This is the original newspaper clipping of Charles Henry Schmidt (d. 1899), my 3rd great grandfather’s obituary. It was affixed to sturdy paper and laminated. Charles lived and died near Houghton, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. It appears that it was clipped from The Mining Gazette.
I love how detailed and evocative the obituary is:
“The remains were escorted to their last resting place in Forest Hill Cemetery, by the Houghton band, playing the dead marches ‘Deloros’ and ‘Departed Comrades’ and the German Aid society. … As the casket was being lowered into the grave an instrumental quartette … played very sweetly ‘Nearer My God To Thee.’ … The floral decorations on the casket, a cross made of Calla lilies, and a wreath of double red roses with ‘Father’ made of Ivy leaves within it, were beautiful. The border of the casket was trimmed with smilax.”
I imagine it sounded like this:
Here is Charles (I’ve also seen him referred to as “Carl”) with his family. I am guessing the photo was taken between 1885 and 1890. The youngest child in the photo, my 3rd great aunt Flora Schmidt (1882-1903), looks to be no older than five here. My 2nd great grandmother, Fannie Schmidt Ratz (1870-1944), is standing, second in from the left.
You can read more about my entire Schmidt Family here:
Genealogy Blogging and the Brick Wall Busting Discovery of My Schmidt Family
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In May of 2020 I challenged myself and others to write every day for a month about a family heirloom or artifact. Here are 10 lessons I learned from this genealogy writing experience.