Obituaries can paint a partial picture of a person–never assume they are complete. This 1926 item only mentions one un-named son and an un-named sister-in-law of the deceased. Interestingly enough, the notice does not mention the one daughter who lived in the town where the obituary was published while the son who was referenced lived elsewhere.
Never assume the obituary or death notice is complete.
4 Responses
I know, there was a recent obiturary that did not name any of the four other siblings except the one writing the obit. I know the whole family, so it really surprised me. Two had passed away previously, with the third one in the obit. Then two still living, one not mentioned with the other one the writer. Mother & father deceased as well.
The one writing about the one who had just died.
There is often more than one obituary published about someone. It’s worth looking for others that may have more information.
Newspapers from earlier times seem to have more omissions and errors in obits than today’s newspapers. The Linotype operator often made mistakes, especially with initials. The worst obit I’ve seen was when the paper reported that Mr. “Husband” lost his wife last week. The wife happened to be my relative, so I knew who she was. (Linotype operator was not responsible for this!)