Obituaries are your friend

This weekend, I spend what ended up being 4+ hours (amazing how time flies when you're buried in microfilm!) at the McIver's Grant Public Library in Dyersburg, Tennessee, digging through their archives of the State Gazette. It's too bad they don't have their catalog on the internet and that genealogy room is a jackpot of genealogical data disguised as a mess, but I digress. I was able to print out obituaries for 20 family members from my Presley/Gamble side, the oldest for Susan Reagan Gamble/Gambell, wife of James Jefferson Gamble/Gambell (our current oldest known Gamble ancestor) dating from 1916. I had really hoped to find one for Thomas Parker Presley, but, wouldn't you know it, they last issue they had for 1908 was one week shy of his death and they didn't have another issue until 1913. Didn't find one for the missus, either, which was a disappointment as I really wanted some solid information on their origins and possibly her parents or siblings.

I found one for Minnie Gambell. She was listed as Millie Gambill (a couple of the family were spelled that way, adding to the already confusing family spellings), but it also misspells her maiden name as Riggins and not Wiggins. Her obituary listed two brothers, Jesse Riggins and Joe Eddie Riggins. It also listed four sisters..

Billy Bivens' obit includes two sisters, Ella Cole (which fits with the 1880 US Census listing of a younger sister, Ella) and a Mrs. Henry Asbridge which I shall look into. With Ella being named here, I'm more confident in Fanny being his mother's name (or nickname most likely...What was it with people back then, no one went by their real name...I swear EVERY Sarah in my family tree born before 1950 went by Sallie....Why not just name the girl Sallie?!). So I still have to find his father. His obituary also supports his death certificate listing of place of birth as Arkansas. I've still got both dates/places included in my information, but now I have a stronger incentive to hunt for his family in the 1870 census in Arkansas.

Overall, these obituaries were able to provide me with a lot of missing maiden names, exact dates of death & burial as well as names of previously unknown siblings and where they lived. My biggest disappointment was not finding Lumey Smith Presley's obituary, but I can probably just ask someone in the family for it, there are bound to be copies in the family somewhere. That, and I still need to visit the library in Brownsville which I'm pretty sure is where she died.