Every genealogist loves a good obituary. The contents of an obituary can vary greatly, depending on the time period and other factors. Some of the information that can be found in an obituary includes:

• Birth date
• Marriage date
• Date of death
• Burial location
• Names of parents
• Names and residences of surviving siblings and/or children
• Occupational data
• Religion
• Organizational membership
• Military service

However, they can also underscore the importance of finding original records and corroborating evidence whenever possible. Here’s four examples of obituaries I’ve found with mistakes, and how I uncovered these errors.

My great-grandfather’s first wife died suddenly at a young age, and her obituary was printed the next day. The death notice reported that they were married on March 13, 1917 in Towanda, PA. I contacted the Bradford County Historical Society located in Towanda and they sent me a copy of the marriage record. However, the date of their marriage was 13 March 1918, not 1917.

Sometimes a marriage date can only be found in an obituary. In this situation, use a disclaimer such as “possibly” or “likely” before the date when recording it to your family tree, and always cite your source. For example:

Marriage Date: Possibly 13 March 1917

Myrtle’s obituary also gave her birth date as April 28, 1900 in Grey’s Run, PA. State-wide birth registrations did not begin in Pennsylvania until 1906. However, Myrtle’s grave was inscribed with a birth year of 1901. Her ages on two census records and the marriage record were also consistent with an April 1901 birth, not 1900.

Both pieces reported that he had been married twice, but a search for his name in newspaper archives revealed a third marriage. In 1933, my 77 year-old great-great-grandfather married a 29 year-old woman named Eugenia McMurray. This marriage was confirmed by a marriage certificate from a county historical society.

It’s not unusual for children who died in infancy to be excluded from a parent’s obituary. Thomas’s obituary reported that he had eight children, but cemetery records show a possible ninth child who died in infancy. On a list of burials in Chester Rural Cemetery, Thomas’s first wife’s death was recorded on 13 October 1890. Just four lines above her name is Thomas H. Higgins, an infant who died from meningitis two months earlier. A photo on FindAGrave.com shows that the infant is buried next to Mary.  

Tip: Always look at the names of people listed next to your ancestor in a record collection. These could be family members or close friends. Researching these people could lead to more information about your ancestor.  

The article about Thomas’s death listed the surviving children, and his children who had previously died. His eldest son Edward was listed as dead. However, I found Edward’s 1965 Kentucky death certificate on Ancestry, meaning he was alive and well when his father died in 1945. This could mean that Edward became estranged from his family after he moved to the midwest.

It seems like an obituary should at least report the date of death correctly. However, the obituary for my 4th great-grandmother got this wrong. A screenshot of an uncited obituary on FindAGrave.com reported that she died Wednesday afternoon, December 11, 1890 in Daggett’s Mills, PA. Her grave is inscribed with December 10 as the date of death. There were no official death records issued at this time period in Pennsylvania. Death registration at the county level in the state began in 1893. So, which date is correct? A google search asking what day of the week was December 10, 1890 returned the result of Wednesday. The obituary likely reported the day of the week correctly, but the date incorrectly.

The obituary also lists Narcissa’s birthplace as Burlington, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. She may have lived in Burlington as a child, but it’s unlikely that she was born there. In the 1830 census, which was the most recent census taken after Narcissa’s birth, her father was living in Cato, Cayuga County, New York. This was more than 100 miles away from Burlington, making this location a more likely birthplace. 

Here’s yet another example of an obituary that didn’t even report the day of the death correctly. The exact date of my great-great-grandfather’s death wasn’t mentioned, only that he died on Tuesday. However, I ordered a copy of his death certificate from the town clerk in Lindley, New York, where he died. His death occurred on 25 October 1929. A google search shows that this was a Friday, not a Tuesday.

The obituary also misreports his birthdate as 3 May 1876. Both his death certificate and his World War I draft registration give his birthday as 9 May 1876. Lastly, the obituary says burial will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Lindley, but his grave is located at Fairview Cemetery in Lindley. According to the list of cemeteries in Lindley on FindAGrave.com, there is no Evergreen Cemetery in the town.

Have you found a mistake in an ancestor’s obituary? Let us know in the comments.