Newspaper Notice Introduction

WASHTENAW COUNTY OBITUARY & NEWS ITEM INDEX Obituaries, Deaths, Marriages, Birthdays, and Notices
from Washtenaw County Newspapers

Compiled by Bobbie Snow and Contributors
Introduction & Index by Sharon L. Brevoort

1840s | 1850s | 1860s | 1870s | 1880s | 1890s | 1900s
1910s | 1920s | 1930+ | ???? | Index A-L | Index M-Z
Introduction | Terms, Titles, & Abbreviations | Submit News Item

This material may not be reproduced in any form
except to print a copy as needed for personal research.

ABOUT THIS INDEX

This index of life events is a work in progress and will always be incomplete. It is taken from the ongoing research of Genealogy Helplist Michigan volunteer Bobby Snow, augmented by contributions from our website visitors. As inquiries and submissions are received, this reference will be periodically updated with new information gleaned from another day's news.

News items that could be verified on microfilm are marked with a check box. Items not listing a contributor were collected by Bobbie Snow; otherwise, the contributor is recognized following the text.

SOURCES

Most of the entries are taken from any of a number of Washtenaw County newspapers, such as the Ann Arbor Argus, Ann Arbor Courier, Ann Arbor Daily Times, Ann Arbor Democrat, Ann Arbor Times News, Ann Arbor News, Daily Times News, Michigan Argus, Peninsular Courier and Family Visitant, Washtenaw Whig, and many others. See Bibliography of Newspapers & Obituaries for inclusive microfilm dates of many Washtenaw County newspapers. Please note that not all issues of every publication are extant and available on microfilm.

A few of the entries are taken from newspaper clippings saved among our various family records, often with no indication as to their source. If the source can be determined, it will be added to the entry later, along with a checkbox.

LOCALITIES

Although small town newspapers tended to focus on their immediate vicinity, Ann Arbor newspapers often carried tidbits of county-wide information under local columns for each township and/or village varying in depth depending on the pracice of the times and the local correspondent making the report. In addition to the Social and Personal column, Probate Court Notices, and The Markets (farm prices), the County News and Neighborhood News columns in the Daily Times News and Ann Arbor News of the early 1900s carried news items for such Washtenaw County locations as:

Townships: Ann Arbor, Augusta, Bridgewater, Dexter, Freedom, Lima, Lodi, Lyndon, Manchester, Northfield, Pittsfield, Salem, Saline, Scio, Sharon, Superior, Sylvan, Webster, York, Ypsilanti
Villages & Settlements: Chelsea, Collins' Plains, Dexter, Delhi (Delhi Mills), Manchester, Milan, Podunk, Saline, Scio Village, Whitmore Lake, Ypsilanti
Neighborhoods: Platt (East Ann Arbor), Ridge Road (East of Ypsilanti), Roger's Corners

Coverage even extended to nearby counties for such communities as:

Monroe County: Azalia
Lenawee County: Britton, Clinton, and Tecumseh
Oakland County: South Lyon
Livingston County: Hamburg, Lakeland, Pinckney, and Rushton

whose economic interests often centered around the farm markets in the Ann Arbor area.

TABLE OF TERMS, TITLES, AND ABBREVIATIONS

General Terms, Titles, and Abbreviations
B. P. O. E.	the Elks Club fraternal organization
Bro., Brother	a form of address to one who is treated as a brother in Christ (Christian), or a member of a congregation of men not ordained as a minister or priest (Catholic)
Com., Communicated	contributed, received by a verbal or written message, such as a poem incorporated into a death notice
consort	spouse, one who shares a common lot in life
Ch'n	Chairman
Dea., deacon sub deacon	an officer in a Christian church, or a Roman Catholic cleric ranking below a priest
do., ditto	as aforesaid, similar (e.g., in referring to a second son or daughter after a first has been mentioned)
Dr., Doct.	medical physician or, less frequently, anyone with a doctoral degree
Esq., Esqrs., Esquire	a title of courtesy usually indicating a gentleman of stature and means (favored by attorneys!)
Fr., Father	Father, a member of the Catholic clergy, usually given as "Fr." or "the Rev. Fr."
G. A. R.	Grand Army of the Republic, a Civil War veterans organization
Hon.	a judge, usually given as "the Hon."
I. O. O. F.	Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization
inst., instant	in the current month
K. T.	Knights Templar, a Masonic order and fraternal service organization
K. OF P.	Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization
M. E.	the Methodist Episcopal church
Messrs., Messieurs	the plural of Mister (from the French)
Mistress, Miss, Mrs.	a title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a woman; Mrs. is the written form of the title indicating a married woman and Miss is the form indicating an unmarried girl or woman
Mr., Mister	a title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a man, whether married or not; Mr. is the written form of the title Mister
née	born, followed by the maiden name of a married woman (from the French)
O. E. S.	Order of the Eastern Star, a Masonic order and fraternal service organization
Prof., Professor	one who teaches at a college or university
relict	widow
Rev., Reverend, Rt. Rev., Very Rev. Revrs.	an ordained member of the clergy, usually given as "Rev.", "the Rev. Mr." (Protestant), "the Rev. Fr." (Catholic), "the Rt. Rev." or Right Reverend, "the Very Rev." indicating the person's level in the particular church hierarchy
Rev. Dr., Reverend Doctor	an ordained member of the clergy who also has a doctorate in some other field, such as a law degree
Sec'y	Secretary
(sic)	the previous word or phrase exactly reproduces the original, indicating that an unusual spelling is not a typographical error
ult., ultimo	in the month preceding the current month
Education & Advanced Degrees
A.B. or B.A.	Bachelor of Arts, a college degree which usually requires four years of study beyond the high school level
D.D.	Doctor of Divinity, an advanced degree for a minister of the Gospel
M.A.	Master of Arts, an advanced degree which usually requires two years of study beyond a B.A.
M.D.	Doctor of Medicine, an advanced degree for a medical physician which usually requires four years beyond a B.A.
Ph.D.	Doctor of Philosophy, an advanced degree which usually requires two years or more beyond a Master's degree
Commissioned Officers By Rank
Military Officers			Naval Officers
abbrev.	title	commands	abbrev.	title
Gen. [***] Gen. [] Lt. Gen. [] Maj. Gen. [] Brig. Gen. [] Col. Lt. Col. Maj. Capt. Lt., Lieut.	General of the Army General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant	an army a division a brigade a regiment a battalion a battalion a company a platoon	Comm. Capt. Cmdr. Lt. Cmdr. Lt., Lieut. Ens.	Commodore Captain Commander Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Ensign
Notes: A 1st lieutenant ranks higher than a 2nd lieutenant. The title of General of the Army was created by Congress on December 14th, 1944, for John J. Pershing; there can be no more than four of these at any given time.

Updated 6/9/22 SLB; 1/24/23 SLB