FINDING FUNERAL HOMES
Brenda Kellow
October 16, 2011
Brenda Kellow
The information found in funeral homes may differ with time and the size of the town or city. In the East, a researcher may easily find death information, funeral records, cemeteries and obituaries on local deaths, but this is not the case with Texas and Southern research. Commercial funeral homes did not exist outside cities and large towns until the 20th century.
When I was growing up in Plano, there was only one funeral home for a population of about 4,000, Harrington Funeral Home. It had two locations, in Mr. Harrington’s home on the northwest corner of 15th Street and G Avenue and upstairs over his furniture store in old downtown Plano. By law in many states requires the old name of the funeral home be placed first, followed by a dash and the new owner’s name last. Thus, Harrington Funeral Home became Harrington-Bratcher Funeral Home followed by other names as it changed owners. McKinney, being a larger town and the county seat, had two funeral homes, Crouch-Moore and Turrentine-Jackson. Since most families in this area used the one in Plano or the two in McKinney, finding an ancestor’s records is not difficult.
A few years ago, a search at Harrington Funeral Home by employee Mrs. Beverly helped me find the old records stored in their archives. The record had the full name of the deceased persons of interest, where they died, reason for death, surviving relatives, dates of birth and death, parents’ names, occupations, insurance company and the place of burial. There was no notation of stones placed for the three individuals for whom I was searching. The historical Old Pioneer Cemetery is the location of their remains as are other Peter’s Colonists. Unfortunately, there was no plot number or other identification to locate their exact burial spot within the cemetery. Today’s records do have this information.
This past summer I visited the Evan-Skipper Funeral Home in Donalsonville, Georgia looking for information on a relatives’ recent death. It was too current for the headstone’s placement, but the funeral home was very nice to supply me with all the information I needed including a hand-drawn map showing where the grave was located in the cemetery. One of the employees even told us about receiving the phone call and what they found when they arrived at the scene.
Find funeral homes on vital records as well as family records. City directories, telephone directories and the National Yellow Book of Funeral Directors may be helpful in locating funeral homes currently in operation, no longer in existence or with name changes. Do not overlook universities, genealogical and historical societies, published records and online databases.
Funeral records and cemetery records are most important. Besides giving you a glimpse into the burial record of the deceased, such a search may reveal ethnic and religious preferences, family traditions and community traditions.
FOR NATIVE AMERICANS: The online video, Does Indian Blood Still Matter at www.ustream.tv/recorded/17314991 is interesting. The Smithsonian’s public message states, “unlike other ethnic minorities in the United States, American Indians are defined not solely by self-designation but by federal, state and tribal laws.” If you are interested in blood quantum, you will enjoy this video.
DEAD SEA SCROLLS ONLINE: These are now online at http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/.
SEARCH 1930 MEXICO NATIONAL CENSUS FREE: The 1930 Mexican census is free online on Ancestry, www.ancestry.com/Mexico, in celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
1940 CENSUS UPDATE: I have mentioned the 1940 census several times lately, but I continue to get questions. It will be free on Ancestry.com through 2013. FamilySearch will have the records free forever. Closer to the release on April 2, I’ll give you a listing of sites online for comparative purposes.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].
The information found in funeral homes may differ with time and the size of the town or city. In the East, a researcher may easily find death information, funeral records, cemeteries and obituaries on local deaths, but this is not the case with Texas and Southern research. Commercial funeral homes did not exist outside cities and large towns until the 20th century.
When I was growing up in Plano, there was only one funeral home for a population of about 4,000, Harrington Funeral Home. It had two locations, in Mr. Harrington’s home on the northwest corner of 15th Street and G Avenue and upstairs over his furniture store in old downtown Plano. By law in many states requires the old name of the funeral home be placed first, followed by a dash and the new owner’s name last. Thus, Harrington Funeral Home became Harrington-Bratcher Funeral Home followed by other names as it changed owners. McKinney, being a larger town and the county seat, had two funeral homes, Crouch-Moore and Turrentine-Jackson. Since most families in this area used the one in Plano or the two in McKinney, finding an ancestor’s records is not difficult.
A few years ago, a search at Harrington Funeral Home by employee Mrs. Beverly helped me find the old records stored in their archives. The record had the full name of the deceased persons of interest, where they died, reason for death, surviving relatives, dates of birth and death, parents’ names, occupations, insurance company and the place of burial. There was no notation of stones placed for the three individuals for whom I was searching. The historical Old Pioneer Cemetery is the location of their remains as are other Peter’s Colonists. Unfortunately, there was no plot number or other identification to locate their exact burial spot within the cemetery. Today’s records do have this information.
This past summer I visited the Evan-Skipper Funeral Home in Donalsonville, Georgia looking for information on a relatives’ recent death. It was too current for the headstone’s placement, but the funeral home was very nice to supply me with all the information I needed including a hand-drawn map showing where the grave was located in the cemetery. One of the employees even told us about receiving the phone call and what they found when they arrived at the scene.
Find funeral homes on vital records as well as family records. City directories, telephone directories and the National Yellow Book of Funeral Directors may be helpful in locating funeral homes currently in operation, no longer in existence or with name changes. Do not overlook universities, genealogical and historical societies, published records and online databases.
Funeral records and cemetery records are most important. Besides giving you a glimpse into the burial record of the deceased, such a search may reveal ethnic and religious preferences, family traditions and community traditions.
FOR NATIVE AMERICANS: The online video, Does Indian Blood Still Matter at www.ustream.tv/recorded/17314991 is interesting. The Smithsonian’s public message states, “unlike other ethnic minorities in the United States, American Indians are defined not solely by self-designation but by federal, state and tribal laws.” If you are interested in blood quantum, you will enjoy this video.
DEAD SEA SCROLLS ONLINE: These are now online at http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/.
SEARCH 1930 MEXICO NATIONAL CENSUS FREE: The 1930 Mexican census is free online on Ancestry, www.ancestry.com/Mexico, in celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
1940 CENSUS UPDATE: I have mentioned the 1940 census several times lately, but I continue to get questions. It will be free on Ancestry.com through 2013. FamilySearch will have the records free forever. Closer to the release on April 2, I’ll give you a listing of sites online for comparative purposes.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].