Gosh, what a headline! Those of you who are family historians or genealogists can understand the excitement one feels when an obituary reveals new information (especially from decades or centuries before). Written usually by family members or friends during a difficult time, obituaries are intended to summarize a person’s life and sometimes even cause of death. Decades and centuries later though, genealogists become very excited when obituaries are found and mysteries are solved through the details provided. These details might include occupation, community involvement, next of kin, burial location, and more; possibly new clues to research!
As you begin researching obituaries, I’m happy to talk through what is discovered and offer advice. You can fill out the Contact SYFT form or email me directly at info@shapingyourfamilytree.com. Now let’s get to know obituaries (sometimes offered as death notices), and what can be discovered.
Obituary, a noun, derived from the Latin word, obīre, loosely translates to “going towards one’s death”. These snapshots of one’s life as we know them today, have evolved from a basic notification of death in the 18th century, to more elaborate literary compositions with photographs.[1] A typical obituary is posted online (and sometimes published in the local newspaper) to provide information about the person (birth date and location, marriage, their parents, profession, cause of death), family (deceased and surviving), their wishes (for flowers or favorite charities), and funeral arrangements. While obituaries could be analyzed for various types of studies, this post will focus on the genealogical aspect: determining facts versus fiction (or exaggeration) and finding helpful content which can increase knowledge of one’s ancestor.
Genealogists researching historical newspapers or digitized local collections for these helpful nuggets may find more clues than originally hoped, creating that proverbial “rabbit hole” of research. Using the three examples above, we learn tidbits of details to research further; links to some details included below. Transcripts and references can be found at the end of the blog.
“School Teacher Killed by Train Abilene Thursday” – This death notice,[2] shared across multiple newspapers by the Associated Press, provided details on the unfortunate death of Fannie E. Shipp. In the notice, it detailed the accident and gave her residence information (as an older student, aged 38, just graduated from college). The notice detailed her occupational history (teaching) prior to college, enabling the genealogist to search other educational institution publications such as yearbooks and college catalogues with faculty information and photographs. It also included a relative’s name, expected to arrive from Lorena (a town outside of Waco, Texas). An extra piece of information is provided immediately after the article, with another Associated Press notice from the Waco paper, the name and occupation of her relative, a brother Dr. W. F. Shipp, physician at Lorena. This subsequent notice also provided Ms. Shipp’s birth location, where she was raised, and burial location. These two death notices provide quite a few clues which may enable the genealogist to build a more complete story of her life. Interestingly, though many newspapers reported her age as 38, Ms. Shipp’s age was 54, as she was born in 1872 (per the Find A Grave information). An early census (1880) of that family is one piece of evidence to support the birth and age discrepancy. As an older woman returning to college, she may have fabricated her actual age, or the supplier of details to the newspaper was misquoted or inaccurate in their estimation.
“Mrs. Lela Russell Called By Death” – This 1953 obituary[3] provided residence information which may help fill in gaps if the genealogist was relying only on decennial census data. It also listed the names and residences of her surviving children, but not the grandchildren. It reported she was buried in Baird (Texas), but did not list the name of the cemetery. It did not mention her husband, so further research would be required to determine if he had already died (or if they were divorced). Further research for other newspaper notices from the Baird, Texas community may provide more detailed information. In many cases like this one, the elderly parent died near or at one of the adult children’s homes, leaving the genealogist the need to find relevant information to their life in other locations, prior to their late change of address. Mrs. Russell was one of this author’s 2nd great-grandmothers.
“Pioneer Citizen of Callahan Dies” – J. B. Cutbirth, died at 70 years old in March, 1922, in Baird, Texas. This obituary[4] was reposted by the Fort Worth paper later than his death, in May. It documented the number of survivors and even stated there were half brothers, indicating a family relationship to research, but did not provide names. A common occurrence of that era was using initials in all formal communication. J. B. was actually Jasper Bartholomew Cutbirth – a good reason for him to shorten to initials! It did provide the reader with helpful information on his standing and length of time in the community, and location of burial, but overall this nugget would require a bit more research on the family. Mr. Cutbirth was one of this author’s 2nd great-grandfathers.
