A tip from the past: When my parents were married in 1967, they received a congratulatory card from Ola Howes. The name did not ring a bell to me and I concluded it was a former neighbor or a fellow teacher of my mother. Upon asking Mom who Ola Howes was, I was told that “I don’t know.” Years later in my research, I discovered that my paternal great-grandfather had a first cousin Ola (Baker) Howes (their mothers were half-sisters). She had apparently seen my parents’ announcement in the paper and sent a card. Are there genealogical clues hiding in old greeting cards?
Obituaries and family members can easily hide a key detail in a person’s life. According to family members, my great-grandfather died at home. His obituary in the paper indicated he died at home. He did not. After suffering from a series of strokes, the family could no longer take care of him and he was put in a state hospital several counties away where he died a few weeks later. They cared for him at home for years, but were no longer able to towards the end of his life. That’s why it took me forever to locate his death certificate–I was looking in the wrong place.
Recent Comments