF.
Samuel M. Weeks, N.Y. Vol. CAVA.
James Westervelt, N.Y. Vol. CAVA.
Clinton Williams
Andrew Wilson, N.Y. Vol. INF.

To the left of the Civil War monument is this column containing a WWI honor roll.

DEDICATED TO THE GLEN COVE MEN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

William Henry Albin

Harvey Brewster

John J. Butler

Luigi Capobianco

Earl Clinton Chadwick

Samuel Dawson

James Erwin Donahue

George Ford

Ralph William Francis

Charles Edward Germain

Herbert Hill

Leonard Anderson Jackson

Harry Cliff Johnson

Arthur Emanuel Lawson

D. McCauley

John Michael McGrady

William Miller

James J. Porter

John T. Ritzer

Clarence Edward Smith

Aniello Stanco

Peter J. Stathis

Arthur Andrew Wolfle

William Frederick Wolfle

This plaque is dedicated to Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly of the United States Marine Corps. As stated on the plaque, Sgt. Major Daly was a two time Medal of Honor winner and was also awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Cross. You can read more about him here on Wikipedia.

This marker seems to have an older plaque remembering those Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice during The Korean War, 1950-1954 and a newer one containing an honor roll.

Bernard Halloran

Richard Neillands

Anthony Panetta

John Truskeiwicz

Next to this is a monument with a plaque for men from the Local Union No. 1093, which would appear to be a Carpenters' union.

Adam Donaldson

Frank S. Boday

Louis Meyers

Edw. Nordstrom

Frank Hoebich

Everett Wicks

Patrick Hanlon

Daniel Murdock

Fred Cassell

Thomas Duffy

Edw. J. Wansor

Wesley Lewis

John J. Wansor

Lester Underhill

George Kassoner

Patrick Trainor

Arthur Malloy

Harry Hicks

Benj. Isaac

Berger Person

Alex. Murray

Herman Christenson

David Roy

James H. Jarvis

Andrew Hegeman

Thomas Isaac

George Tuthill

Fergoson Wansor

William Ballantine

Leroy Seaman

Homer Voorhurst

Robert B. Allen

George E. German

Martin McCaffrey

Fred. Lashway

Charles Rochat

John Kasso

James Doran

Frank Dailey

Augustus Decastro

Lester Germain

Willam H. Albin

Thomas Bryant

Frank Bojenskie

Joseph C. Miller

Louis Valentine

David H. Lundy

Bert. V. Howell

Anton H. Holmberg

Albert Hernan

Harold Webb

This marker honors the men of Glen Cove who gave their lives in World War II.

Victor Abate

Valentine Becker

Solomon Bessel

John E. Campbell

George W. Cocks, Jr.

Thomas C. DeRocco

Joseph N. DiGiovanni

John H. Doxey

John F. Duke

John P. Durka

George Edwards

Alfred S. Eldridge

William T. Emmet

Angelo Famigletti

Arimnue J. Floccari

Joseph Gabrus

Frank J. Grec

Carl V. Karilivacz

William R. Kemp

David H. Knott, Jr.

J. Anthony P. Luonga

Edward R. Lupinksi

John B. McLean

Michael G. Malinario

Tiffany V. Manning

Sylvester Marafioti

Carmine Mastraianni

Lawrence J. Morano

Thomas J. Murray

Silvio E. Nieri

Howard T. Reynolds

William T. Rogers

George W. Rooney

Felix J. Scefonas

Edward R. Smith

William Stant

George Thom

Edward Towle

Ernest Ubite

Bernard K. J. Unger

Solomon Weinstein

Ralph W. Young

Peter N. Zembreski

Michael Zuccala

Like the Korean War marker, the one for Vietnam has an older looking plaque dedicated to those veterans who gave the supreme sacrifice during the Vietnam War and a much newer looking plaque with an honor roll.

