This post is part of a series for the April Blogging from A to Z April Blogging Challenge. My theme is Newspaper Clippings in relation to my family history. These have come from both microfilmed and digitized newspapers I've searched over the past 25 years. Click to enlarge any clipping.
Card of Thanks
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| Tyler [TX} Daily Courier-Times, Monday, August 2, 1920 pg 2 |
Often with or after an obituary the family will run a "Card of Thanks" as a way to show their appreciation to the general public who they felt helped and supported them. In this case, this is the only record of the death of Rebecca Bell, wife of Elijah, that's been found. I have no access to this local paper and didn't look myself, but a helpful librarian in Tyler, Texas found this and tried but didn't find an obituary.
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| DeWitt [NE] Times-News, March 30, 1923 |
Church activities and other church news is one way that female ancestors make the papers, although sometimes still with only their husband's first name. This is from 1947, "Mrs. C Bell" is my great grandma.
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| Aurora [NE] News-Register, August 8, 1947 |
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| Beatrice [NE] Daily Sun, October 11, 1944 |
Grandma, aka "Mrs Kenneth Menke", was always active in her church, as well as her sisters both Mrs. Bartlett's here.
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| Hamilton County [NE] Republican Register, June 3, 1930 |
My other Grandma at age 13, Violet McGrath and her Sunday School class literally took a hike. Some of these other girls named here may be in some old photos we have - a clue for helping identify them.
Many funeral homes now have an option for people to electronically send notes to the family which are sometimes made public. It's been my experience that the funeral home shares a printed copy for the immediate family. For family history, copies of these can also be added to that deceased person's notes with your research.
My collection of clippings also include articles covering college students news, club activities and family celebrations of all kinds. Can you think of anything that start with "C" that would relate to your ancestors? Good luck with your search!
Hmmm country- my father's side of the family lived in the country- unlike us city folk😊
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can find a mention of your family from [local area] in the Country going to see family in the [nearest larger] City!
DeleteChristenings. I have found family members and made connections using Baptismal records. With the Cards of Thanks, I've searched for the people to fill out the picture if that was the only info I had about them. I wonder if Mary C. Roscoe had taken back her first married name. I had a great grandmother that did that and have found some people that went back to their maiden names after the death or disappearance of a husband.
ReplyDeleteThere you go. Mary moved around quite a bit her last 10 years or so. I'd have 3 or more counties to look for any legal record of her name change. If time permitted... Thanks!
DeleteI’ve found some Court appearances and Collections for charities listed too.
ReplyDeleteThose are good ones. I appreciate your input.
DeleteClippings surely works for Letter 'C'. It's always good to find family thank-you postings, but disappointing when an Obituary doesn't come first. My Great Grandmother saved one of the most important clippings in my family research. I led to a whole new branch in our family tree.
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
I guess it would. Way to go Great Grandma! Thanks for chiming in here.
DeleteSad to think that that's the best way to make the local paper. But at least you know one way to look for them.
ReplyDeleteI'm showing many different ways to find an ancestors name in the paper here in April. Thanks for taking a look.
DeleteI enjoyed your post. I've started clipping any mention of ancestors in newspapers.com. I hope to do something with them at some point in the future. It would be interesting to get enough of them to piece together some kind of history.
ReplyDeleteThe clippings will add a lot of detail to the other information you find on them. Good luck!
DeleteCard of thanks! That’s a good one. And excellent point about using newspapers to find women in our families.
ReplyDeleteIt's extra cool when they are called by their own first names.
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