Researching Recent Obituaries to Extend My Family Tree

I was born in New Hampshire and my family has lived there for the past 350+ years. I probably have a cousin in every town in the state. This is especially true in Sanbornton, New Hampshire—I don’t think I could throw a rock there in any direction and not hit a relative.

So—I use that to my advantage in tracing my family history.

In my experience I am related to everyone in Sanbornton, so from time to time I search the Recent Obituaries in GenealogyBank to find a cousin I’d never known.

I quickly picked one from the list: Ellen (Sanborn) Merriam (1920-2010).

Here was a line that brought back memories:

Born in Laconia, N.H., she was the daughter of the late Howard W. and Elenora (Currier) Sanborn. She was raised on a rural farm in Sanbornton, N.H., and educated in Sanbornton and nearby Tilton. She loved animals especially horses, and was a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, earning her degree in Geology.

It immediately brought to mind days gone by in Sanbornton. She went to school there and lived on a rural farm. Wasn’t every home on a “rural farm” back then?

I could picture that farm: the potbellied stove in the kitchen; the snow; the view across the fields; the quiet, secure surroundings.

She attended UNH. My parents and grandparents all attended the University of New Hampshire. Some of my earliest memories are riding the back roads to Durham, New Hampshire, and seeing the University. Eating lunch along the river and getting those giant ice cream cones from the UNH Dairy.

She was “a long time member of the Maple Street Congregational Church.” When we lived in nearby Lower Gilmanton there was only one church—and of course it was a Congregational Church. It was an image you would see in every town.

Enter Last Name

I looked at Ellen’s family history and, using multiple sources, I quickly found that her parents—Howard Weaver Sanborn (1887-1957) and Elenora B. Currier (1895-1985) along with her five brothers and sisters—all lived on a farm in Sanbornton. As did her grandparents John Brewer Sanborn (1849-1940) and Asenath Quimby (1850-1891).

Sanborns had lived in Sanbornton since its founding in 1770.

Our family still owns the farm that my 5th-great-grandfather William Huse (1760-1839) purchased when he settled there after the Revolutionary War to raise his family.

I doubt I ever met Ellen Louise (Sanborn) Merriam, but by reading her obituary it feels like I’ve known her all my life.

I like to find Sanbornton obituaries so that I can document every cousin in my family tree.

Genealogy Tip: Don’t only search for specific relatives in GenealogyBank—search for the small towns where your ancestors lived. You just might discover a cousin you’ve never met before.

Note: FamilySearch International (FamilySearch.org) and GenealogyBank recently announced an agreement to make over a billion records from historical obituaries searchable online. The tremendous undertaking will make a billion records from over 100 million U.S. newspaper obituaries readily searchable online. The newspapers are from all 50 states and cover the period 1730 to the present.  Find out more about our partnership at: https://www.genealogybank.com/family-search/

Related Obituaries Articles & Resources:

• Massive Online U.S. Obituaries Project Will Make It Easier to Find Your Ancestors
• Genealogy: A Brief History of Obituaries & Death Notices
• Research with Obituaries: Clues to Look For – Genealogy Video

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