Tip: Find All of Your Ancestors' Obituaries

This is a photo of my maternal 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Maria (Waterman) Webster.

Until March 2019 I did not know the cause of her death. And now I'm finally sharing this discovery here on my blog.

I love to find newspaper articles about my ancestors. I found three obituaries for Cynthia in different newspapers, but only one of them included her cause of death. Each of them contained different, but valuable information.

Before I share the obituary with Cynthia's cause of death, here are the other two obituaries I found.

This first obituary was printed in The Western News, Stockton, Kansas, on Thursday, 26 September 1895.¹

Transcript of this obituary:

                                                     Death of Mrs. Webster.

  Mrs. Cyntha [sic] M. Webster died at her home in Marysville, Kansas, at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. She had been lingering at death's door for several months, and at different times during that time her children had all been summoned to her bedside to see her pass away, but each time she would revive and linger yet a while. She was the mother of Fred E. Webster of this place, and Frank S. Webster, formerly of this place, but now of Wymore, Neb. She was aged 61 years, 4 months and 2 days.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Mrs. Cyntha [sic] M. Webster

Place of Death: At her home in Marysville, Kansas

Time of Death: 9:40 a.m.

Date of Death: Sunday, September 22nd

Name and Residence of Sons: Fred E. Webster of Stockton, Kansas and Frank S. Webster formerly of Stockton but now of Wymore, Nebraska

Age at Death: 61 years, 4 months and 2 days

This obituary contains fantastic family history information about where Cynthia lived (Marysville) and where two of her sons lived as well. It also provides her date, place, and even time of death as well as her exact age at death. Her exact age at death was listed as 61 years, 4 months and 2 days.

In my research, I have seen different dates and years listed or calculated as her birthdate and/or her birth year ranging from May 20 or May 21 and 1834 to 1844. I love that this obituary was so exact with her age at her death. I wonder if either or both of her sons, Fred and/or Frank, provided information for this obituary. Using this exact age at death information, I used a helpful website called timeanddate.com to calculate her birthdate. The result was 20 May 1834.

This second obituary was printed in The Marshall County Democrat, Marysville, Kansas, on 27 September 1895.²

Transcript of this obituary:

  Died, in this city, Sept. 22d, Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster, in the 62d year of her age. Funeral from their residence Sept. 24th, and the remains were interred in the Marysville cemetery, followed by a large procession of their many friends.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster

Place of Death: Marysville, Kansas

Date of Death: September 22nd

Age at Death: In her 62nd year

Date of Funeral: September 24th

Place of Burial: Marysville Cemetery

Again we find wonderful family history information in this second obituary. In addition to the same information provided in the first obituary, this one also includes Cynthia's funeral date and burial place.

And this third obituary was printed in the Marshall County News, Marysville, Kansas, on Friday, 27 September 1895.³ The is the obituary that included her cause of death.

Transcript of this obituary:

Mrs. Cynthia M. Webster wife of E. P. C. Webster died at their home in this city, Sept, 21st, after a long and painful illness, with dropsy. The funeral services were held Tuesday Sept. 23, and a large gathering of sorrowing friends followed the remains to their last resting place in the Marysville cemetery. The deceased was a daughter of Asher and Basheba Waterman, was born May 6, 1834, near Coolville, Athens county, Ohio, and and [sic] grew to womanhood at the same place. She married E. P. C. Webster July 25, 1858. She was the mother of six children, three sons and three daughters. The first child, a daughter, died at the age of three years. The other five are now grown men and women. She has been a christian from childhood; was cradled in the M. E. church and affiliated with the same until the last five pears [should be years]. Since her marriage, she and her family have lived in ten different neighborhoods and communities and everywhere she made hosts of friends and never knew of having an enemy; universally loved by all. She was a remarkable kind and loving mother and a kind, gentle, amiable wife. She filled a place in the hearts of her family that will forever be vacant. Peace to her memory.

