SNIPPET: The following detailed obituary is from an early March 1898 issue of the "NEW WORLD," the official newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago: "Thomas MURPHY of 319 Illinois St., father of Joseph H., William, Thomas M., Frank G., John S., James R., Mrs. FLEMING, Mrs. R. FULLEN, died Feb 28 after a brief illness of one week with la-grippe, age 72 years. Mr. MURPHY was of Trim, County Meath, Ireland and came to America in 1849 and has been a resident of Chicago and the Cathedral Parish since 1853. He was engaged for a number of years in the ice business and won for himself hosts of friends in social and business circles. He retired from active business a few years ago. A peculiar incident in connection with Mr. MURPHY's death was the fact that he died on the same day, date and hour that his wife died eleven years ago. The funeral took place at the Holy Name Cathedral Wednesday morning March 2, at 10:30 o'clock where Solemn High Mass of Requiem was celebrated by the Reverend J. M. SCANLAN; Reverend J. P. DORR, deacon; and Reverend F. J. BARRY, subdeacon. The eulogy over the remains was delivered by the Rev. J. M! . SCANLAN who paid a well merited tribute to the departed and revered father. The remains were laid to rest in the family lot in Calvary, Reverend J. P. DORR officiating at the grave. The pall-bearers were: Messrs. James HEALY, William WALSH, Thomas DUGGAN, Martin COONEY, Thomas DRURRY, and William SPAIN. May he rest in peace." Newspapers are important sources of information, especially so in cases where an individual was actively involved in a religious or ethnic organization. These small newspapers often contain more information about a family than would normally be found in a local newspaper. Immigrants to America generally longed for familiarity and gravitated toward others who shared similar origins, cultures, customs, languages and religious beliefs. They often congregated in ethnic communities and associated with others of their own ethnic and religious groups. In such communities, individuals were more likely to be recognized and respected. They also had more opportunities to create channels for communication between the old world and the new world. Religious and ethnic newspapers often contributed to this process as obituaries tended to provide abundant information not necessarily found in local newspapers. Ethnic newspapers often gave flowery eulogies that included information ab! out an ancestor's emigration, town of origin, marriage, spouse's maiden name, and children's names and location. If you are searching for a European town of origin, this might be the only source containing that vital information. You will also find lists of immigrants who had recently arrived in the area, advertisements for goods and services, announcements of weddings, births, and birthdays, letters to the editor, descriptions of ocean voyages, societal affaris and gatherings, membership lists, school news, biographical sketches, testimonials, and even pictures of individuals. Early ethnic newspapers sometimes ran notices from immigrants and worried Europeans who were searching for relatives who had been "lost" since coming to America. These advertisemente often gave personal descriptions, last-known addresses, and names and descriptions of spouse and children. Such notices can be helpful in connecting old-world families and can provide new leads to the town of origin. Some ethnic and religious newspapers are available in the possession of current ethnic and religious organizations. Others have been preserved by local libraries, genealogical societies, and historical archives in the state or county where they were originally published. Some have been sent to special collections of a particular ethnic or religous group, such as the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, and the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in Chicago. Others are now part of large collections, such as the Immigrant Archives at the University of MN in Minneapolis and the Balch Institute in Philadelphia, both of which collect and preserve materials for all immigrant groups. Indexes for many of these ethnic and religious newpapers have been created by the groups themselves and by local genealogical societies and can be found in their repositories. Some indexes are in the hands of private individuals or groups. See Chap! ter 12, "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1984) for a list of many of these indexes. -- Excerpt, "Ancestry" magazine May/June 1996 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.690 / Virus Database: 451 - Release Date: 5/23/2004