Obituaries are often a treasure trove of information for a genealogist. They may list key dates and relationships- names of parents, children, siblings, even former spouses. Sometimes they list cause of death and often the writer will comment about friends, hobbies, occupations, community service, church affiliations, and even education.
However, there are also little obituaries that prompt as many questions as they answer. They are often squeezed in among the “local items” or used as filler on other pages. In The Caddo Herald you might find a tiny obituary anywhere, even on the front page. Even some of the ones that provide specific information did not have a title or name above to attract attention. There is just a tiny line or space separating them from the next bit of news. I can sometimes scan a page twice before I see an obit.
Here are just a few I’ve collected:
June 9, 1899
Rev. J. T. Lloyd of Durant was here Sunday and conducted the funeral services of little John Louis Leroy Bilbo.
August 11, 1899
Lizzie Austin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. L. D. Unsell died Wednesday evening of congestion. Deceased was in her 15th year and had a host of loving friends who mourn her early demise. Funeral services were conducted at the Methodist church at five o’clock yesterday afternoon. Interment was in the Caddo cemetery.
August 25, 1899
James Parsons was stabbed and killed Monday near Yansby in Tishomingo County.
September 7, 1900
U. M. Cooper, who for a number of years resided in Caddo, died last week in his 53rd year.
November 16, 1900
R. G. Dunn, of the Mercantile Agency of R. G. Dunn & Company, died last week.
April 3, 1903
Last Wednesday evening one of the girl twins of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Cosgroves died, being only five days old.
September 23, 1910
Wm. Goforth, a native and for many years a resident of Caddo, died last week in South Dakota. The remains were shipped to Caddo for interment and were laid to rest in the Caddo cemetery Wednesday afternoon with Masonic honors.
April 9, 1912
Mrs. Mollie Jefferson died at her home in Caddo Hills Monday of meningitis, aged 58 years.
April 28, 1922
In a freight train wreck near Soper, on the Frisco last Sunday, an unknown man was crushed to death. He was in a car with a load of ties when the wreck occurred and movement of the ties crushed him into an unrecognizable shape. An I. W. W. receipt was on his clothing.
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