Additional information
by Wilbur J. McElwain (Author)
In the years 1901 through 1909, Jeremiah Zeamer of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, recorded cemetery inscriptions throughout Cumberland County. These records found their way to the state library in Harrisburg, and in 1960 they were transcribed from "brittle, crumbling pages" by Helen I. Harmon. The five copies of that transcript are now in libraries in Pennsylvania. This reworking of the compilation contains 8,987 inscriptions, mostly from the nineteenth century. Inscriptions have been collected from seventy-three cemeteries, located in twelve townships and two boroughs. Every name mentioned in the inscriptions, including relatives of the deceased, is included in the text, and in the indices. Inscriptions are arranged in tables, by cemetery, and by family names within each cemetery. Records contain surname, given name, birth and death dates, and attained age, as well as any extra details provided in the inscription, such as places of birth or death, cause of death, military rank or accomplishments, occupation, relatives, or place of residence. Occasionally, a description of the tombstone itself is included. Accompanying each table is a collection of information about that cemetery, and the people and institutions connected to it. A section at the rear of the book is a chronological narrative, a combined itinerary and journal, of Jeremiah Zeamer's long-ago travels throughout Cumberland County, as he recorded gravestone inscriptions. The text also includes several indices, by surname, relatives, and cemeteries, which make the text's data easily accessible.
