Assuming It Is the One Nearby

It was an honest mistake, but it makes a good point.

My aunt moved several states away from her childhood home, but was buried “back home” with her parents in the “MapleGrove Cemetery.” The obituary for her in her local newspaper only indicated she was to be buried in the MapleGrove Cemetery.  No city or state of burial was listed.

A researcher saw the obituary and assumed that my aunt was buried in the nearest MapleGrove Cemetery she could find–in the state where my aunt died, not where she was buried. This cemetery was actually a hundred miles from where my aunt died, but in the same state–it was not within a few miles of her home.

Sometimes papers leave out “obvious” details. Sometimes they simply leave out important details.

Never add something to a document or record that is not there. Transcribe as it.

I’ve changed a few details to protect the innocent, but the essence of this story is true.

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