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Copyright © 2009, James Fordyce This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form without the permission of the author. INTRODUCTION: This index covers nearly 58,000 death notices, obituaries, memorial notices, resolutions of respect and other articles relating to the deaths of Greene County area individuals which were found in the pages of the various Greene County area newspapers found on microfilm at the Cornerstone Genealogical Library in Waynesburg. It is presently a work in progress and additional years will be added as they are searched. It was not until the late 1800's that obituaries became common in the newspapers of the county. Prior to that time, most deaths were noted in simple death notices with few details other than the date and place of death, or in the local or community news columns. Occasionally, an individual's death was noted in a resolution of respect published by an organization of which the deceased was a member. In those earlier, pre-1885 issues, the local and community news columns were searched for articles relating to the deaths of Greene County individuals. Most often, those were little more than a line or two mentioning the individual's death, and frequently the exact date was not mentioned. In those issues after 1885, the community news columns were not searched, and items found there were only included if they happened to be noticed in the search for obituaries. It is likely that some obituaries or notices of death were missed in the search, and while this index is intended to aid researchers in searching for the death dates of individuals, it should not be considered the last word for the researcher. Where a death date is known, the researcher should scan the pages of the issues around that date for an article or obituary relating to the individual. Each entry contains the subject's name, the date of the newspaper in which the obituary, notice or article was found and the newspaper in which it was found. After 1937, funeral notices were often published in the same issue of the newspaper as the obituary (or in the following day's issue). These are not included in this index unless there was no accompanying obituary found. The newspaper abbreviations used and the issues indexed so far are as follows: RP - Waynesburg Republican - 1859-1933, 1956-1967 (earlier issues incomplete) DC - Waynesburg Democrat - 1882-1912 (incomplete) DM - Democrat Messenger - 1914-1958, 1980-1981 DO - Morgantown New Dominion - 1877-1882 MS - Waynesburg Messenger - All issues on microfilm (1817-1897, scattered issues) IN - Waynesburg Independent - All issues on microfilm (1903-1917, scattered issues) SM - Waynesburg Semi-Weekly Messenger - All issues on microfilm (1901-1912, scattered issues) TB - True Blue - All issues on microfilm (1886-1887, scattered issues) A copy of this index is available in hard copy at the Cornerstone Genealogical Society's library in Waynesburg, where the microfilms of the newspapers used are located. For those not able to visit the library, copies of the obituaries can also be obtained by mail from the Cornerstone Genealogical Society (www.cornerstonegenealogy.com), P.O. Box 547, Waynesburg, PA 15370. A CD-ROM of Waynesburg Republican obituaries is also now availbe (see below). The cost is $3.00 per obituary and a self-addressed, stamped envelope should be included with your request (keep in mind that extra postage should be added if more than four are requested - figure about about four pages per ounce). Be sure to include the name, date and newspaper of each obituary you are seeking and remember that earlier (pre-1890) death notices/obituaries may be only a line or two noting an individual's death. Please allow a few weeks for the library staff to fulfill your request. ALSO NOW AVAILABLE ON CD-ROM FROM THE CORNERSTONE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY: 1. Waynesburg Republican Obituaries, 1859-1933. 2. Waynesburg Democrat Messenger Obituaries, 1931-1958. 3. Waynesburg Democrat Obituaries, 1882-1913. 4. Waynesburg Republican Obituaries, Volume 2, 1956-1975. These contain images of all the obituaries from these newspapers found in this index and are the images that were used when compiling this obituary index. The obituaries are arranged by date. Since the images were not originally taken with the aim of publication, some are difficult to read or partially illegible due to the condition of the original newspaper, the quality of the microfilmed image or the quality of the digital image taken from the microfilm, but most are completely readable using your web browser. Click here for a sample image. The CD's are available from the Cornerstone Genealogical Society (address above) for $25.00 each plus $1.50 tax (PA residents only) and $3.00 shipping. All proceeds from the sale of the CD's go to support the activities of the Society.
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© 2009, Jim Fordyce
