u/emotionalaries

trying to figure out which birth date is more likely correct for an ancestor.

his headstone (which i’ve seen in person & on FindAGrave) says he was born april 2, 1907. but his WWII draft registration card, which i found through Ancestry citing the National Archives, says august 22, 1908.

unfortunately i probably won’t find a birth certificate because he was born in the Russian Empire, & from what i understand births/baptisms there were usually recorded in church “metric books” instead.

which source would you personally consider more reliable here? the draft card since he likely gave the information himself, or the headstone? & how would you record it in your tree for now?

So waiting on my ancestryDNA results & i saw the email offer for 3 months of World Explorer Membership for $1, obviously i jumped at it. I’m wondering if the records i save to the people on my family tree, like will they stay after my paid subscription is over?
I wasn’t sure if this fit this subreddit but i didn’t see a subreddit for just the whole app/website of Ancestry so here i am.

I’m trying to understand the burial situation for Bobby Franklin Edwards (1941–1945) in Beaufort County, North Carolina.
His memorial lists him in the W.O. Edwards Family Cemetery off East Mill Pond Rd near Roper, NC. A cemetery survey also notes that “all others have been moved to another cemetery,” which suggests there may have been a relocation of burials from that site.
What stands out to me is that the cemetery name appears to be tied to his father, William Octavious Edwards (1914–2003). His mother, Margret Jeanette Phelps Edwards (1918–1993), is also buried in a different cemetery. Both parents lived past the 1990 survey, so it seems like they were never part of that original burial site relocation, or were placed elsewhere entirely.
Bobby appears to be their only child based on what I can find, & his memorial does not include a photo, while both parents’ memorials do include photos & appear to be in a maintained cemetery.
His headstone inscription reads:
“He was the sunshine of our home”
“Died that others might live”

I’m trying to understand a few things:

how common is it for a child’s burial to remain at an original family cemetery while parents are buried elsewhere

if a family cemetery is relocated or partially cleared, is it typical for some burials (like a child’s) to be left behind

& does the inscription wording usually indicate anything specific about cause of death or circumstances in the 1940s, if he wasn’t 4 years old i would’ve assumed military but obviously military is not the case

It just feels very striking to see him seemingly separated from his parents in burial, especially given the wording of his inscription, & I’m curious if there’s a historical explanation for how this kind of situation usually happens

hi i am trying to piece together a relative’s military history & i have hit a gap in the records
from the grave & index records i have
sp4 (specialist 4), us army
listed as vietnam veteran
born April 16, 1951
died February 2, 1973
i also have a burial record & basic index entry but no obituary or detailed death info
i checked the vietnam veterans memorial & did not find his name but i am not sure if that fully rules anything out
i am trying to determine whether he
died in vietnam during service
or was a vietnam era veteran who died in the us afterward, i couldn’t even find his service dates or years
what would be the best way to confirm this with free records & does “vietnam veteran” on a headstone usually indicate service only or can it also imply death in country
any help interpreting this would be appreciated
also i can provide grave & index images if needed (was gonna attach but realized i cant)

do y’all’s tattoos all mostly have the same style? or are they all super different art styles? do you like the styles you’ve chosen? why? why not?