How do people in a neighborhood react when they learn an alleged serial killer had been living among them? Herman Webster Mudgett (1861 – 1896), better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes, was an American con artist and alleged serial killer who lived at South Wallace Avenue and West 63rd Street…
Ancestors who die between census years can often be difficult to trace. Perhaps the following obituaries, published on page 6 of the Chicago Daily News on September 18, 1886 will be of some help to genealogists doing research in the Windy City. The names of the deceased (including a dozen children) that appeared on that…
I’m a bit confused about Lily and her relationship to the Flower family. Lily is buried in the center of the Flower family plot in Jewish Graceland Cemetery on Chicago’s north side. There is a record of her death on FamilySearch that seems to confirm her parents are the people named on the largest headstone in the same family plot. But…
What was Mrs. Looby’s given name? And where is she buried? My search in the Illinois deaths database on FamilySearch wasn’t much help. And I couldn’t find her on Find A Grave. I’m not related to Mrs. Looby, but I would like to solve her mystery. Can you help reunite her with her family here or on Find A Grave?…
From page 9 of the March 15, 1892 issue of the Chicago Daily News; “BAGNALL-March 14, 1892, ROY, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Bagnall, aged 5 months. Funeral Wednesday at 2 o’clock p.m.” “CAHILL-March 13, 1892, JOHN, beloved husband of Katheran Cahill (nee Morgan), aged 60 years. Funeral from his late residence, 2504 Portland-av.,…
What is Jennie Olivia’s surname? I guessed. And the FamilySearch indexer guessed. But since there is no one else on FamilySearch with the same surname, I can’t help but wonder if we’re wrong. I’m not related to Jennie, but I would like to solve the mystery of her surname. Can you help reunite Jennie with her family here…
The measles. Who would think a little boy would die as a result of this childhood illness? And just after his first birthday. Otto Minke’s birth and death were recorded in Chicago records on FamilySearch, but his place of burial is not. I’m not related to the Minkes, but I would like to solve the mystery…
Such a tragedy! I’m not related to the Morgans, but I would like to solve the mystery of where this child was laid to rest. Can you help reunite this baby with her family here or on Find A Grave? Thank you for taking a minute or two to honor this short life.
The following obituaries were transcribed from page 6 of the January 30, 1894 issue of the Chicago Daily News; “BAER-Jan. 2[8?], 1894 FRANZ BAER, beloved father of Mrs. Wendelin Seng, Frank Baer and Mrs. Nicholas Hansen, aged 77 years. Funeral Wednesday, Jan. 31, from his late residence, corner Clark-st. and Ridge-av., at 9 a.m., to…
Pictures are among my most treasured belongings. I love seeing the faces of my ancestors, watching family members change over the years, reliving fun moments and rekindling forgotten memories. Photographs and photo albums, slides and negatives, archival storage containers and digitized images consume space all around me. But not in the fun “Oooh, let’s look at pictures” way.…
where2look4ancestors 