Tombstone Tuesday: Johnny Ramone
Johnny Ramone (real name: John Cummings), the guitarist for The Ramones was born on October 8, 1948 in Queens, New York. He was a founding member of The Ramones which has been dubbed as one of the “most influential bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.” 1
Famous for his leather jacket and ripped blue jeans look, Johnny himself was an excellent guitarist with his own unique style that was never fully replicated.
Johnny Ramone, 1977 at the El Mocambo, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, [photo by P.B.Toman]
Johnny died on September 15, 2004 after a long battle with prostate cancer.To hear Johnny’s own words about the beginnings of his career and The Ramones, watch the following interview recorded not long before his death:
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1“Johnny Ramone: Rebel in a Rebel’s World.” Washington Times. 11 Mar 2004: Web. 17 Jun. 2013. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/11/20040311-085521-1823r/?page=all>.
2“Punk Legend Johnny Ramone Dies at 55.” Billboard.com. N.p., 16 Sep 2004. Web. 17 Jun 2013. <http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/66476/punk-legend-johnny-ramone-dies-at-55>.
3“Johnny Ramone: Rebel in a Rebel’s World.” Washington Times. 11 Mar 2004: Web. 17 Jun. 2013. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/11/20040311-085521-1823r/?page=all>
NEW! FamilySearch Tree Connect
Introducing BillionGraves’ latest feature: FamilySearch Tree Connect! This feature allows you to attach BillionGraves images to their corresponding FamilySearch record. These images aid family members by giving them another source to draw valuable information from.
Watch this video to see how it works!
Missed a step while watching the video? Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Go to the Tools Tab and click “FamilySearch” in the dropdown menu.
- Register for FamilySearch or authenticate with FamilySearch (a.k.a. log in with your FamilySearch username and password)
- Click “Get Started.“
- Choose a cemetery by clicking on the drop-down menu under the top left FamilySearch icon and hit “Go.”
- When a BillionGraves record pops up, see if there are any FamilySearch matches on the right hand-side that match the information on the headstone.
- When a FamilySearch record comes up that matches the birth and death dates of the BillionGraves record, click “Match.”
- Otherwise, click next to browse through BillionGraves records to find other FamilySearch matches.
As you’re getting started, here are some helpful hints to aid in connecting these records:
Look for the link on any records page to connect it to FamilySearch.
That’s right, we’ve made it as simple as clicking a button on any records page to link it to FamilySearch.
This will make linking any family records to FamilySearch (as well as any records uploaded in the future) very simple and easy!
Don’t forget to search for everyone who is buried together.
A lot of married couples are buried close together and share the same headstone, so don’t forget to search for every record attached to an image (including children!!). You will see these below the default person (the record that came up initially) in a section called “buried with.”
To see if they are on FamilySearch, click the arrow on the right side of their name.
If you find a match for one of the people on that record, chances are their wife and children are in FamilySearch too, so don’t forget to search for all of the people buried with that headstone!
If you are unable to connect a female record to FamilySearch, edit the search query to only include their maiden name.
Most women are listed in FamilySearch by their first name and maiden name only. So, if a FamilySearch record doesn’t come up automatically, click “edit query” on the right hand side of the page. Take out any initials and/or family names so you are searching by their first and maiden name only.
In this case, delete the “L.” and “Bingham” and search by the name: Ella Butler.
Questions/comments about this? Contact our support team at support@billiongraves.com or comment below and we will be happy to help!
Tombstone Tuesday: Mr. Rogers, Everyone’s Favorite Neighbor
Fred Rogers’ (a.k.a. Mr. Rogers) headstone in Unity Cemetery, of Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Fred McFeely Rogers was born on March 20, 1928 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania (where he is also buried). He is well-known for his show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, which is one of the most successful children’s shows in the United States. For his work in television, Rogers was awarded every major television award he was eligible for as well as two George Foster Peabody Awards, four Emmys, a “Lifetime Achievement” Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the TV Critics Association and many others.1
He is most famous for his genuine and loving personality as well as his iconic sweaters and sneakers that he would change into at the beginning of every show. He was a wonderful musician and wrote every song on the show including “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “It’s You I Like.”
