Funeral and Memorial Cards are valuable tools for genealogists. Often overlooked as a resource, they can provide invaluable genealogical information.My husband and I try to rescue these cards whenever we find them at flea markets and antique stores.
For me the joy is researching the individual and giving them a voice. Here is a wonderful find - the Memorial Cards for Elias Baker and his wife Elizabeth.
Their Memorial cards are folded in two so that you have a front cover (above) then a left and right side when you open the card. Elias' card reads:
In loving memory of Elias Baker who passed away Saturday, November the sixteenth nineteen hundred and twenty-nine aged eighty-four years. Intered in Heise Hill Cemetery, Markham, Ontario.
The left side of the interior of Elias' Memorial card is a traditional verse. His obituary appeared in the Stouffville Tribune in November. The mention of the Burkholder farm was intriguing to me as I am a Burkholder descendant.Elias' wife Elizabeth's Memorial Card indicates that she died in 1913. Her card reads "Died at Betheseda, on Saturday Nov. 29th 1913, Elizabeth Baker wife of Elias Baker"
Information on Elizabeth's funeral is given on the right side of her Memorial Card:
The outside of Elizabeth Baker's Memorial Card:
We are happy to pass these cards on to family members. Please leave a comment here on this blog post with your email address, or write me directly at olivetreegenealogy AT gmail.com Be sure to visit AncestorsAtRest.com for more Funeral Cards and Memorial Cards.
My mother's mother had a small prayer book that had several memorial cards tucked in the pages. I believe she remembered those people as she prayed. A lovely way to remember people. I hope those find their way home to their family.
ReplyDeleteI too collect these cards from lawn sales and flea markets.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a lovely remembrance of a loved one.
I find as time goes by we are removing ourselves away from the deaths of loved ones. I have been to very few funerals where cards are offered.
My great grandmother's bible contained notices of death and memorial cards. This is what first got me interested in collecting them.
I think it was a time when they honoured loved ones.