Set # 1 were my mom's mom's parents: Thelma Louise Lasiter (1912-1996) and James Putman Lasiter (1908-1974)
Set # 2 were my mom's dad's parents: Nova Lee Peters (1908-2000) and Orville Godwin (1905-1956)
Set # 3 were my dad's mom's parents: Kathryne Blanche Hill (1912-1992) and John Brooks Binns (1910-1989)
Set # 4 were my dad's dad's parents: Reba Fox (1920-2003) and Claude Rual Smith, Jr (1919-1996)
I knew and interacted with 6 of my 8 great-grandparents throughout most of my childhood - Louise "Mamaw" Lasiter, Novi Martin, Blanche Binns, Johnnie Binns, Reba Smith and "Big Daddy" Smith. James Lasiter and Orville Godwin both died before I was born. Orville Godwin and Novi Peters were my only set of divorced great-grandparents. Orville Godwin was murdered in his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the young age of 51.
The 6 great-grandparents I knew all lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas, with the exception of the Smiths who lived out in the country in Kibler, Arkansas (near Clear Creek State Park).
Obituaries and Death Certificates
I have the obituaries of 7 of the 8 of my great-grandparents that I obtained either from family members or from the Fort Smith Library's microfilm collection of newspapers, including the Southwest Times Record, and associated online archives. I do not have a copy of the obituary of my Mother's Father's Father, Orville Godwin, who died in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I do, however, have a copy of the news article that was published about his murder.
I have four death certificates - Blanche Hill Binns, for Nova Martin, Louise Lasiter, and James F Lasiter Sr.
I created a checklist to see if I had obtained copies of all of the obituaries of my great-grandparents, and also to see if I had scanned and transcribed them, and saved them to the notes section of my Family Tree Maker software and created source entries for them. Here are my results:
| Name | FTF Notes? | FTF Source? | Scanned? | Transcribed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Peters | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Orville Godwin | no | no | no | no |
| James Lasiter | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Louise Benson | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| John Binns | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Blanche Hill | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Reba Fox | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Claude Smith Jr | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Name | FTF Notes? | FTF Source? | Scanned? | Transcribed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Peters | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Orville Godwin | no | no | no | no |
| James Lasiter | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Louise Benson | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| John Binns | no | no | no | no |
| Blanche Hill | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Reba Fox | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Claude Smith Jr | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Results:
I have copies of 7 of the 8 great grandparents' obituaries which were scanned and saved to my harddrive. I have transcribed them, pasted them into the notes section of my genealogy software, and entered them as sources in my database and attached them to the basic facts (birth, death, marriage) of my great-grandparents and added them as sources to any relatives' names that are mentioned.
I only have copies of 4 death certificates - one of them is the original copy of my great-grandmother, Nova Martin's death that my grandfather gave to me. I scanned the copy and saved to my hard drive. I then transcribed it and added it to the notes in my genealogy software and added as a source. I obtained a copy of my great grandmother Blanche Binns' death certificate from my grandmother who had a copy of it in her scrapbook. I scanned it right from the scrapbook and saved it to my hard drive. I transcribed it, added it to the notes section of my genealogy software and added it as a new source.
Since I originally published this post, I ordered two additional death certificates - those of my great grandparents on my Mother's side - Louise (Benson) Lasiter and her husband James P Lasiter. I had put them off because I already have all of the vital information that is provided on the death certificate from the obituary and from my grandparents' tales. However, these certificates are available and should be included in my great-grandparents' files. They cost $10.00 each and took 4 weeks to arrive. I ordered them from the Arkansas Department of Health via an online form that I printed and mailed in to them, along with a check for $20. Update 7/27/09 & 2011: Copies of these two death certificates were received and scanned, transcribed, added to the notes section and source section of my family tree file.
Goal: To obtain copies of the rest of my 4 great-grandparents' death certificates!!
ahh to be so organized! I have a huge pile of stuff (and I mean a small filebox full) that need to be transcribed and some need to be added - others don't. I work a bit everyday on the folder full that I keep on my desk of stuff that needs to be entered into treemaker - but sometimes, I cannot pull myself away from the web (and other's blogs :-) I'd be much better off if I just turned off the web and got to work! Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have known some of your great-grandparents. I only found out when I began family research that one great-grandmother was still alive when I was born (died when I was about 4). And both of my grandfathers died before I was born.
ReplyDeleteJuly 30, 09 Regarding your great-grandparents records. I'm so impressed with your organization in your post. It is displayed so neatly. Good luck with Orville's records. Fortunately, I have all my records, but I was never as organized as you. Where does it stand now, over a year later?
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI was actually inspired by Randy Seaver's SNGF posts on his Genea-Musings Blog to write this post and I wanted to see how quickly I could put my hands on these items. In lieu of Orville's obituary, I have the article written about his death in the "Tulsa Daily World" posted here and I have not ordered his death certificate yet. My grandmother has a copy of John Binns' death certificate, I am still waiting for her to send me a copy. My grandfather has copies of my Fox and Smith death certificates, but we are having trouble locating them, so I might have to order new copies of those as well. Wow I can't believe it's been a year! This is an example of a project I started, but neglected to finish. Thanks so much for the comment!