Posts in May 19, 2019

Be careful assuming a document is consistent and that every difference means something. Sometimes differences don’t mean as much as they usually do. In many newspapers, particularly in the 1950s and before, married women were listed as “Mrs. HusbandFirstname Husbandlastname.” Women listed as “Mrs. Femalefirstname Lastname” were often widowed or divorced. But there can always be inconsistencies as in this obituary from the 1930s. These three daughters of the deceased were married, their husbands were alive, and they were living with them at the time the obituary was written. Yet one is listed as “Mrs.” and the others are not. One might be tempted to think Mrs. Luella Barnett was divorced or widowed. She was not.