Digging Deeper

Have you ever seen an obituary clipping without a source? I know I have quite a few clippings that my grandmothers saved from local papers. Most of those clippings do not have anything on them to identify the source. Recently, I encountered a similar situation when working Ancestry hints for Emma Ralston Bockes. Someone had shared an image of an obituary that was originally shared by a different Ancestry user.

Since I was hoping to find the source to go with the image, I searched Ancestry for the original poster. Unfortunately, I didin’t find any source information with the image he shared. Nor, did I find a source listed on his tree for hte obiturary.

Since the image appeared to be from a digital copy of the newspaper, I started searching my ‘go-to’ newspaper sources: Newspapers.com and Genealogy Bank. And, my search turned up nothing.

My next step was to search Kenneth Marks’ resource, Ancestor Hunt. On this site, he identifies many, many newspapers that have been digitized with links to their source. On his list of Iowa Online Historical Newspapers, I hit the jackpot! The King Memorial Library had digitized many of the Grundy County, Iowa newspapers. thru Advantage Archives.

I did a quick search for the surname and then narrowed the results down to 1911, the year of her death.

And I found the obituary!

Death Angel Calls Two
Both Were Old Settlers
Arscott Thomas and Mrs. Jerry Bockes
Called by Death — Were Widely
Known and Universally
Respected

The sad and sudden death of Mrs. Jerry Bockes Wednesday morning, February 15, was a shock to the entire community. She had been in ordinary health up to Tuesday eening, had eaten a hearty supper and was about to retire for the night when she was suddenly attached with uterine hemorrhage Medical aid was immediately summoned, and owing to the severity of the case a second doctor was soon called and all night worked oer the patient in a vain endeavor to sustain life About three o’clock in the morning she said she was so tired and wanted only to rest, and soon after fell into a queit sleep and appeared to be resting natural But so great had been the drain upon the systemt hat all efforts so supply by means of stimulants and retsoratives were unavailing and by five o’clock every ray of life had fled.
Emma Ralston was born in Grudy county June 2, 1872 when 16 years of age she was converted and united with the Church of God and Alice, and has ever since maintained a deep interest in God’s cause and lived a faithful Christian life.
She was married to Jerry Bockes March 27, 1890. To this union were born eight children all of whom survive the mother and are still within the parental home to the husband the departed has been a faithful companion, bearing her full share of he care and burdens of the home, always listening to the details of his inteest with a marked degree of sympathy and love The children have lost a friend who possessed all the endearing qualities of a fond and patient mother, ever mindful of the care and comfort of her loved ones
The church and community have lost a consistent, faithful Christian and kind and helpful neighbor,she being one ever ready to give her time and talent with more than ordinary ability and tact — hom edutites first considered — to the help of neighbors and the interests of the church.
Husband and children may and will have, many more friends, but do not look for one like you have just lost, and in the moments, yes hours, of meditation and sorrow, may the thoughts of her dear life, the long days of patient toil, the many nights she was watched wearily over the little forms with silent, earnest prayers for your safety — may it influence your dear lives and lead you to exemplify the life of mother
The funeral services were held at the Alice church Friday, February 17, at 10 o’clock a.m. conducted by rev. E. E. Heltibridle, six brothers of the departed acting as pallbearers Besides husband and children,deceased is survived by a father and step-mother, three brothers, one sister one half-brother and four half-brothers. Her mother died when deceased was yet a little girl.

“Death Angel Calls two,” The Grundy Republican (Grundy Center, Iowa), 23 February 1911, page 1; digital image, Grundy Center Advantage Archives (http://grundycenter.advantage-preservation.com/ : viewed online 18 April 2021).

So, I was reminded of several ‘lessons’ that I’ve learned over the past few years.

• Kenneth Mark’s Ancestor Hunt site contains a wealth of information regarding digitized newspapers!
• Many public libraries are paying to have their newspaper collection digitized on Advantage Archives.
• These library collections are their own unique ‘community history archive’. Thus, tools such as Ancestor Hunt make it easier to find these collections.

Thus, it is possible to locate at least some of those clippings if one is willing to dig a little deeper.