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Archiver > TMG > 2002-01 > 1012372319


From: "Chuck Wolfram" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Obits the Right way?
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 01:36:12 -0500
References: <001b01c1a90e$2e66a640$4514d243@oemcomputer>


----- Original Message -----
Steve Alvarez asked about obits in
[TMG] Obits the Right way?


> A little background:
> I have an extreme amount of obits (400-500) in my files. I was fortunate
> enough in that three of my surnames settled in one farming community and
> there has been a newspaper in existence since about 1902 for this area.
> Plus these families being Czech, they tended to marry within their
community
> and isolated themselves from anything outside of the Czech community from
> about 1871 to 1930.
>
> I am wondering about the best way to handle the misc. information in the
> obits? And I am hoping there is someone on this list who can give me some
> advise.
>
> Should I create a new tag for the obit information? Should I put such
things
> like the Rosary, visitation, priest, pallbearers and funeral home in the
> burial memo?
>
> Any thoughts on this subject would be welcomed.
>
Here's what I do. Of course obituaries are sources, you can enter it as
a text exhibit and include the information you find on all the other tags
and cite them--residence, occupation, education, religion, whatever is
mentioned.
I have two obituaries tags, one to be used if I only have the obituary
and the other if I also have a paid death notice from the same newspaper and
same date. I then include the text of the obituary and/or death notice in
the Memo. It might be a good idea to have two different tags, with the same
sentence, for the standard obit, one to be used if it's in the public
domain, the other if it's still under copyright. I usually don't select the
obit tags to print, but if you do decide to print them, then you might want
to print only those that happen to be in the public domain. The only
difference between the tags would be their tag name.
As for the Rosary, pallbearers, visitation, etc. I have that in the
funeral tag. I think it's a custom tag. The funeral home goes nicely in
the Detail field. If I choose not to use the funeral tag I sometimes put
the clergyman's name in the burial tag. Or if it's a Catholic funeral, with
both a visitation at the funeral home, perhaps with Rosary, and a Mass--I
also have a Requiem Mass tag.

Chuck Wolfram

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