Smith is part of the U.S. Gen Web's Tombstone Transcription Project, a group that began transcribing tombstones and memorials several years ago in an effort to preserve the history of families and individuals across the Lone Star State, and abroad.

“I started contributing to the project several years ago after the death of my parents and other family members,” said Smith. “There are many families who have lost loved ones that want their memory to live on and with a project like the TTTP this is one way to preserve their memory and keep a record of the past.”

Smith said he decided to spread the word and try to get more Howard Countians involved in the project after he lost his daughter, Sarah, in April.

“In honor of her, I want to get the information out to the residents of Howard County so they can contribute to the project,” said Smith. “When Sarah's headstone memorial comes in later this month, I will add it to the project with a picture and description.”

Smith said anyone interested in learning about the project — and seeing what memorials and tombstones have already been added — can visit  www.usgwtombstones.org/texas/howard.html to see and read more.

“As you can see when you pull up Howard County, it is not represented by very many,” said Smith. “In fact, there are several cemeteries that are not even listed in the county such as Vealmoor, Knott or Luther.

“It is obvious that very few people know about this project and I feel like this would be a great project to get people in Howard County involved in. There could be other organizations through out the county that might be wanting to help contribute to the project, as well.”

Smith said he realizes the idea of going into strange cemeteries might be daunting at first, but encouraged local residents to put aside superstitions and fears in hopes of preserving a very important part of Howard County's history.

“These memorials are suffering the ravages of time and weather. Many of these stones are becoming difficult to read and some have already gotten so faint that deciphering them is next to impossible,” said Smith. “Fortunately, many are still legible today. But of those we can read today, how many will still be legible 10 or 20 years from now?”

Smith said joining the effort is as easy as signing up.

“The organization leading this effort has a registry, set up by state and county, of individuals and groups who plan to record cemetery data for our project,” said Smith. “That registry is available for viewing on the Web site, so that everyone can see which cemeteries are being recorded and who is doing that transcribing. The data is being compiled and forwarded for deposit in The USGenWeb Project Archives for the appropriate state.”

According to information on the TTTP Web site, anyone interested in transcribing for the project, or anyone who already has cemetery surveys and would like to share that work with the world should send a message to the State Tombstone Project Volunteer containing the following information: name of the cemetery, the county and state where the cemetery is located and the names of the people who will be doing the transcribing.

For more information, visit www.usgwtombstones.org/texas/howard.html or contact Smith at (432) 816-1613.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it