TUESDAY’S TIP–Didn’t find that record in the newspaper? Here’s how to look a little deeper...

This morning I was looking for an obituary on my 2nd great grandaunt’s husband, John R. Tibbits.  He died 3 Oct 1903 in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.

I went to the newspapers.com website and entered his name “John Tibbits” and the year 1903 along with the state, Michigan.

The only two records that showed up were an estate hearing notice and a list of those who had died.  No obituary.

Here’s the results of my first search. 
(Click on any image to enlarge it)


Here’s the hearing notice.


This is good information, but I wanted more.

Was there an obituary published?  If so, why isn’t it coming up in my search?

We all know that broad searches result in more hits.  I could narrow it down to the exact month and year.  But, I decided to look for this obituary by going directly to the newspaper itself.  I happen to know that this was then a small newspaper, not like a big city paper with dozens of pages.

I brought up the image that took me directly to the page with the notice of his estate hearing.  The green arrows indicate the entry for John Tibbits.  The red arrow shows you the name of the newspaper, date and page number.



The next thing I did was click on the name of the newspaper, to take me directly to that publication.
 


Since I had information that John Tibbits died on 3 Oct 1903, I didn’t want that exact date.  Obituaries are usually published a day or several days later.  In this case, there was no option for 4 Oct 1903 (perhaps that day of the publication hasn’t been scanned yet). 
So, I selected 5 Oct 1903.  LOOK!  Only 6 pages!



Such a small newspaper, so let’s begin with page 1.  Although, I generally wouldn’t expect obituaries to appear on the first page.
  
ALWAYS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!

Right there on page 1, about half way down, in column 5 is a section titled OBITUARY



Would I find John Tibbits’ obituary in that article?  Yes!



Here’s a readable close up of John’s obituary.



Now we have a little more information than we got from the death notice, which only gave his name and age.  Or, the estate hearing notice, which only gave his name and the date of the hearing in 1903.

I know that John’s wife, Olive Parmelia Hart Tibbits did outlive him (she died in 1915).  And I know that he is buried in Armada, Macomb, Michigan at Rose Hill Cemetery, FindAGrave #32188509.  I’ve been to that cemetery and taken photos of headstones, including his.

REMEMBER – Just because you don’t find what you’re looking for on your first or second or tenth try, doesn’t mean it’s not there.  Try to think of others ways you can search. 

I hope this tip has been helpful.  I’d love to hear how you may have located a record by thinking outside the box.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

THOSE PLACED THURSDAY - Armada, Michigan & Rose Hill Cemetery

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

Armada, Macomb Co., Michigan

Armada, Michigan is located north of Detroit

Armada is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,730 at the 2010 census. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 1,657. The village is located within Armada Township. Wikipedia

Area: 487 acres (197 ha)

Weather: 52°F (11°C), Wind SW at 0 mph (0 km/h), 100% Humidity

Local time: Thursday 2:27 PM

Population: 1,729 (2012)

Why am I posting about Armada, Michigan?

1. Because my Great Grandfather, William Val GOULD (aka Vivaldo William Gould) was born there.
2. Because his father & mother, John C. GOULD & Sarah HART, were married there in 1858.
3. Because many other family members were born, married & died there.

I first heard of Armada, Michigan very early in my research of the GOULD family.  The more I researched the more intrigued I became with this little "town" of Armada.  

Where was it?  How many members of my family have links to it?

In 2007 I was able to go back to Detroit for the first time since 1970.  I spent 8 days there, going to libraries, cemeteries, courthouses and meeting long lost cousins, nieces & nephews.  What a treat.

I had my whole trip planned out.  What I was going to do each day, where I would go, what I was looking for.  This took a LOT of pre-organization (I'll cover genealogy roadtrips in another post).  Since most of the family were working during the days, I knew I could spend the daylight hours doing research and then spend the evenings with family.  That's exactly what I did.

On about the 3rd or 4th day, it was time to drive north from my hotel and go to Armada.  YEAH!

It's about 73 miles and takes about an hour to make the drive.  Once I was out of the Detroit metro area, the scenery was lovely.  When I reached Armada I stopped at the welcome sign and took this photo.

 

 WOW!!!  I was finally here.  Armada is just a small town.  The town hall consisted of about 6 employees.  There was construction on main street so I had to park and walk.  Not a problem.

I didn't find any information at the town hall as far as old records.  I was kind of hoping I would, but apparently the records are kept at the county level, as most records are.  But, you never know when you might get lucky.

I knew that several family members, including my 2nd Great Grandparents, Henry HART& Olive Doten HART were buried at a small cemetery called Rose Hill Cemetery.  It's located on Coon Creek Rd.  You have to take GOULD Rd. to get to it.  Yes, a road named after my father's family.  My maiden name.  And another road nearby is named PRATT Rd.  Another family I'm linked to.  This was very exciting.  

Here are some photos from Rose Hill Cemetery.

As you can see it's a small country cemetery.  It's located in between homes on a dirt road.  Just a small chain link gate is the entrance.

Once there I was able to locate the headstone for my 2nd great grandfather & his wife and their son.  In addition, as I walked the cemetery, I found many other family surnames.  I took as many pictures as I could because I wasn't sure who I might find connected to me, that I wasn't familiar with at this time.

TIP:  Whenever you visit a cemetery, large or small, always walk all around and look for other family surnames.  You can check at the office, if there is one.  If not, as in this case, then just document what you find by taking pictures and/or notes.

Note:  After I got home I was able to connect our family, by marriages to many of those buried at this cemetery.

Headstone for Olive Hart

My 2nd Great Grandfather, Henry HART, was born about 1785 in New Hampshire and died 26 Apr 1879 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  He married Olive DOTEN bet 1830-1835, possibly in Canada.  She was born in 1805 in Vermont and died 10 Apr 1887 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  They had 9 children.  Several of those children are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.  The HART children married into the following families in Armada: PRATT, RICHARDS, GOULD, HEAD, TIBBETS, BEALS, GAYLORD, WETHERELL & INGRAHAM.

There's so much history here and many stories to uncover.  I've found a few, but still have more to find.  

Visiting places that your ancestors lived is so very rewarding.  It can reveal clues to their lives, give you information you didn't have before, lead to new family finds and expand your family.

Who knows?  You might even find some cousins among those still living in the area.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl