I was going through the old micofilms of the Evening Star today for someone in the family who was murdered. I wouldn't have found out he was murdered unless I was nosey enough to go through the records at Congressional Cemetery. Cause of death was listed as: Murdered. This isn't what I'd call a cause of death, but it caused some interest on my part. What I found was a very lengthy article about a disgruntled employee who killed his employer, but didn't tell anything about cause. It make me think about what we see on TV lately--fifteen minutes of fame. This article was carried in the Evening Star for two days on the front page in 1911. And then I thought that if you want your fifteen minutes of fame--it would be nice to still be alive and enjoy it. What shame to die and not even get to read the headline. My suggestion is that while you're looking through the old microfilms for an obituary, you might want to check out the headlines (and Metro section for later years) for the real story behind the obituary. Sometimes they give you more information about family members. Martin Luther King Library: Evening Star starts after 1852; Washington Post starts after 1877; National Intelligencer starts before the Star and starts in the very early 1800s, but does not always give all the obituaries for that day. Don't forget the Washington Sunday Weekly which sometimes shows what none of the others have. And don't forget: Congressional Cemetery (the forgotten cemetery) has a lot of obituaries for some of the people buried there. You might want to check with them first at: http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/Obituary_Menu.html I was surprised at all the old folks in my family who were buried there. ************************ All incoming and outgoing messages are scanned using Norton Anti-Virus 2002 software. http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/

For anyone that is interested and lives down this way, The Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC has copies of the Washington Post from way back in the late 1800s. Eileen William Boswell wrote: > I was going through the old micofilms of the Evening Star today for someone > in the family who was murdered. I wouldn't have found out he was murdered > unless I was nosey enough to go through the records at Congressional > Cemetery. Cause of death was listed as: Murdered. This isn't what I'd call > a cause of death, but it caused some interest on my part. > > What I found was a very lengthy article about a disgruntled employee who > killed his employer, but didn't tell anything about cause. It make me think > about what we see on TV lately--fifteen minutes of fame. This article was > carried in the Evening Star for two days on the front page in 1911. And > then I thought that if you want your fifteen minutes of fame--it would be > nice to still be alive and enjoy it. What shame to die and not even get to > read the headline. > > My suggestion is that while you're looking through the old microfilms for an > obituary, you might want to check out the headlines (and Metro section for > later years) for the real story behind the obituary. Sometimes they give > you more information about family members. > > Martin Luther King Library: > Evening Star starts after 1852; Washington Post starts after 1877; National > Intelligencer starts before the Star and starts in the very early 1800s, but > does not always give all the obituaries for that day. Don't forget the > Washington Sunday Weekly which sometimes shows what none of the others have. > > And don't forget: Congressional Cemetery (the forgotten cemetery) has a lot > of obituaries for some of the people buried there. You might want to check > with them first at: http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/Obituary_Menu.html > > I was surprised at all the old folks in my family who were buried there. > > ************************ > All incoming and outgoing messages are scanned using Norton Anti-Virus 2002 > software. > http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/ > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237