Just a friendly reminder that when you’re looking for an obituary, the best one isn’t necessarily going to be found where the person lived. Here is an example from my research.
John Campbell Baker was born in Indiana county, PA in 1864 and died in Eudora, KS in 1902. Even though he had lived in Kansas for over 20 years, his obituary there was very short:
John C. Baker died at his home in Eudora, Kans., July 4, at 1:55 p.m. He was born July 26, 1862, in Indiana county, Pa. He leaves a wife and the following children to mourn his departure: Harry Floyd, Sarah, Laura and Lillian Lucille. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
His former town, where his sister still lived, published a much more detailed version. It came a few weeks later though – because news traveled slowly.
Former Marion Man Dead in Kansas.
John C. Baker died at his home in Eudora, Kansas, Friday morning, July 4th, 1902 at 1:55, from the effects of injuries received in a creamery there on June 25th. By accident he fell into a vat, where the injury was received and help did not come for three quarters of an hour. Funeral services were held Sunday at 10 a.m. at Eudora, Interment at Lawrence, Kansas. Deceased was a brother of Mrs. John R. Pringle, of Indiana. John Campbell Baker was born in Marion Center, July 26, 1864, and went to Kansas in 1876, where he married Miss Minnie McNees in 1885. For a while he engaged in the mercantile business in other parts of the state, taking charge of the creamery at Eudora in 1901. He is survived by his wife, three children, his aged and infirm mother, three brothers, and two sisters. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. the I.O.O.F., Woodmen of the World and Fraternal Aid association. He was highly respected at his home, where the newspapers speak well of him.
So, it’s definitely worth looking in more than one place for an obituary – who knows what you’ll find!! If I had been content with the first one, I never would have known how he had died. What a horrible accident. 🙁
