Oh, I love obituaries like Dorothy's! They give so much wonderful information.

Just for the heck of it, here are two death certificates for you -- Dr. Voigt's, and a stillborn baby girl, whose parents were Dr. Voigt and Rachel Davies Voigt.

Presumably Rachel Davies Voigt didn't long survive her stillborn baby as the baby's death date is Dec 22 1915, and Rachel's death year is given on her gravestone as 1915. What a sad Christmas that would have been for Dr Voigt.

I'm somewhat amused that Rachel's birthplace is given as "Whales"- I'm guessing it should have been "Wales", where Davies is a very common surname.

Thanks, Lindsey--interesting to see these. And yes, how sad for Dr. Voigt. His first wife died two years after their daughter was born; I wonder if it was in childbirth. I don't see a photo of her grave yet.

I discovered a member of the Voigt family on FindAGrave. I'll message him to see if I can link 10-year-old Elizabeth to someone.

I have been working on family ancestry and find it hard to tear myself away some days. I have gotten to the point that I feel a connection to all these ancestors. I almost feel like I knew them...I hope to get a couple of gravestone requests done as soon as I feel a little better.

I've been wondering how you're doing, Ruthie. Glad to hear you're coming along. A lot of us here understand that ancestral connection you're feeling!

Two more death certificates for you, Alisande. First, Rachel Davies Voigt. As Colleen surmised, Rachel's death was connected with childbirth -- Eclampsia. The second certificate is for a son who died when he was only 5 days old. The cause of death is "Acute Enteritis with hemorrhage." Contributory factor is "Anorexia and Injuries received during birth."

I notice that "Whales" has been correctly spelled as "Wales". Seems like David Davies from Wales is soooo common. My family tree has 3 consecutive generations with a David Davies ~ Father, Son & Grandfather (who is my great grandfather). They then 'smartened-up' and named my grandfather Thomas David, who went by the name Tom.

Dr. Arno Constantine Voigt apparently had many wives. We know he had been married to Rachel (Davies) Voigt, and Eleanor (Croop) Voigt. Eleanor was his wife at the time of his death. The obituary to which Alisande linked is for Arno's daughter Dorothy, and it gives her mother's name as Elizabeth Loretta (Shanley) Voigt. I found Elizabeth's death certificate. She died 14 September 1910 from "Exhaustion of Acute Insanity."

I also found information on a son, Arno C. Voigt II, born 12 January 1931 in Honesdale. He was married in Tennessee on 4 June 1952 to Nancy Hall. He died 9 March 2005. His mother's maiden name is listed as Regina Domyan. I'm still looking for her death certificate.

Elizabeth died in the Hospital for Insane Retreat. Poor woman! I wonder what the place is called now. A contributing factor was "hypostatic congestion of the lungs." I wonder what happened. A protracted case of postpartum depression, perhaps? But that wouldn't explain the pulmonary condition.

I noticed that her parents were born in Ireland. I recently read a book called Stalking Irish Madness , which is about schizophrenia. Just a thought.

So 5-day-old Carl died in 1913, and then two years later both Rachel and her newborn daughter died on December 22, 1915.

I see this sort of thing a lot in reading gravestones, but I still don't understand how people managed to live as well as they seemed to, surrounded as they were with both grief and the distinct possibility of it happening to them again.

These are fascinating, Lindsey.

" I still don't understand how people managed to live as well as they seemed to, surrounded as they were with both grief and the distinct possibility of it happening to them again."

Yes! Makes me think that "people of today" are total wimps. We have it so easy today, compared to days of old -- with all of our modern conveniences and inventions. I think that in the olden days, people relied a lot more on their Faith, and less on blaming it on some scapegoat.

By the way, here is the record of Arno's marriage to Rachel. They were married on 5 December 1911. Note she was a nurse. :-)

Oh, I almost forgot -- here's another sibling of Dr. Voigt's -- her name is Florence. She's buried in the same cemetery as her brother, but I didn't see a memorial page for her.

I probably drive by her address all the time. I don't recognize the name of the funeral director, but the Teeters did the others: father and son. I've known the son for decades.

They didn't spell her name (Davies) right in the marriage certificate. Spelling wasn't high on the list of priorities in those days. :-)

LOL on the name spelling on marriage documents! Took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to find the record of my great-grandparents' marriage. Both surnames were spelled incorrectly. Both were born and raised in Italy, so they undoubtedly had thick Italian accents, but even so, the spelling was atrocious! Took me even longer to find them on the 1910 Census. A five-letter surname was written as an eight-letter name. And, it went from definitely Italian to what would be most likely be considered a Jewish name. Even Marlon Brando with rocks or cotton in his mouth wouldn't have pronounced the actual surname the way it was written...

I just looked at my FindAGrave stats . . . I've been doing this for 7 years, 7 days, and have uploaded 3,005 photos so far. Not nearly as impressive as some of the contributors, but I'm pleased.

Well, I'm impressed!

Kudos & congrats. I'm also impressed!

Thanks, Lindsey and Justlinda!

I got in touch with Mr. Voigt, the FindAGrave contributor who had posted memorials on a couple of the Voigt family members. He was very nice; however, it turns out he's not related to these Voigts! He just came upon them by accident while researching his wife's family, and thought he'd add them to FindAGrave. So I don't have any new information to report.

It's too bad he wasn't one of "your" Voigts, but at least you were able to get in touch with him to find out for sure. It would have been so frustrating to always wonder...

