Card of Thanks – For the Deceased
Another overlooked resource for information about a deceased ancestor besides an obituary is the Card of Thanks. Many times in a newspaper there may be placed ONLY a Card of Thanks and no obituary. Such notices can provide some basic info on the ancestor or the family.
The early Card of Thanks was actually to thank the communities, organizations or individuals who helped a special situation; raising money, building a barn, helping in a parade, or working to put out a big fire, etc.
The change of having in the newspaper a Card of Thanks for a deceased ancestor started more in the late 1800s. They were usually placed after a funeral but these can appear weeks or months later also, check different dates. The type of info you might find in a Card of Thanks include, a female’s maiden name, if her husband had already passed away, where other family members lived, if the deceased had been ill before death, organizations the deceased belong to, names of church and pastors’ names and mention of children.
These are public printed acknowledgments thanking individuals.
You can use Newspaperarchives.com; Newspapers.com or a family hometown newspaper.
So if you have not checked this source, you have some work to do.
Photo: Two examples of Card of Thanks in Miami in Aug. 1920.
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