Female Obituaries that Never Mention Their Name

Remember that obituaries for women may never mention their name. It may be necessary to search for husband’s names in newspapers long after they are dead. I spent hours searching for the obituary of a Belle Shaw, who died in 1945. Her obituary in the Zanesville, Ohio, newspaper listed her as “Mrs. Louis Shaw.” Her first name is not even mentioned. Shaw himself had been dead several years by the time his wife died.