Field Activity #2 - Data Collection at the Hadleyville Cemetery

Introduction

• Provide background to the problem at hand. What are the problems and challenges facing Hadleyville cemetery?

This field activity was developed in response to a proposal to gather data for production of a detailed and accurate map defining burial plots of a local cemetery.

Deputy Clerk / Treasurer Dale Welke and Clerk / Treasurer Jennifer Meyer of the Town of Pleasant Valley contacted the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Geography Department to request assistance with mapping the headstones at the Hadleyville Cemetery on County Road HH (Section 04, Twn 25N Range 9W). There is currently no record of the locations of burial plots nor any recorded information about the individuals buried therein. The headstones date back to the 1800’s and several of them are broken, missing, or in bad disrepair due to weathering and erosion.

• Why is the loss of original maps and records a particular challenge for this project?

The lack of recorded information poses a problem on burial plots where the headstone is broken, illegible, or missing. Names, year of death, and birth year will need to be deciphered as best as possible but may not be attainable in every case. Plots with headstones missing are completely unmarked and have the potential to be overlooked. This could lead to the plot being sold again; a situation the Town of Pleasant Valley would like to avoid.

• How will GIS provide a solution to this problem?

Using GIS tools, a map of the Hadleyville Cemetery can be created denoting the location of burial plots. The map will be interactive and will include a digital record of the individual buried there,  whatever information can be deciphered from their headstone. This map can be used by the public as a record of individuals buried in the Hadleyville Cemetery and can also serve the Town of Pleasant Valley by denoting which plots are open and available to be sold.

• What makes this a GIS project, and not a simple map?

The map will be interactive; It will contain embedded photos of each headstone as well as attributes such as the name and sex of individuals, years of birth and death, and the condition/composition of the headstone. 

• What equipment are you going to use to gather the data needed to construct the GIS?

Photos will be taken using an Android mobile device and an EXIFtool script will be used to pull the lat/long coordinates.

A drone provided by the university will be used to map the 1.5 acre cemetery. This data will be the basemap.

• What are the overall objectives of your proposal?

The value added GIS product being proposed is an interactive map of the Hadleyville Cemetery that will include photopoints of each headstone, marked locations of each known burial plot, and information about the individual buried in each plot. 

Methods

• What is the sampling technique you chose to use? Why?

Photopoints were taken using an Android mobile device. These photos, in conjunction with an EXIFtool script, provides GPS coordinates of the headstone in the photo. This sampling technique allowed for ease of access for the surveyors by making use of free downloadable scripts, provided software, and accessible devices.

• What is the accuracy of the equipment you are intending to use? (Be sure to cover each piece of equipment)

Android photo coordinates:

Drone:

• How was the data entered/recorded? Why did you choose this data entry method?

Lat/long coordinates are saved automatically on Android devices when the Location setting is on. Using this data is accurate and simple. 

• How will you transfer the data you gather into a GIS?

Using the EXIFtool, the coordinates will be extracted and can then be downloaded into ArcMap.

• What drawbacks are there to the method you propose? How to the pros outweigh the cons of this method?

This method will work well for legible headstones and headstones that are clearly visible. However, plots with headstones that are missing will be difficult to identify using photopoints, but considering the current lack of information, documentation of the legible headstones is a welcome development.

Conclusion

• How do your methods transfer to the overall objectives of your proposal?