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How To Use The
Obituary Notebook Index
Notebook Contents
This database is assembled from an ever-growing shelf of
obituary notebooks housed in the genealogy room of the Geneva
Public Library. Each notebook is composed of various loose obit
clippings given to the genealogy department and photocopied, or
of obits clipped by the department from newspaper gifts and
photocopied. This is an extremely labor-intensive process what
involving paste-ups, copying, indexing, proofing and so on.
Indexing Includes
Only the deceased person is indexed. The entry includes
their surname, first or full name (when given), and in the case
of women, their maiden name (if given) and the indication of her
status; i.e. Mrs. Owen Jones (if so given). If the obit includes
additional marriages, that is generally indexed.
Date and Geographic
Scope
In some cases the time periods vary greatly. There is no
guarantee that every newspaper for a particular time period has
been clipped or given to the library.
All obits in a notebook fall within the year range
indicated in the notebook title, but that doesn’t necessarily
indicate that we have a complete set of newspaper editions for
that time period. Geographic areas covered are far-flung, but
basically the database pertains to a deceased person who lived
in Ashtabula County at the time of death, or at some period in
their life. In some cases, the deceased person may never have
lived here but left behind a relative in this county.
Original Documentation
The original clipped obits from area newspapers are
pasted-up for photocopying. Afterward, due to the age of the
clippings, their fragility and deteriorating condition, they are
destroyed. Since
most of the photocopied obits are very legible there is probably
no need to go to the original microfilmed newspapers. In most
cases, a photocopy of the photocopies in the notebooks is very
satisfactory. (See next section for ordering instructions.)
Should one want to order an
obit from a microfilmed newspaper (not found in this indexed
database) please be advised that those microfilm are generally
housed in the library of the city or town where the newspaper
was published. (Example: died in Ashtabula, contact Ashtabula
Library…Geneva, contact Geneva Library…)
Securing Copies of Obits
For a copy of an obit found in these databases, you may
contact:
ATTN: ARCHIVES
Geneva
Library
860 Sherman Street
Geneva, OH 44041-9101
You will need to state in your
letter the name of the person you found in the
database and the CODE number attached to that notebook
title. A long SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope)
would assure that we don’t misread your name and
address and thus makes a speedy reply more likely. Your
order cannot be filled unless the deceased’s name and the
notebook code are included. (Note: if you use our new printable
form it will insert the person’s name, code etc. Click on Request
Obit link in the online index.)
Genealogist’s
Etiquette
When requesting obituaries from libraries, genealogists
generally send a small donation as a courtesy for the work
involved in a mail-order, and in
appreciation
for the work involved when large indexed sources have been
created especially for genealogical researchers, as in the
databases on this site.
For an obituary of an
un-indexed individual, a fitting donation*, as well as the name
of the deceased, along with the day, month, year and location
(city, village, township) where the person died should be
submitted to the proper repository (location
holding the microfilm for the pertinent newspaper). The inquirer
should be aware that an obit might not exist for
any number of reasons, but the work was expended none-the-less,
in which case the money is usually not returned but notification
of work performed is made and suggestions of how else to proceed
might be offered.
The presence of obituaries in
any given newspaper depends upon several variables: editorial
policies (for instance, whether or not the paper charged for
publishing an obit), the deceased’s station in life, whether a
funeral director was used or even upon the funeral director’s
policies.
* Consider how long it takes
you to find an obit in un-indexed newspapers, not to speak of
your travel time, expense and the convenience.
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