How useful are obituaries in family history research?
Obits are the only biography you get for many people. They are not always accurate; if someone was a mean, low-spirited kind of fellow who routinely tipped 3%, it won’t be in his obit. If he loved to play the guitar around a campfire and had been a scout leader for 30 years, it probably will be. They give you married names for women, and sometimes maiden ones; “William is survived by his wife, the former Nancy Jane Jones, his daughters Amanda Anderson, Beatrice Brown and Charlotte Cook, all of Beloit . . .” I have a link, but it is to a page on my site that suggests four ways to find an obituary: http://www.tedpack.org/obit.html That page has this classy example. Louis Casimir, a retired University English professor, wrote it himself before he passed on. I added the definitions in square brackets. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania – Louis J. Casimir Jr. bought the farm Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004, having lived more than twice as long as he
