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For many of our ancestors and relatives
who were not immortalized like Elvis Presley, the
obituary is the only "biographical sketch" that was
ever devoted to that individual and is the only place
where you can find some information about. In addition
to names, dates, and places of birth, marriage, and
death, the obituary often identifies relationships of
the deceased as child, sibling, parent, grandparent,
etc., to numerous other individuals which helps in
gaining knowledge about the family tree of the
individual under concern. Obituaries might also
provide links for other documentative information
about the individual like a death certificate in
another county because the hospital was located there;
church or cemetery records or records of a coroner's
inquest because the death was sudden or unexpected for
example like in a war. Hence for sure the wealth of
detail in an informative obituary may open up many
research avenues.
In an online obituary search, it is necessary to
investigate the files of all likely newspapers
specially the ones who are very old. It is impossible
to know beforehand which, if paper gives you the best
and the most comprehensive obituary. This is because
most cities have more than one paper and an obituary
for a specific individual could appear in more than
one place. Also, when considering possible obituary
sources don't just check in the community where the
individual died - also check the community (or
communities) where the individual lived. Many people
in their later years go to live with children and
often die far from where they spent most of their
adult lives. But, if they still had connections with
the home community, there is a good chance that a
death notice will appear there, and also perhaps a
more detailed one than will be found in the community
of death, where that person was just a new or
temporary resident. However, the opposite may also be
true. |
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