Geoff, I checked the index for the Ottumwa courier for the years you mentioned and there is no obits listed for these persons in that newspaper. I did find a couple of things in other documents that might be of interest. Nathan(iel) Sands is buried in the Agency cemetery with the inscription "died October 17, 1882 aged 72y 10m 23d" Sarah Sands is also buried in Agency cemetery with the inscription "died February 15, 1885 aged 73y 10m 22d". Note that there is a discrepancy between what is listed in the WPA records and what is actually recorded on the tombstone. Other records indicate that Nathan and Sarah had at least 7 children. 1) Henry A. Sands born in Tennessee on 24 Aug 1835; died on 12 Nov 1857 and buried in Agency cemetery. 2) William Sands born abt 1833 in Tennessee and died on 4 Apr 1899; also buried in Agency cemetery 3) Ann Elizabeth Sands born in Tennessee in abt 1837 4) Parthera Elizabeth Sands born abt 1842 in Tennessee . She married Francis Duncan on 13 Oct 1864 in Wapello county. 5) Zacharia M. Sands born Oct 1848 in Iowa, died 1927; buried beside Henry A. and inscription is on same stone. It appears that he never married and lived with his sister Mary. 6) Martha E. Sands, born abt 1851 in Iowa. She married Calvin Duncan on 20 Apr 1882 7) Mary Francis Sands, born Dec 1854 in Iowa and died in 1941. It appears that she never married and lived with Zacharia. She is buried in Agency cemetery beside Henry and Zacharia with her inscription on the same stone. Bill Hansen Ottumwa, Iowa ----- Original Message ----- From: "Geoff Rasmussen" <Geoff@geoffrasmussen.com> To: <IAWAPELL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2003 3:26 PM Subject: [IAWAPELL] Which newspaper for obituary? I need to know which newspaper to search. Nathaniel SANDS died 17 Oct 1882 in Pleasant Township, Wapello, Iowa. Sarah SANDS died 15 Feb 1885 in Pleasant Township, Wapello, Iowa. My goal is to learn if obituaries were published for these individuals. If anyone is able/willing to search for them, I'd gladly exchange lookup services at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Sincerely, Geoff Rasmussen