Whenever reviewing any document, think about what other records or materials that document might have caused to be created. A death certificate may mean a burial permit, a tombstone, an obituary, or a cemetery record. A court case involving an inheritance may be mentioned in the newspaper or have caused a deed to be recorded when the case was finalized.
Rarely is one document recorded in complete isolation.
Some rural newspapers publish courthouse filings of wills and executors of estates. Often, the executrix/executor is a relative or family friend. The obituary might give a kin's sobriquet. The legal notice often helps with a legal name or 2.
ReplyDelete