What a beautiful obituary! Cynthia must have been a wonderful woman. Like the other two obituaries, this obituary is full of valuable family history information. However, the dates for Cynthia's birth, death, and funeral are incorrect. Her date of birth was actually 21 May 1834.⁴ And her date of death was 22 September 1895.⁵ And the obituary stated that her funeral was on Tuesday the 23rd of September 1895 but the 23rd was on a Monday, not on a Tuesday. It is likely that Cynthia's funeral was held on Tuesday, 24 September 1895, two days after her death.

Information gleaned from this obituary:

Name of Deceased: Cynthia M. Webster

Name of Spouse: E. P. C. Webster

Place of Death: At home in Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas

Date of Death: 21 September 1895 (should be 22 September 1895)

Cause of Death: Dropsy

Date of Funeral: Tuesday, 23 September 1895 (should be 24 September 1895)

Place of Burial: Marysville Cemetery

Father's Name: Asher Waterman

Mother's Name: Basheba [Bathsheba] Waterman

Date of Birth: 6 May 1834 (Should be 20 May 1834)

Place of Birth: Coolville, Athens, Ohio

Marriage Date: 25 July 1858

Number of Children: Six, three sons and three daughters

Church Affiliation: M. E. Church

Additional information in this obituary that is not included in the first two obituaries include the name of Cynthia's husband and their marriage date, Cynthia's cause of death, her parents' names, her date and place of birth, how many children she had including how many sons and daughters, and her church affiliation. All of this information is extremely valuable for family history research.

With this third obituary, I was able to learn that Cynthia's cause of death was dropsy. Dropsy is an older term, known today as edema.

I'm so glad that I didn't stop searching for obituaries after finding the first obituary for Cynthia. If I had stopped searching, I may not have discovered her cause of death. So what's the lesson here? We need to try and locate all obituaries and other documents that we can find about our ancestors to see if they have additional details about our ancestors' lives.

I'm so happy that I was able to finally discover Cynthia's cause of death.

What have you been able to discover through newspaper research about your ancestors?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2026 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, The Western News (Stockton, Kansas), 26 September 1895, page 4, column 4; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/379433198/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
2 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, Marshall County Democrat (Marysville, Kansas), 27 September 1895, page 8, column 1; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/290552521/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
3 "Cynthia M. Webster," obituary, Marshall County News (Marysville, Kansas), 27 September 1895, page 5, column 4; online digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/290184469/ : accessed 26 March 2019), Newspapers.com by Ancestry.^↩
4 "USGenWeb, The Tombstone Transcription Project" database, Marysville City Cemetery (www.usgwtombstones.org/kansas/marysvillecitycem.txt : accessed 29 January 2026), C. Marie Webster.^↩
5 Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman, The Waterman Family. Vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: E.F. Waterman, 1939), 566.^↩

Lillian Waterman's Obituary ~ I Have Questions

MyHeritage recently introduced a new newspaper website called OldNews.com. The other day I did a search in OldNews.com for Homer C. Waterman, my maternal 2nd great-granduncle, and an obituary for his daughter, Lillian, was listed in the search results. I had never seen her obituary before. It contained some intriguing family history information.

I also found Lillian's obituary on the Library of Congress Chronicling America website. The digital image of her obituary from Chronicling America is what I am sharing today.

Here is Lillian's obituary, dated 29 January 1931, in the Morgan County (Ohio) Democrat newspaper¹:

Transcription of Lillian's obituary:

