Looking for information on Eliza J. Smith, born August 11, 1856, and who died in Effingham County, Illinois on July 31, 1905. I think Eliza may be my 2nd great-grandmother on my mother's side. I have a copy of her death certificate (thanks, Claudia).that states she was a house keeper. Cause of death was exhaustion and the contributory cause of death was consumption. It doesn't give her address or who she worked for (if she lived where she worked). It doesn't state the name of a husband (I hope it's James) or her maiden name (I hope it's Reed). It doesn't say who submitted the information for the death certificate, either. I'm looking for James (possible husband), too. I've been looking for these two for 20+ years and this is the first possible connection. J. H. Walker, M.D. was the doctor who signed the death certificate on July 29, 1905. Would anyone know where his records are and who to contact for them? If this "is" my 2nd great-grandmother, she had children by the name of A. C. (male), Harvey, Ella, and William. I'm hoping that one of them paid for her funeral. Ella was born in Marion County in 1868. Before that, and after that, there is no record of Eliza Reed Smith or James Smith. They appear on the 1870 census in Marion County, Illinois with all their children. Then they all disappear again. The death certificate also states that Eliza was buried on July 31, 1905 in the "city cemetery", which I understand would have been Oak Ridge Cemetery in Effingham. I'm trying to find out who paid for her funeral. If it was one of her children, I can possibly nail down this relationship. Would someone be willing to do a cemetery lookup for her and if possible check the tombstone and/or cemetery records to see what is on it? Who would have the cemetery paperwork records? Who paid for the grave site? I'll gladly pay for time and expenses. I've checked with the funeral home in Teutopolis (Mrs. Habing was the undertaker). Their records go back to the 1940's only. I checked with Bauer Funeral Home (the successor to Habing's) and they don't have any of the records. Thanks for any help you can provide. Linda Kralman-Lambert (in Arizona)