Many funeral homes have a register for guests can sign as they arrive to pay their respects to the deceased.
These registers can be a great to get names of potential relatives and associates of the deceased and to know that they were alive at the time of the funeral. They can also be a great memory jogging tool when interviewing relatives of the deceased for additional information.
Names of some individuals may be difficult to read and all you usually will have is their signature. It’s worth noting that many times individuals go into the funeral home or mortuary together–look at adjacent names for clues as to what the difficult-to-read name might be.
“Relatives” who signed are often part of the larger family network, often related by marriage–some of which may have ended before the deceased individual passed away.
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Among my father’s things was a funeral home guest register that I *think* is for his maternal grandfather. There is no date, and no name of who died, but three of my great grandmother’s sisters (it also helped me figure out what happened to one of her sisters!) have signed this book.
Since researching these family lines I have found surnames associated with this great grandfather of mine – his father’s siblings’ families, and only a rare family member or two of my great grandmother. Soooo cool to figure out who some of these folks were. Wish I had more of these!