Ive hit a huge brick wall. Im a librarian trying to help a patron find her grandmothers date of death and hopefully an obit. Part of the problem is that my patron never really knew her grandmother and isnt sure when she died. The grandmother, Nellie Jacobs, was named Foster Mother of the Year where she lived in Brooklyn. in 1950. There was an article about her in the paper at the time. Ironically though, she didnt raise her own daughter, and my patron in turn was raised by her father and stepmother. My patron thinks the grandmother died around 1954 - 1956. I asked how she knew this. The answer was somewhat convoluted so Im still not sure, but its all I have to go on. Ive searched every newspaper database I have access to, including the Brooklyn Eagle, which ceased publication in 1955. Its possible she died after that, or perhaps an obit was placed in another paper or nowhere at all. Likewise, I havent seen any obit for her husband, McKinley Jacobs, who died in 1964. Hes in the SSDI, she is not. I contacted the Brooklyn Public Library, they suggested I contact NYPL, which I did. They have obituary indexes for different newspapers, but it seems there were a million of them at different times and for different areas of Brooklyn. They need a lot more to go on before they can look for an obit. These little neighborhood newspapers are available on microfilm, but we live in FL so that doesnt work. And, it seems in NYC you need some sort of number before you can order a death certificate. My patron feels that since she was named Foster Mother of the Year, that she is likely to have an obit *somewhere.* I pointed out that it was up to the family to submit an obit and sometimes it just didnt happen. Does anyone have any idea how I can track down a DOD, at least? She has the death cert for her grandfather, listing the funeral home (Hurd funeral home on Troy Ave in Blyn.) She said they went out of business about 20 yrs ago and the people who took over also went out of business. And now, Im out of ideas! Any suggestions from anyone?
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 01:04:20 +0000
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