The Williams County Genealogical Society met on Monday, January 11, 2016 at 6:30 PM. The speaker was Vice President Mary Alice Roth. She talked about writing an obituary and important facts that should be included.
She explained that the deceased’s full name should be used to distinguish them from another person with the same name. Longer ago, the same first name was used through several generations. The complete date of birth, city, and state where born and where they died should also be listed, as well as the deceased parent’s names, including mother’s maiden name. They should also include any children’s names in birth order, who they are married to and where they are living. Grand children can be listed with their parents in order to keep families together. Any of the deceased’s siblings should also be listed in birth order with their husband/wife’s names and where they reside and any people who preceded them in death. Lastly should be the cemetery name and location of burial.
In the early stages of our country’s development, people were traveling great distances. If someone died, they were buried wherever they were at the time. There was no long-lasting monument, so a lot of information was lost. If the person was near a town when they passed, the burial would have taken place in a cemetery, but not always recorded. The information associated with the person is gone and can never be recovered.
Today, due to newspaper cost, computers are used for obituaries as a lot of information can be put on a traditional or non-traditional memory card. It is also possible to put all of the information and a picture on a standard 8.5 x 11 size paper that can be folded in half, stapled, or tied with a ribbon in a booklet form. This is best if put on executive or white paper with space left for the folded area. Laminated Bible markers with the information and picture could also be kept.
The purpose of the Williams County Genealogical Society is to preserve county records and family research. Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of each month, excluding July and August, at 6:30 PM, in the conference room of the West Annex of the Bryan Public Library. The public is invited to attend all meetings. For further information concerning the WCGS, visit the website at www.wcgs-ogs.com or write the WCGS, P.O. Box 293, Bryan, OH, 43506.
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