Over the years I’ve continued to collect what little information I could find on my third-great-grandfather, Gold Canfield. He died in 1814 in the War of 1812, having frozen his arm while on guard duty in Harlem Heights, New York. His wife, Nancy Hayes, applied for a pension for her minor children following his death, leaving a decent widow’s pension file with quite a bit of family information – including the birth dates of the minor children.
About once every quarter or so, I’ll go into GenealogyBank.com, where I’ve kept a membership since it’s inception, and search for data on my more difficult ancestors. One of those I checked out this morning was “Gold Canfield.” Searching on the name Gold Canfield, I got 40 hits – one of them listed as an historical obituary. Clicking on the image teaser where I could see the words “Mary Ann Canfield Robertson,” I found an extremely detailed obituary for Gold’s daughter, Mary Ann. She died at the age of 84, having been born in Salem, Connecticut 20 August 1812. What’s amazing about the obit is the detail that is given about Mary Ann’s six living children. Not only does does the obit list their names, but details about the professional positions of the the girl’s husbands, and where they lived. It also gives Gold Canfield and Nancy Hayes as her parents.
I’ve heard it said that you can compile a family history based on obituaries alone, and although it would be inaccurate, I can see the point.
Searches at GenealogyBank are free, and you get a partial image of the data before you have to subscribe to get the entire thing. The searches cover over 6100 historic newspaper titles from all 50 states. Click here to search their entire database – FOR FREE!.
Following is a copy of the obit for Mary Ann Canfield Robertson (1812-1896) found at GenealogyBank.com.
I’m a long-term supporter of GenealogyBank, and a friend of their genealogy guy, Tom Kemp. I’ve had an affiliate relationship with them for a couple years. In discussing Family Tree Publishing’s current 12 Days of Chirstmas in July Promotion with them, they offered my readers a special deal of 30% off their normal annual rate (which I gladly always pay), making the cost just $48.95 per year!
Click on the graphic to learn more.
