Illinois boy documenting tombstones for Eagle Scout project

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - A 14-year-old boy from southern Illinois is documenting tombstones at two cemeteries as part of his Eagle Scout project.

Tanner Burke chose Walker Hill Cemetery in Grand Tower because he has relatives buried there. Tanner says he chose Woodlawn Cemetery in Carbondale because of its historical significance. Tanner has been photographing tombstones and recording inscriptions into a national grave-collection genealogy database.

Tanner is a scout with Carbondale's Boy Scout Troop 7-151 and will be a freshman at Carbondale Community High School this fall.

He expects to complete the project in the next few weeks. The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports (http://bit.ly/24hzEYy ) that in total he'll have transcribed information from 250 tombstones.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com