Title: Index of death notices appearing in the Cincinnati Daily Times, 1840-1879 / indexed by Jeffrey G. Herbert, Hamilton County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society, Cincinnati, 1994. Description: v, 279 p.; 28 cm.

Cataloging Information:

Topical subject: Death notices--Ohio--Cincinnati--Indexes.

Topical subject: Registers of births, etc.--Ohio--Cincinnati.

Geographic term: Cincinnati (Ohio)--Genealogy--Indexes.

Salt Lake City Family History Library Information:

FHL US/CAN Call Number: 977.178 V42hjg

Film Number 1983603 Item 1 Format Book Language English

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Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton co. Call #: 929.377178 qC5744Zh, 1994

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Includes: alphabetical listing of death notice by maiden names

Includes:

an index of maiden name to married name of deceased (p. 650- 657).

Includes: 7 pages of pioneer biographies index. A list of persons who had short biographies published about them in the Cincinnati Commercial. These persons were old pioneers of the Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky areas, and were not limited to the Cincinnati and Hamilton County vicinity.

Includes:

name of deceased, notice day, month year, death day, month, age, * if birthplace indicated,

newspaper page, and maiden name if given.

Example:

Guy, Anna 4, 5, Feb. 1868 3, Feb. 26 * 5 Brand

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Introduction from published book:

The Cincinnati Daily Times first began publishing on April 25, 1840 under the name Spirit of the Times, and soon thereafter in April 1841 the name became Daily Times. In a short time, it was the largest daily newspaper in Cincinnati printed in English. In 1866 the name was changed to Cincinnati Daily Times. In 1879 the newspaper was bought by Charles P. Taft, his father-in-law, David Sinton, and H.P. Rogden. The following year, Taft also bought The Star and merged the two newspapers together, and changed the name to Daily Times-Star. In July 1958 the newspaper was merged again, this time with the Cincinnati Post, and the name was changed to Cincinnati Post and Times-Star.

This index covers the period from April 1840 until December 1879, when the newspaper was called Cincinnati Daily Times. During this time period death notices of local citizens were published on a daily basis. These death notices are of great use to the family history researcher, since before 1865 the City of Cincinnati did not keep any record of deaths, and until 1908 death certificates were not required by the State of Ohio. Between the years 1865 and 1908, the City of Cincinnati did keep records of persons who died within the city limits (mostly the immediate downtown area during this time) and then only if the family or undertaker reported it to the office.

Even if the death was recorded, the information contained in the certificate was usually minimal (e.g. name, age, address, place of burial, and country of birth). Death notices, on the other hand, frequently contained additional useful information about the deceased and their survivors. Of greatest importance is the fact that there were a considerable number of death notices that were published in the 1840's. Previous to this, there had been little or no information about persons who died during this time, since most cemeteries that kept records were not started until the mid to late 1840's. It is interesting to note that the Cincinnati Daily Times published the names of the victims of the cholera epidemic of August 1866. Also of some importance is the fact that there were many names of Irish immigrants whose death notices appeared in the paper in the 1860's and 1870's.

Typically for an adult, a death notice would contain the person's full name, the name of the spouse (if married), the person's age, the date of death, and in a few cases the place of birth. If the deceased was a child or minor, the notice usually listed the names of both parents. Some information that might also have been included: the church where the funeral occurred, other places of residence, or the place where they died, if it was not in Cincinnati.

Since not all this vital information can be contained in this index, the date of the death notice is supplied after the person's name so that the reader may look for this additional information in the original notice, if desired.

This index contains the name of the deceased, sorted alphabetically by last name, the date(s) that the death notice appeared in the newspaper, and the actual date of death and age, if published. In the case where a death notice is published for more than two days, only the first two days are listed, or the two days which contain the most information about the deceased and their family. In some cases for the death of a child, the age was given in months, weeks or days. In the index, this is listed as a number followed by an 'm', 'w', or a 'd' respectively (e.g. 6m = 6 months old, 4w = 4 weeks old, and 3d = 3 days old). The page number where the original notice can be found is included, and if the place of birth was included in the notice, an "*" appears to the left of the page number.

In addition, there are several periods after 1874 when burial permits issued by the City of Cincinnati were published on a daily basis. These are also included, when available, and usually include the date of death, age, and state or country of birth. The total number of death notices included in this index exceeds 19,000 names.

The issues of Cincinnati Daily Times covered by this index are the issues that have been microfilmed, and are located in the History Department of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County located at 8th and Vine Street, and also at the Cincinnati Historical Society. The editions of the newspaper begin in Apr. 1840 and run through Dec. 1879 when the paper merged with the Cincinnati Star to form The Cincinnati Times-Star.

The reader should be aware that during this time period there may be a great many spelling variations of a given surname over a period of time, and alternative spellings should be checked to ensure that all family members have been found.