For other fun tidbits like why the stoplight in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was always yellow and who made all his sweaters, here are 35 interesting facts about Mr. Rogers:
Million More in May RESULTS
THANK YOU for all your efforts during Million More in May! We sure hope you had as much fun taking pictures as we did watching the records pour in by the thousands!
Here are the stats from Million More in May:
376,556 total images uploaded
316,108 total records transcribed
773 cemeteries added and
2,856 new users.
While we didn’t get a million uploads in May alone, we DID break our record for the largest number of uploads in a single month! Plus, during the month of May we also hit the 4,000,000 records mark! Thanks to all your hard work and contributions, BillionGraves is growing by the minute with more than 4 million records. What an amazing milestone!
The following people are the winners of our Million More in May prize: BillionGraves T-shirts!
- Ktwinston (25,197) + SUBWAY gift card!
- Carolyn (24,477) + SUBWAY gift card!
- OurFamilyBefore (20,336) + SUBWAY gift card!
- jaitken (12,157)
- Whitejaegar (11,225)
- Paulwuzhere (9,070)
- BeNotFotgotten (6,737)
- Kiwikel (6,553)
- Marty95A (6,499)
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- Kathy (3,537)
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- Kjetil (2,979)
- Tombstoneguy59 (2,919)
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If you are one of our 30 winners, watch your email for details on how to claim your prize or email lisa@billiongraves.com for more details.
Thank you for making Million More in May a wonderfully successful month!
4 Things You Didn’t Know About Memorial Day
That’s right, Memorial Day was first proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John A. Logan, National commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. He called it “Decoration Day” when things like flowers should be put on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. He declared it was to be celebrated on May 30 of each year.1
General John A. Logan
2. All Americans are asked to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at 3pm on Memorial Day.
On May 2, 2000, Congress passed a resolution that asks Americans to pause “for one minute at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day, to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many to provide freedom for all.”2 This was passed in an effort to remind Americans why we celebrate Memorial Day.
3. It is uncertain exactly where and when Memorial Day began.
As mentioned previously, John A. Logan was the first to declare a National “Decoration Day” or Memorial Day, but people began this tradition even before then. More than 5 cities have claimed to be the original beginnings of Memorial day including:
- Columbus, Georgia,
- Columbus, Miss.,
- Boalsburg, Pennsylvania,
- Carbondale, Illinois,
- and Charleston, South Carolina.3
It was in Charleston, South Carolina that on May 1, 1865 thousands of residents gathered to honor those men that had died at Planters’ Race Course—which had been converted into a Confederate prison and burial ground for more than 250 Union soldiers.4 This is one of the first Memorial Day Celebrations that we know of.
Despite the dissidence of where exactly it began, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the original birthplace of Memorial Day to be Waterloo, NY in May 1966. And it was there that they held the “centennial observance of Memorial Day.”5
Civil War Veterans, Fourth of July or Decoration Day Celebration, Ortonville, Minnesota. ca. 1880
4. It is tradition to wear a red poppy on Memorial Day.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the Crosses, row on row…
People caught on to the tradition and soon people were selling poppies to benefit war orphans in France and Belgium, or veterans of past wars. She also wrote her own poem in response to John McCrae’s:
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.7
Today, these traditions and historical facts seems to have faded so much that we tend to see Memorial Day as just another 3-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer. But by knowing the history of Memorial day, we CAN remember why we celebrate it in the first place: to honor those who have lost their lives in service to their country and our own family members who made it possible for us to be here today.
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1 “Memorial Day History.” USMemorialDay.org. <http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html>.
2 “Speeches.” USMemorialDay.org. <http://www.usmemorialday.org/Speeches/President/may0200.txt>.
3 Robertson, Campbell. “Birthplace of Memorial Day? That Depends Where You’re From.” New York Times. 26 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/us/many-claim-to-be-memorial-day-birthplace.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.
4 Fitzpatrick, Laura. “A Brief History of Memorial Day.”TIME Magazine. 24 May 2009. <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1900454,00.html>.
5 Johnson, Lyndon B.. “242 – Proclamation 3727 – Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1966.”Presidency.ucsb.edu. The American Presidency Project, 26 May 1966. <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=27618#axzz1vzN2Ip9F>.
6 “Where did the idea to sell poppies come from?”news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News, 10 Nov 2006. Web. 24 May 2013. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6133312.stm>.
7 “Memorial Day History.” USMemorialDay.org. <http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html>.