An example is my maternal great-grandmother's obituary in the March 5, 1968 Anderson Herald.
For some reason, my grandfather, William Lee WRIGHT, her only son, was not listed at all in the obituary. Someone who didn't know better might think that he was deceased at the time.Funeral Services Set For Muriel Wright
ALEXANDRIA - Funeral rites for Mrs. Muriel Wright, 71, wife of Virgil Wright of Rt. 3, have been arranged for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Christian Church. The Rev. Eugene Lamport will be the minister in charge. Interment will be in the Parkview Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the Karl M. Kyle Funeral Home after 2 p.m. today, and the Eastern Star Chapter will conduct memorial rites there at 8 p.m. today.
Mrs. Wright died Sunday noon at Community Hospital in Anderson after an extended illness.
A lifelong resident here, she was born in Alexandria, Feb. 16, 1897, to William F. and Clara Penniston Pierce. She was married to Mr. Wright in 1915. She was a member of the Christian Church, Order of the Eastern Star, Alexandria Chapter 179 and the Rebekah Lodge.
Surviving are the husband; two daughters, Mrs. Clara Ellen High and Mrs. Barbara Webster, both of Alexandria; a sister, Mrs. Nehersta Roberts of Santa Monica, Calif.; five brothers, McClelland, Charles, Eddie, and Bobby Pierce, all of Alexandria, and Jimmy Pierce of Indianapolis; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
2 comments:
I think omissions like this happen more frequently than we realize. For those of us who know the family (as in, an obituary published in the last 30-50 years), it's easy to recognize the problem. But if we're searching hundred year old newspapers, it may take a long time till we realize the omission. Thanks for reminding me of this.
So true, Nancy. Not only omissions, but errors caused by either the paper or the informant. They are more easily noticed in the more modern ones. I can only imagine how future researchers might be thrown off the trail. That is one reason why I'm going back through my files and trying to obtain obits from multiple newspapers, as one might have the missing clue.
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