The 1943 obituary of Viola Tittle in the La Belle, Missouri, the LaBelle Star indicated that she was survived by three half-brothers: Arsulus, George, and John Rampley. The obituary even indicated that Arsulus lived in California.
It’s possible he was living in California in 1943, but the probate of George Rampley provided documentation that Arsulus had not been seen since sometime in the 1930s and that his children had looked for him to no avail. It may have been easier to say Arsulus survived. It’s possible Viola didn’t want to admit her brother was deceased. As our research extends to more distant family members, it’s more difficult to know or to have heard how the family may have reacted to events within that family.
Any statement in an obituary can be wrong–even the ones that we think are likely right.
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