In a message dated 11/12/02 1:01:27 AM EST, [email protected] writes: > [email protected] Kathy, I use the Wilmington City Directories too. The nice thing about them is they were published yearly. So if Henrietta was widowed in 1900 you can work backwards to find when George was last listed to narrow down his date of death. Just one thing to think about........if Henrietta was widowed in 1900, then that information was no doubt compiled in 1899 so she could have been widowed sooner depending on his date of death and date of publication. My gr grandmother Annie E. Davis MAXWELL was not on the 1900 Census with her family but was still on the 1900 Wilmington City Directories. She gave birth in 1899 so she may have died in child birth, after child birth or any time before the census was taken. Im currently searching for her death certiicate to deteremine that amoung other things. Also, sometimes if you are at the Archives in Dover and can narrow down a date to within a couple of years....the staff is great there and may be able to assist you in finding what you need. The Archives helped me find another gr grandmother's death certificate.Dora Elizabeth Hitchens Cooper BRITTINGHAM. They helped with the reference numbers and microfilm roll numbers and I got it. SHe was a big block wall. The only name I knew of was BRITTINGHAM...That certificate gave me. Her DOB, DOD, Cause of death, where death occurred, husband (which I knew), date of last residence, Father, Mother including maiden name(Hitchens) and that her body was transported by train to Delmar for burial (didnt say Delmar, DE or MD or what cemetary....... but Delmar isnt that big). This solved quite a mystery as to why she was not buried with her husband and when she died. Throughout my researches, I discovered she was married before my gr grandfather, SKS's gave me information on both her marriages(1. Joseph W. COOPER, 2. George T. BRITTINGHAM) from Ruth Drydens books. So it is possible she was buried with the first husband or in some family graveyard. One day I will go there and search it out. I was so amazed that a death certificate (1924) would have so much information, including that Dora lost 4 years between marriages. lol She was four years younger on her marriage to George and death certificate than stated on her marriage to Joseph and the census from 1880. Seems many women dropped years off to marry younger men,,,,since it was not the fashion for them women to be older. It appears to have happened on almost every side of my family and the in laws sides too. I hope this helps for you to narrow down your dates. I dont know where you live, but (I havent been there yet) I have been told the Wilmington Public Library has quite a collection too. There are also Obits there and at the Morris Library At the University of Delaware. Obits are great because they sometimes give siblings and parents names too and if you can narrow down the date of death it should be easy to locate. Also drop the "e" off of Clarke if you havent already. I have a Demmey family Ive been searching, as simple as it sounds, I never thought to drop the last "e". Someone else just found my (another) gr grandmother Elizabeth Demmey on SSDI, it was Elizabeth Demmy. Im not sure which spelling was really correct, originally, but Demmey is what was transcribe from someone else's hand writting. Im sure now when I go back to the archives, I will find her in the census records under the "new" spelling. It was so obvious, yet , I just missed it! I hope this helps and wish you the best in your searches. If I can help in anyway, let me know. Take care. Vickie