Miss Lillian Waterman Dies

   Lillian Waterman, aged 77 years, mention of whose critical illness was made in this paper last week, passed away at the family home in East Bloom, Sunday evening. For several days preceding death, her condition had been very critical. She was a daughter of the late Dr. Homer C. Waterman and wife of Zanesville, and was born at Middleport, Ohio. For many years she and her brother-in-law Elmer E. Richardson and wife made their home together. The deceased for a number of years had been an invalid, and for the last three years had been blind. Notwithstanding her afflictions, she was bright and cheerful until the last. She was conscious of the fact that she was soon to be taken from this earth---a change which she expressed to those about her she cheerfully welcomed. Surviving are a brother, William Waterman of Rockwell City, Iowa, and a sister, Mrs. Ralph Ebert of Zanesville. Three sisters are deceased---Mary, who was the wife of Willis Helmick of Zanesville; Clara, who died in infancy, and Helen, wife of Elmer E. Richardson, who died last June. Miss Waterman was a good musician, and for some time was church organist at Mt. Zion. She was a member of the Universalist church.

   Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, at the Wesley Chapel church, and interment was made in the church cemetery.

This obituary provides additional family history information and clues including the following:

Name of Deceased: Lillian Waterman

Age at Death: 77

Place of Death: Family home in East Bloom

Day and Date of Death: Sunday, 25 January 1931 (based on date of newspaper article and January 1931 calendar)

Father's Name: Dr. Homer C. Waterman

Lillian's Birthplace: Middleport, Ohio

Surviving Family Members Mentioned:

Brother: William Waterman of Rockwell City, Iowa (his location on January 29, 1931 can be added to his timeline)

Stepsister: Mrs. Ralph Ebert of Zanesville (Jennie Metcalf)

Deceased Family Members Mentioned:

Sister: Mary, wife of Willis Helmick of Zanesville

Sister: Clara, who died in infancy

Sister: Helen, wife of Elmer E. Richardson (Lillian lived with her and Elmer for many years)

Date of Helen (Waterman) Richardson's Death: June 1930

Lillian's Church Membership: Universalist Church

Date of Burial: Tuesday, 27 January 1931 (based on date of newspaper article and January 1931 calendar)

Place of Burial: Wesley Chapel Church Cemetery

There is so much helpful family history information in Lillian's obituary, including married names of her sisters, which is amazing! Here are some things I could do with the information provided in this obituary: order Lillian's death certificate, research Universalist Church records for any mention of Lillian or her family members, research cemetery records, research the lives and families of Lillian's brother and sisters. The obituary also stated that Lillian's illness was mentioned in the newspaper the previous week. I will be looking for that article to see if there is any additional helpful information. 

My family history records already include information about Lillian's parents and her siblings, Helen, William, and Mary. But I did not know anything about her sister Clara, who died in infancy. In Lillian's obituary, another sister is mentioned as Mrs. Ralph Ebert. This was Lillian's stepsister, Jennie Metcalf. Lillian's mother, Sarah Rathburn, died in 1874.² Lillian's father, Homer, married Nancy (Kenison) Metcalf in 1877.³

I have questions about Lillian's sister, Clara, who died in infancy. Was she the daughter of Homer and his first wife, Sarah, or Homer and his second wife, Nancy? Where was Clara born? Where and when did she die? What was her cause of death? In what cemetery was she interred? I have done some research to find Clara on Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find a Grave, and BillionGraves, but haven't found her yet. I will continue my research efforts to find Clara.

Obituaries and newspaper research in general are valuable family history resources. What family history discoveries have you found through your newspaper and obituary research?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2024 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved 

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1 Library of Congress, "Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, database with images, Morgan County Democrat (McConnelsville, Ohio) (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87075008/1931-01-29/ed-1/seq-1/ : accessed 19 March 2024), "Miss Lillian Waterman Dies," obituary, 29 January 1931, p. 1, col. 2, image provided by Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio.^↩
2 "Ohio, U.S., Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2016," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 18 March 2024); Mrs. Sarah A. Waterman, citing Gallipolis Bulletin, 25 February 1874, p. 3, col. 1, Bossard Library (Gallipolis).^↩
3 "Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958," database, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDK4-82Q : accessed 14 March 2017); H. C. Waterman and Nannie Metcalf, 16 September 1877.^↩