Article Body
PIERRE, S.D. -- In recognition of Archives Month 2007 the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center is issuing press releases on various topics relating to archives, research, and genealogy.
The four topics covered during Archives Month include how to write a useful obituary, naturalization records, South Dakota state censuses, and care of family collections. “How to Write an Obituary to Help Future Genealogists” is the first of four topics.
“Obituaries are one of the most requested and most important pieces of family data we have at the State Archives,” said Matthew T. Reitzel, Manuscript Archivist for the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Obituaries can supply researchers with vast amounts of information, or they can lead to a dead end.
“Some obituaries we read will have a person’s full name, parent’s names and dates of death, siblings, spouse (or spouses), children and grandchildren’s names (and who they married), where they grew up, went to school, and got married (or remarried), where they died (and what they died of), and where they were buried,” Reitzel said. “And others will simply state that John Doe got hit by a wagon and died. In short, the more specific and detailed information you have the better.”
Keep in mind that your future relatives may know nothing about you, Reitzel advised.
“Some families are better at retaining historical information than others,” he said. “If you’re lucky, your family will have a genealogist who loves nothing more than digging up all of your family stories -- and secrets. In reality, your great-grandchild may only have your obituary to go on, so adding pertinent data is vital.”
Maiden names can be the most significant, and most often overlooked, genealogical record, according to Reitzel.
“We do come across obituaries for ‘Mrs. John Doe’ that mostly talk about the husband,” he said. “While this is less likely to happen today, maiden names can help researchers branch off into other family trees.”
It’s always good to send obituaries to both small town and big-city newspapers, Reitzel said.
“The local newspaper is always best because it will be the first place a future relative will look,” he said. “But putting the obituary in a big-city newspaper, with a larger circulation, will ensure that more people read the obituary and that it will be placed in more than one newspaper.”
Where a person lived, died, and is buried can be three separate places. Be specific as possible, include hometown, hospital or location where the individual died, where the funeral occurred, and where the burial took place.
What a good obituary should have:
- Full given name (include maiden name!)
- Parent’s full name and other pertinent information: birth, death, hometown, etc.
- Where the person lived: various towns, farm, etc.
- Education: grade school, high school, college, graduate school
- Spouse (or spouses) name: when and where marriage took place, who officiated
- Church affiliation
- Organizational affiliation: Rotary Club, Masonic Lodge, etc.
- Employer: where did they work, for how long, what position
- War record
- Death date, location, cause, funeral, burial
- Living Descendents: children (and spouse), grand-children (and spouse), and where they live
It’s always good to take a look at current obituaries, Reitzel noted. While reading them, you can get a sense of what might be helpful to future descendents.
“You may read something in a current obituary that you never thought of adding,” he said. “Sometimes the simple things can lead to important avenues of information.”
Most funeral homes offer an informational sheet to help you fill out an obituary. Obituaries are also being found more and more online.
“The information age has added a new twist to obituaries,” Reitzel said. “But whether it’s in a newspaper or online, you’ll still need accurate and detailed information to assist future genealogists.”
Finally, the best way to get accurate and detailed information is to ask the person about themselves before they die.
“Too often, relatives are left wanting to know more about someone (and their family) after a member of the family has passed away,” Reitzel said. “By that time it’s too late. Sitting down with your living relatives now will ensure that future generations of your family will not have to wade through records to find their ancestors. And the information you gather now, will be more helpful and insightful than anything you can write in an obituary.”
The State Archives is open Monday through Friday and the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can contact the archives by phone at (605) 773-3804 or email archref@state.sd.us
-30-
The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism and State Development and strives to help the state meet the goals of the 2010 Initiative by enhancing history as a tool for economic development and cultural tourism. The society is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit www.sdhistory.org for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.