Obituaries in Old Newspapers

One of my favorite items to find in old newspapers is an obituary. Especially when it's a really long one that lists the deceased person's birth information, the parents, the siblings, the spouse, the children, the places of residence, occupation, and burial information. I realize that it's all secondary information and the informant is rarely known, but the bones of the story found in an obituary are usually close to the truth.

I subscribe to two newspaper sites, Newspapers.com and Genealogy Bank, and I use them both often. Today I did a search for some of my husband's ancestors from Utah and found two of his 2nd great-grandparent's and 3 of his 3rd great-grandparent's obituaries. Just like that. Golden information.

Second Great-Grandparents Marion Haws Holdaway and his wife Prudence Eliza (Peay) Holdaway:

Obituary of Marion Haws Holdaway, 1855-1929
Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah, 28 Jun 1929
From Newspapers.com

Obituary of Prudence Eliza (Peay) Holdaway, 1854-1942
The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, 23 Dec 1942
From Newspapers.com

Marion was the son of Shadrack Holdaway and his second wife Elizabeth (Haws) Holdaway. Shadrack's first wife was Elizabeth's sister, Lucinda. He was married to both women at the same time and bore children with them both. I didn't find an obituary for Elizabeth, but did find Lucinda's.

Shadrack Holdaway, 1822-1902
The Salt Lake Herald, Salt Lake City, Utah, 25 Dec 1902
From Newspapers.com

Lucinda (Haws) Holdaway, 1828-1917
The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, 12 Apr 1917
From Newspapers.com

Prudence was the daughter of Francis Peay and Eliza Jane (Baker) Peay.

Francis Peay, 1825-1904
Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, Utah, 7 May 1904
From Newspapers.com

Eliza Jane (Baker) Peay, 1834-1915
The Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, 9 Aug 1915
From Newspapers.com