SNGF -- The "Best" Newspaper Article You've Found for Your Family History

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:

It's Saturday Night Again -

Time For Some More Genealogy Fun!!

Our assignment tonight from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:

1)  What newspaper article is the "best" one you've found to help you with your family history?  Tell us about it - where you found it, and what you learned from it.

Here's mine:
I have so many wonderful newspaper articles that have advanced my genealogy and could be called favorites. Newspapers are some of my favorite resources and I have written about many of these wonderful finds already. However, I can think of two newspaper articles that if used together, help sort out a family during those twenty years when the 1890 census is not available to us.

The first is the obituary for my husband’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Davey, who immigrated to the US with his family in the 1850s from England. He was born in County Cornwall but lived in London before his emigration.

He died on 6 February 1886 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.[1] Seven children survived him: “Mrs. Elizabeth Flynn of this city; Mrs. Susan Wellman, of Cincinnati; Thomas N. Davy, of Carthage, Mo.; Dr. Mary Crosby, of Indianapolis; Mrs. Lydia Jackson, New York City; Mrs. Rose McFall, Indianapolis; Fred H. Davy, Carthage, Mo.”[2]

Five years later, his wife, Mary, died on 18 September 1893 in Indianapolis, Indiana.[3] She was survived by six children: “Thomas N. Davey, of Carthage, Mo.; Fred L. Davey of Joplin, Mo.; Dr. Mary Smith of Carthage, Mo.; Mrs. Sue Wellman, of Washington Court House, Ohio; Mrs. Lida M. Colbey of New York; and Mrs. Dr. Rose McFall of Indianapolis. Mrs. John Flynn, who died in this city three years ago, was her oldest child.”[4]

For analysis, I created a table so I could compare the names and residences of the children from the two obituaries.

Comparison Between Names in 1888 & 1893 Obituaries of Parents
Name	1888 Residence	Name	1893 Residence
Mrs. Elizabeth Flynn	Indianapolis, Ind.	Mrs. John Flynn	Dead 3 yrs prior
Mrs. Susan Wellman	Cincinnati, Ohio	Mrs. Sue Wellman	Washington Court House, Ohio
Thomas N. Davy	Carthage, Mo.	Thomas N. Davey	Carthage, Mo.
Dr. Mary Crosby	Indianapolis, Ind.	Dr. Mary Smith	Carthage, Mo.
Mrs. Lydia Jackson	New York City	Mrs. Lida M. Colbey	New York
Mrs. Rose McFall	Indianapolis	Mrs. Dr. Rose McFall	Indianapolis
Fred H. Davy	Carthage, Mo.	Fred L. Davey	Joplin, Mo.

Thomas, Rose, and Fred were in the same locations between the deaths of their parents. Joplin was a neighbor of Carthage. Even Elizabeth Flynn died in Indianapolis, the same location as in 1888. I have shaded these in light yellow.

Susan Wellman moved between the deaths. Washington Court House is located about halfway between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

Two of the daughters had major changes. Dr. Mary Crosby of Indianapolis was now known as Dr. Mary Smith of Carthage. This pointed me to a search for the marriage to a man named Smith. I was able to locate the marriage to W. T. Smith on 11 July 1889 in Springfield, Missouri.[5] The next day, a Springfield newspaper gave the news about their marriage: “Dr. W. T. Smith, of San Francisco, Cal., aged 43, yesterday secured a license to marry Dr. Mary Crosby, of this city, aged 45 years.”[6] I have not located her marriage to a man named Crosby.

Lydia Jackson married someone named Colby or Colbey in New York City. I have not located either of her marriages, but a newspaper article from the Jeffersonville Evening-News, dated 22 January 1886, announced a visit from Mrs. Harry Jackson to attend her father’s bedside.[7] The 1900 census gives her name as Lida Colby and her 34 years-old son, Thomas had the same surname.[8] It is possible she was married first to a Colby, then to a Jackson, and reverted to Colby. Records are scarce for Lydia, but a couple of articles of her visiting her mother in the early 1880s list her name as Colby.[9] City directories in New York list her name as Lydia Jackson, widow of John.[10]

By making comparisons between the two obituaries, more clues are found. This is helpful when we have the missing 1890 census record. This family has been difficult to locate. I do not know when Susan Wellman or Mary Smith died. I don’t know the Colby man Lydia married, nor the Crosby man Mary married. Someday, I hope newspaper articles will point to some clues.

---

[1] “Thomas Davey,” Jeffersonville Daily Evening News, 9 Feb 1886, p. 2.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “Death of Mrs. Mary Davey,” Jeffersonville News, 19 Sep 1893, p. 4.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Greene County, Missouri, marriage, v. I, p. 147, Dr. W. T. Smith to Dr. Mary Crosby, 1889, digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89CT-L5V8), citing IGN 007424401, image 412 of 674.

[6] “A New Medical Firm,” Springfield Leader, 12 July 1889, p. 3.

[7] “City News in General,” Jeffersonville Evening-News, 22 Jan 1886, p. 4. Col. 2.

[8] 1900 U.S. census, Suffolk Co, New York, Brookhaven (Patchogue Village), ED 750, sht 14b, 330/342, Lydia N Colby.

[9] See Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 11 May 1883, p. 8. Also

[10] New York City Register (New York: The Trow City Directory Company, 1885), p. 854, Lydia Jackson.

Copyright © 2024 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.