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Indulge your morbid curiosity

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 21, 2009

As we stand over an ancestor's tombstone, many of us wonder about his final days. What led to his interment in this old cemetery?

Official death certificates weren't required in many states until well into the 20th century, so we are often left to speculate about death as much as we do about life.

It's important to know what disasters and epidemics struck the communities in which our ancestors lived. We still may have to guess at the cause of death if it came during a catastrophic time, but our speculation is at least more guided.

Even if an ancestor wasn't the victim of an epidemic, certainly his life would have been affected by these sadly common occurrences. You can learn more about your ancestor's life by learning how the community as a whole behaved during an epidemic to protect itself and in response to fear.

Newspapers are a great tool for getting information on a scourge. If the community newspaper's archives are online, search them for your ancestor's name, or type "Spanish flu 1918 epidemic name of town or state." This information can also be found in the archives of big-city newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

For example, in the 1870s, the New York Times covered a yellow fever outbreak in Memphis, Tenn., including a daily list of the dead.

The Chicago Tribune and the New York Times are available through the Hillsborough County Library Cooperative, www.hcplc.org. At that site, click on "Databases and Websites" and then "Genealogy." After entering a library card number, you can access the Tribune (1890-1946), the Times (1851-2005), and America's Genealogy Bank, which has more than 3,000 newspapers from 1690 to 1977.

Newspapers often are archived at state libraries and historical societies. Check the Internet site of the U.S. Newspaper Project at www.neh.gov/projects/usnp.html to locate papers that can be viewed or purchased on microfilm.

Local libraries usually have microfilm of newspapers from their communities. Don't forget to check them out when you're visiting.

The Library of Congress is another resource that offers digitized versions of certain historic papers. Check it out at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

Here are a few more Web sites to check:

•Don't forget Google! Use http://news.google.com/archivesearch. Enter terms such as "yellow fever name of town" and amazing material may emerge.

•Visit the Newspaper Archive at www.newspaperarchive.com. Paid subscription sites such as www.foot note.com, www.ancestry.com and www.worldvitalrecords.com also have digitized newspaper archives.

Have a laugh

Glenda Potts Thacker shared this find from Rootsweb in the Butler County, Ky., marriage records for 1861. A clerk had written: "both bride (Elvira Searcy Bracken Turner) and groom (James Butler) old and ugle."

It was a second marriage for both.

If you spot an interesting or humorous record in your research, please send it to stmoody0720@mac.com - I may share it in this column. Be sure to include a source citation for the record.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606; or stmoody0720 @mac.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist wi

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