Francis Andrysiak

Francis Arnett

Richard Brown

Charles Johnson

John McCarthy

Richard Mitchell

William Morse

Dennis Murray

This plaque donated by the local American Legion post honors Sgt. Ralph W. Young who appears to have been killed in WWII. It looks like the post is also named partly in his honor.

And this stone which looks much newer than the memorial, remembers Pvt. John E. Miller and his death in the infamous Confederate Andersonville Prison.

This plaque is a tribute to those Polish-American Freedom Fighters who made the supreme sacrifice in both world wars and was dedicated by the Polish American War Veterans of Glen Cove and vicinity in 1982.

And finally, this plaque names this park Veterans Memorial Plaza and dedicates it to all who served and will serve in defense of our country.

As I finished writing this post I decided to see if a quick Google search would yield any information about the Civil War memorial. It did not, but I did discover that a new WWII Honor Roll was unveiled last November in a different park in Glen Cove.

This roll of honor names those men and women who served in WWII who lived within one mile of each other in Glen Cove's Landing neighborhood. It replaces an old wood monument that had fallen into disrepair.

This monument sits just outside the entrance to Morgan Park, a park for residents of Glen Cove and Locust Valley. What a view!

The Landing Roll of Honor:

Alexander Adamcewicz

Carl Adler

George Adler

Henry Adler

James Anderson

Chester Banach

Henry Banach

Charles Barclay

Anna Baxter

Charles Baxter

George Beglin

John Bergstol

Raymond Borer

James Britt

Michael Brown

Walter Bruszewski

Arthur Buxenbaum

Herman Buxenbaum

Mervin Buxenbaum

John Callahan

Edward Campbell

Eleanor Campbell

Henry Carhart

Charles Carlson

Matthew Carroll

Theodore Cazajkowski

Frank Cekala

John Cekala

William Cekala

Alexander Cernawsky

Anthony Cernawsky

Charles Cernawsky

William Chileski

John Clark

Burton Cocks

Florence Cocks

Frank Cocks

James Cocks

Leonard Cocks

William Conklin

Joseph Cunningham

Walter Cyckeicz

Eugene Czajokowski

Richard Dailey

Robert Dailey

Kenneth Daly

Peter Darasdi

Charles Darazsdi

Peter Darrow

Daniel Deasy

George Delise

George Devoe

Louis DiGiovanni

Frederick DiMenna

William Donaldson

Nathan Dorfman

Arnold Doxey

David Doxey

John Doxey

Bernard Dunne

James Dunne

Patrick Dunne

Dennis Dwyer

Edward Dwyer

Edward Fadrowski

Peter Fadrowski

Anthony Famalette

James Fauls

Charles Finnegan

William Finnegan

Albert Foley

Francis Foley

Michael Forgione

Nicholas Forgione

Alfred Formato

Frederick Fowler

George Fowler

Richard Fowler

Joseph Gabrus

Stanley Gabrus

Edward Gadnoski

David Gilmore

Benjamin Giwojna

John Giwojna

Joseph Giwojna

Frank Giwoyna

Paul Giwoyna

Anthony Grazioso

Joseph Grazioso

Michael Grazioso

Shirley Gregory

Thomas Grella

Loughlin Halloran

Simon Halloran

Arthur Hansen

John Harr

Joseph Hart

James Hartley

William Hauxhurst

Russell Hegeman

Albert Heilig

Charles Hicks

Howell Hicks

Philip Horvath

Chester Jankowski

Walter Jankowski

Norman Johnsen

Charles Johnson

Edward Johnson

Raymond Johnson

Clifford Jones

David Jones

Harry Jones

Vincent Junge

David Kabnick

John Kalakowski

Paul Kalakowski

Valentine Kaplinski

Chester Kapuscinski

John Kapuscinski

Carl Karilivacz

Vardi Karpinski

Theodore Kasyjanski

David Knott

Theodore Kopczynski

Frank Kormoski

James Langley

Charles Lankewicz

Edward Lankewicz

Joseph Lankewicz

Arthur Ledzian

Joseph Ledzian

Leon Ledzian

William Ledzian

Hosea Lee

August Lemp

Edward Letellier

George Letellier

Robert Letellier

Thomas Lindsay

Arthur Loew

John Lolka

Frank Lopez

Walter Lundstrom

Adam Lupinski

Benjamin Lupinski

Stephen Lupinski

Stephen Malinowski

Gregory Malley

Anthony Marcus

Edward Marcus

Stephen Marcus

Chester Markowski

Joseph Markowski

Angelo Martone

Carmine Martone

Joseph Martone

Marcy Martone

Michael Martone

Bryce Maxwell

Frank Maybeck

Charles Maybury

Sherman Maybury

Patrick McDermott

Harold McDougal

John McLean

William McLoughlin

John McMahon

Eugene McManus

Charles McQuair

John McQuair

Anthony Meilinger

John Meilinger

Stephen Meilinger

Arthur Merrick

John Merrick

Edgar Michelsen

Einar Michelsen

Joseph Mieszok

Arthur Militano

Joseph Militano

Charles Miller

Raymond Miller

Thomas Miller

Albert Minciel

William Minciel

Charles Miron

Earl Moores

Bruce Murphy

Edward Murphy

Edward Murray

Fredrick Murray

George Murray

John Murray

Frederick Muzante

Frederick Mynarkiewicz

Walter Mynarkiewicz

George Nalevaiko

James Neillands

Charles Nelson

Harold Nelson

Waldemar Nilsen

John Obergfell

James O'Brien

Maurice O'Brien

James O'Hare

Edward Okner

Theodore Olkoski

Robert O'Neill

Charles Ostaskifaki

John Ostaskifaki

Philip Oswald

John Palmirotto

Rocco Pascucci

Charles Patrick

George Patrick

Arthur Perkett

Frank Pietrocarli

William Pollitt

John Price

Joseph Quinn

Joseph Reilly

Bert Remsen

Carmen Renaldo

Charles Renaldo

Frank Renaldo

John Renaldo

Joseph Renaldo

Edwin Reynolds

Howard Reynolds

Frank Ritchie

John Ritchie

William Ritchie

John Robeson

John Rogalski

Joseph Rogalski

William Rogalski

William Rogers

Charles Russek

Joseph Russek

Abraham Saleeby

Carl Sanberg

Louis Scuteri

Edward Sczepanski

Frank Seaman

Alexander Shakal

Horace Sherwood

Ogden Sherwood

John Slater

Stanley Slowik

Joseph Sommers

Mary Spenncke

Lawrence Stanco

William Stanikowski

Stanley Staniszewski

Edward Stankiewicz

William Stankiewicz

Arthur Stein

Chester Stemcosky

Edmund Stemcosky

Henry Stemcosky

Henry Stempkowski

Charles Stoehr

Joseph Sucharski

Charles Sumcizk

John Sumcizk

Stanley Sumcizk

Freeland Swim

Edward Szykuc

Irving Taylor

Richard Taylor

Andrew Townsend

Lloyd Townsend

Robert Treadwell

Adam Trubish

Charles Trubish

Peter Trubish

Henry Trusckiewicz

Joseph Van Lawrence

George Van Nostrand

Chester Van Orden

Raymond Vasko

Joseph Veroxie

Chester Vesoloski

Joseph Vesoloski

William Vesoloski

Carl Waage

Peter Waage

Harold Waite

Charles Walczak

Anthony Walejszys

Edward Wancewicz

Edward Weeks

Benjamin Welden

Clifford Welden

Arthur Weldon

Howard Whitney

George Willets

Edward Woycik

Theodore Woycik

Zenan Woycik

Anne Yuchniewicz

John Yuchniewicz

Stanley Yuchniewicz

Victor Yuchniewicz

Stanley Zabielski

Joseph Zagusta

John Zammett

Edward Zarembo

Caswell Zielazny

Cecilia Zielazny

Edward Zielazny

Harold Zielazny

Robert Zielazny

Theodore Zienka

Anthony Zolek

Charles Zolek

Joseph Zuccala