Carnegie Public Library Records

What is the Carnegie Public Library Obituary Collection?

The Carnegie Public Library Obituary Collection is housed at the Carnegie Public Library in Angola, Steuben County, Indiana. The collection was started by Audree Seibel Lewis in 1950. For more than 15 years Lewis clipped obituaries from newspapers and mounted them to index cards or to the back of old library catalogue cards. Frequently, she contacted family members of the deceased and interviewed them to gather more information which she then recorded on the cards by hand.

The collection also includes some anniversary announcements, photos, court cases, and family reunion announcements. Most of cities mentioned in the records are located in Steuben County, Indiana. On the obituary cards, the name of the cemetery where the deceased is buried is often handwritten in block letters on the corner of the card.

What genealogical data can I learn from the Carnegie Public Library Obituary Collection?

The Carnegie Public Library Collection records may include:

First name
Last name
Age
Residence
Gender
Occupation
Names and relationships of family members
Clubs, hobbies, organizations, and interests
Religion
Place of death
Cause of death
Burial Location

What years does it cover?

The Carnegie Public Library Obituary Collection spans from approximately 1950 – 1965 and 1975 - 2020.

In the mid-1960’s Lewis discontinued her hobby of collecting obituaries. After about a 10 year gap, the Carnegie Library staff took up the task of adding to the collection.