AUGUSTA — The board of trustees of The Association for Gravestone Studies has selected Roland Jordan of Auburn to be a recipient of The Oakley Certificate of Merit. The award is given to groups or individuals who “…foster appreciation of the cultural significance of gravestones and burying grounds,” and it is in recognition of his work with Maine’s old cemeteries.

Jordan has filled various offices for the Maine Old Cemetery Association and currently serves as the chair of the Maine Inscription Project. To date he has records of more than 6,900 cemeteries with more than 950,000 burials.

Jordan has made a concerted effort to standardize the information collected: name, title, family details, dates, military service, fraternal membership, etc. Additionally he has developed a unique code to identify each cemetery.

Numerous newspaper articles and magazine stories about Maine cemeteries have quotes attributed to Jordan, “Maine’s cemetery man.” Due to his efforts, more of Maine’s citizens are aware of cemeteries and the importance of protecting the stones and the important information they provide.

The Oakley Award is presented periodically by the AGS board of trustees, at their annual conference, to individuals and groups that have helped to advance the mission of the association. Named for long-time members Rosalee and Fred Oakley, the Certificate of Merit is designed to honor those whose work in the field of gravestone studies may have gone unnoticed or is worthy of recognition by AGS.

The Association of Gravestone Studies held their 35th annual conference at Monmouth College in West Long Branch, N.J. from June 19-24. Jordan was not able to attend the conference and his award was presented to him by MOCA president, Cheryl Willis Patten, at a July 28 MOCA meeting in Milo.

For more information, visit www.gravestonestudies.org or www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~memoca/moca.htm.