Is this possibly your John Jones?

Photos are tricky. Have you tried drawing the stones? If you copy every mark carefully in pencil the words often become clear.

Some other tricks I have read (which you may be fully aware of) are: taking the photo from a side angle, using a strong flashlight directed at an angle (from above or either side) to cast shadow into the lettering, and using cheap (ie, thin) aluminum foil pressed gently against the stone and into the depressions of the carving with a soft brush.

Unfortunately I can't help with the reading from these photos. I seem to have forgotten how to save a posted photo to my computer, so that I could play with the light and contrast.

Sure looks like it, Adella! Thanks so much. That will help connect him to other family members I might find.

Floral, I'm not sure what you mean. I can't draw what I can't see. If you're thinking I could hold a paper up to the stone and try to trace it, I'm not really able to do that. But now I'm thinking perhaps you meant I could simply try to draw what I see while I'm there, in person. That's a possibility, as long as I didn't have to bend too much.

Raee, believe me, I played plenty with light and contrast, to the point where my eyes were glazing over. Your tip about taking the photo from another angle is a good one, and I think I'll try that the next time I'm there. My plan was to take as many gravestone photos as I can before the weather gets too cold, so I can work on them over the winter. But I find it hard to wait, and have started processing them now. I believe the same thing happened last year. :-)

I also want to look for these stones when the sun is at a different angle. I photographed these between 1:30 and 2:30, so maybe going there in the morning or later in the afternoon would help.

If it's legal in that particular cemetary, you might want to try doing gravestone rubbings. While many cemeteries allow rubbings, some do not- it should be in the cemetary rules and ordanances.

Taking a rubbing is fairly easy. Use lightweight paper, masking tape (and only masking tape) for mounting the paper... and then you can either get rubbing wax or use crayon, or use charcoal/graphite sticks like found in art departments of craft stores, or even chalk depending on the color of the paper and chalk. You tape the paper to the gravestone, then use your rubbing medium over the whole thing to create a relief of what is on the gravestone.

I don't mean rubbing. Just drawing every mark you can see. It’s surprising how the letters start to jump out. Your brain fills in the gaps. I’ve been involved in a grave slab recording project and the archaeologists recommended drawing as being superior to photos.

I think your John Jones is from a place that starts with a B, not an A.

And in the first photo, the second name appears to be Frederick. The first name, I’m not sure…almost looks like part of Thomas or maybe Jonas plus Hill or Hall.

It's actually Edward Hall. I can read all the names, so I didn't include them. It's the surname on top that puzzles me.

The second word of John Jones' birthplace appears to start with a B, but I don't have a clue about the first word. When I mentioned A, I was talking about the lower-case letter following the S in the word just before Wales.

I think it says “a native of _____ Breconshire, ____ Wales”

The town name seems to end with “____enry”