Friday Find - Cora Adams Crawford Obituary

Do you have photocopies of newspaper articles tucked away in your genealogy files—clippings you copied years ago and perhaps haven't looked at since?

Today's Friday Find is one of those items from my Kansas CRAWFORD files: an obituary for Cora Adams Crawford published in the Dodge City Daily Globe on December 6, 1947.

Cora Adams married Nelson G. Crawford, a brother of my great-grandfather, Judson Foster Crawford. Although Cora isn't a direct ancestor, her obituary adds details to the story of the extended Crawford family in Dodge City.

Beyond documenting her death, the obituary provides a glimpse into Cora's life and community connections. It identifies her parents, tells when the family came to Kansas and later moved to Dodge City, gives her marriage date, names her surviving siblings, and describes her involvement with the Methodist Church, Eastern Star, and P.E.O.

It's a good reminder of why those old photocopies are worth revisiting. A single obituary can preserve much more than birth, marriage, and death information—it can help place a person within a family and a community.

Below is an image of Cora Adams Crawford's obituary, followed by my transcription.

Long-Time Resident Dies

Mrs. Nelson G. Crawford, longtime resident of Dodge City, died early Saturday morning at her home of a heart ailment. Death was unexpected. She had not felt ill Friday.

Mrs. Crawford had been active in a number of fields. She was a member of the Methodist church, of the Order of the Eastern Star and of chapter CF, P. E. O. She was a past president of the P. E. O. chapter.

Her maiden name was Cora Adams. She was born in Salem, Ind., and came to Kansas with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Adams in 1885. In 1900 the family moved to Dodge City.

Miss Adams and Mr. Crawford were married July 7, 1907. The Crawford home is 909 Second avenue.

Surviving besides the widower are three sisters, Mrs. Anna Harris, who recently came from Bellefontaine, O., to be with the Crawfords; Mrs. Maud Rawlings of Venice, Calif., and Mrs. Ethel Garner of Dodge City; and a brother, Will H. Adams of Bakersfield, Calif. There are several nephews and nieces.

Funeral services will be at 3 p. m. Monday in the Hulpieu-Swaim chapel with burial in Maple Grove cemetery. The Rev. O. Ray Cook will conduct the rites.