Obituaries in recent times are published online by companies like Legacy and Dignity. Not only do these obituaries offer the usual verbiage on the person, their life and family, but usually include photographic memories and a memorial page where friends and family can express condolences. Burial memorial sites like Find A Grave, can include newspaper obituaries, too, if the user submitting the details had included it. Genealogists can review these features to find family and friends both in the visual and textual information.
In today’s society, individuals prepay their preferred funeral arrangements, either at a funeral home or with a cremation service. These companies provide booklets which the individual can use to document the details they wish for their service, their charities, and even their obituary information. As the end of life is inevitable for all of us, it is a great service to an individual’s descendants to plan and document one’s final departure celebration. When considering what to write for your own obituary, you might use a search engine to locate tips. A quick search produced several recommendations such as this one, which provided easy steps to get it drafted. Obituaries can be a wonderful tribute and deserve attention so family members (or friends, if no family members remain) are not left to this task. Draft a version of your obituary today!
Transcripts:
School Teacher Killed by Train Abilene Thursday: Stepped in Front of On-rushing Freight in Suburbs of City, Associated Press, Abilene, Texas, Sept. 2 – Miss Fannie E. Shipp, aged 38, a school teacher, was killed almost instantly at 7 a.m. today when struck by an eastbound Texas & Pacific freight train at a crossing in the western part of the city. The body is being held here until arrival of a brother from Lorena. The woman resided at Dazy Hall, Abilene Christian College, having been graduated from that school last June. She had taught school for about fifteen years in Gatesville, Ranger and other places, before coming here two years ago. She was to have taught near Eastland this fall. Although the engineer blew the locomotive whistle several times, the woman did not appear to hear and stepped into its path. She died a moment after members of the train crew reached her.
By Associated Press. Waco, Sept 2 – Miss Fannie Shipp, killed by a train at Abilene was a sister of Dr. W. F. Shipp, physician at Lorena, near Waco. Dr. Shipp will bring the body to Lorena for burial Friday afternoon. Miss Shipp was a native Texan, having been born at Atlanta and reared in Bell county. For each years she taught school at Ranger.
Mrs. Lela Russell Called By Death – Mrs. Lela Ella Russell, 87, native of Texas and resident of this community for the past 19 months, died yesterday evening following an illness of several months. She was born in Salado, Tex., on July 26, 1865, and made her home here with a daughter, Mrs. Vivian E. Haynes, on the Orcutt Road. Mrs. Russell is survived by another daughter, Mrs. Edith Mae Cutbirth of San Antonio, Tex.; three sons, William S. Russell of Midlothian, Tex., Clarence Russell of Uvalde, Tex., and O. B. Russell, of California; three grandchildren in this area, Mrs. Mary Lee Green and Jerrell P. Haynes, both of San Luis Obispo, and Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Bertagnolli of Atascadero; several other grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 3 o’clock Sunday afternoon in the Church of Christ, Santa Rosa and Buchon streets, with Elder James L. Taylor officiating. Burial will be in the family plot of the Baird, Tex., cemetery. Local arrangements are under direction of the R. F. Richardson company funeral home.
Pioneer Citizen of Callahan Dies, Baird, Texas, March 4 – J. B. Cutbirth, wealthy Callahan County cattleman and prominent citizen of Baird, died at his residence here Tuesday night, after a few days’ illness. He was 70 years old and is survived by his wife, seven children, eleven grandchildren, one great-grandchild and two half brothers. His funeral was held today and he was buried in the Old Belle Plaine Cemetery. Cutbirth came to Callahan County more than forty years ago. He was a director in the First National Bank. He was a member of the Methodist Church and for many years one of its stewards. He was a Mason and the Baird lodge had charge of the funeral arrangements.
References:
[1] Vocabulary.com. Obituary. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/obituary : accessed 1 October 2022.
[2] Death announcements. (1926) Corsicana Daily Sun. 2 September. SHIPP, Fannie E. p. 4d. https://www.newspapers.com/image/62675618/ : accessed 22 October 2022.
[3] Obituaries. (1953) The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California). 13 March. RUSSELL, Mrs. Lela. p. 6f. https://www.newspapers.com/image/807161736/ : accessed 22 October 2022.
[4] Obituaries. (1922) Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 4 May. CUTBIRTH, J. B. p. 21e. https://www.newspapers.com/image/634470707/ : accessed 22 October 2022.
Images. Collage. Obituaries, as described above.