Obituaries
as Clues in
Genealogical Research

By Bobbi Holmes

        As much as I enjoy Ancestry.com’s “Who do you think you are?”, the show’s editing might leave the novice genealogist with the impression that all you need to do is find your ancestor’s name on some document. Yet, you need more than a name. While the person in the document might share your ancestor’s name, he or she may not be the person you seek. Even with unusual surnames, I’ve frequently come across two people with the same name, in the same general area and of the same general age, when looking for my own ancestors.

Look for Multiple Sources

        I am a bit of a skeptic, and need more than a name found in a specific geographic area before I claim the individual as an ancestor. Case in point, my great-grandmother Sallie Holt Johnson, who was my father’s paternal grandmother. Sallie died in 1912, when my grandfather was a child. She was from Sevier County, Tennessee, and is buried in Chapin Cemetery, Illinois.

Census Records at Ancestry.com

        From the census records at Ancestry.com I’ve located a Holt family in Sevier County, with a daughter named Sallie, born the same year as my Sallie, in 1887. I have found no other Sallie, of the correct race, born around this time in Sevier. I also found an online family tree with this family, and they list their Sallie’s husband as Odis Johnson. My Sallie was married to Otis Johnson.
        Since I don’t know the accuracy of this online family tree, nor their source, I won’t use it as verification. And while I suspect the family I located on the census report might be my ancestors, I need independent verification. This is where the obituary comes into play.

Obituary Provides Independent Verification

        Obituaries typically list the names of the surviving siblings and parents. When my Sallie died, I know many of the “possible” siblings were still alive, as was her mother. Therefore, if I can find Sallie’s obituary, listing her family members, it might give me independent verification as to the names of her siblings and mother. But, the trick is locating the obituary.  Unfortunately, I am in Arizona, and my sleuthing will have to be done online, by phone or mail.

Obituaries are Subject to Error

        Obituaries contain clues, and sometimes errors. Take for example my grandfather’s obituary, which lists my father’s place of residence as El Monte, California. At the time of his father’s death, Dad was living on Lake Havasu, located on the eastern border of California. While all clues are subject to error, even government documents, obits are more apt to have errors, by their very nature. The person giving the info for the obituary may not know the correct names of family members or other biological information on the deceased.