Obituaries and Genealogy
In this article, you will find:
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Lineage Lessons
Some of the “best” obituaries are those published by religious societies. A fellow church-goer who knew the deceased would write what we as genealogists love—notices giving the whole family and obscure details that we wouldn't find elsewhere. Church obituaries are not always in the published religious newspaper; some are actually in the church's minutes. Determine the denomination, and do some investigating on the Internet for existing records. For example, check out www.angelfire.com/ky for obituaries of members of the old Regular Baptist church in Kentucky and surrounding areas.
Urban Versus Small-Town Newspapers
Normally the small-town newspaper was more expansive in its notices than the larger urban newspapers. Tight-knit communities wanted details. They knew the family intimately and could provide interesting bits of data. The sheer volume of people in populated areas mandated that only selected obituaries could be included: usually prominent individuals or long-time residents. This holds true today. It can be especially important to check for death listings in a city newspaper, because they publish so few full obituaries.
The Family Thanks You
In some areas, it was, and still is, popular for the family to publish a card of thanks during the month following the funeral. Watch for these. A pair of examples are shown below.
These figures from early newspapers show two cards of thanks from the same family; one notice was published after the death of the father and the other after the death of the mother. Note the discrepancies in the lists. Some differences might be explained by marriages, but others are clear errors in one or the other list. Research will determine which names are correct. Such discrepancies are common and emphasize the necessity for gathering as many records as possible on the same individual.
The family may have published a notice to mark the anniversary of the death of their family member. Typically, these are brief “In Memoriam” types of notices. They are often signed, providing names of living relatives.