Wow, Alisande, you start with just a name and weave it into a most interesting story, along with contributions by everyone here! It is simply amazing how much information you can glean from records that have been uploaded to the internet. Congratulations on all you have done.

Thanks, Murraysmom! Yes, Lindsey and I have a strong sense of curiosity. (Overdeveloped, some would say. LOL)

I love a good mystery!! LOL

Re: VOIGT: I have read the above postings with great interest, even though I already knew all of this. To most of you who have posted here, this is a process of discovery resulting from your own research.....and yes, a "mystery!" However, to me, well, this is about my own family, my own Voigt family. Arno Constantine Voigt, MD, of Hawley, PA, of whom I have very fond memories, was my maternal grandfather. I, his granddaughter, was the one who wrote what you refer to as the "unusually informative" Obituary for that "little girl" who lived to be almost 102 years old, Dorothy Alma Voigt Costello, for she was my very beloved mother. We were blessed as she lived in our home with my husband and me, for the last seventeen years of her life...and she was incredibly vibrant, astute, and healthy until the last few weeks of her life. (She married Charles J. Costello, my father, who predeceased her in 1972). She was the eldest of two children born to Arno C. Voigt, MD and his first wife, Elizabeth Loretta Shanley. They also had a son, Arno, who married Regina Domyan. Arno and Regina had two children, a son, Arno (who married Nancy Hall), and a daughter, Elizabeth A. "Sis" Voigt, who was, sadly, murdered in 1943 in Peekskill, NY. (Sis was interred in the Voigt family plot in Honesdale, PA). My grandfather, Arno C. Voigt, MD, subsequently married Rachael Davies. They had no surviving children as you so document. (Even though she was very young, my Mother recalled her stepmother, Rachel Davies, and was very fond of her). The third wife of my Grandfather, Arno C. Voigt, MD, was Eleanor Croop Voigt, (the only Voigt grandmother I ever knew), with whom he had two children. Janet Voigt who married Arthur Silverman and George Voigt, also a Medical Doctor, who married Kathryn Chapman, also of Hawley, PA. As to that "unusually informative" Obituary.....Well, I too, have been fascinated with my own family history, my own genealogy, and when I wrote my Mother's Obituary, it was done with the knowledge of what my Mother would have wanted. She had always placed so much importance on family, family relationships, family history, that I had only to put a pen to the page and it flowed out as if she was, once again, at my side reciting the wonderful, warm, dear, fun, silly family stories, ...and yes, some historic, incredibly tragic and sad events, as well, that have made, at least this Voigt Family History so interesting. So, I trust that some of what is referred to as a "mystery" has now been resolved. Beth

Beth, thank you so much for posting. I hope it didn't make you uncomfortable to read about your family in this way. I also hope it was obvious that our curiosity about your family was combined with a great deal of compassion. Many if not most of our ancestors lived through what we would consider hard times and tragedies. The same could be said of life in general, of course, but it was more pronounced back then.

Good for you for writing the "unusually informative" obituary . . . let it be an example to those who write obituaries in the future.

Many thanks for sharing your family with us.

What a wonderful thread!

• No, Alisande, I am not at all uncomfortable.....Sad, though, as to the many untimely losses. I have forwarded these postings/info on to my cousins, the two children of Arno C. Voigt, MD/Eleanor Croop Voigt's son, George B. Voigt, MD. They will find this of great interest. No, I have no problem with this info being posted and shared. The meds and treatments now available for so many physical and mental afflictions and illnesses had not yet been discovered in the very early years of the last century. As we can see, not even a physicians own family members could always be successfully treated and saved. I was baptized, Elizabeth Eleanor, after my grandmother, ELIZABETH Shanley Voigt, who my Grandfather fondly called, "Beth", as she was so adored by my Grandfather, and also named for his third wife, ELEANOR Croop Voigt, the only grandmother I ever knew as I grew up. Despite the illnesses and untimely and tragic deaths, this Voigt family persevered, remembered, cared for and tended their loved ones and grieved over their losses and overcame as they went on to achieve much. Thank you for your most informative and kind postings! You are all opening new doors and "putting a face on" genealogy and making it real and tangible, so, you all just keep on researching. Thank you so much, Beth

What? You're both on the same website, so you can even add to it? How small is this world we're in? And really cool.

Wow!!! I am so glad I dropped back in to see what was happening!! How amazing is that?!! Someone we have been discussing can come and so beautifully tell the story and more about the players. Beth, you have a wonderful way with words yourself. Thank you for telling the story and filling in some of the blanks.

What an unbelievable story and thread!!! I too am bitten with the genealogy bug and just loved that obituary!!! I am so happy that we were able to connect to the whole family!!!! I surely hope one of my children can write such a nice informative obit for me when the time comes!!!

Some unsolicited suggestions. YOU, yes, YOU.....spoiler alert here---chances are very good that not one of us will be that one mythical person on earth that will live to be 500 years old after all. A solution is easy, not to an extended life, but to one's OBIT.......YOU write the salient points about your own life. Why not? YOU lived YOUR life, YOU are the informed expert about YOU, and just update the framework of your own OBIT, as you move forward, (age), along with your will......When one takes a long look back at what you have accomplished, in careers, in your family unit, in your community.... why there is a story just waiting to be written. From the perspective of genealogy bugs, inform your children, significant others, et al, as to where your own ancestral "cheat sheet", AKA your quick list of your ancestors..... Grands and GGGGrands et al, is located. That, along with info as to whatever/whoever else you would like included, (children, grandkids, nephews, cousins, etc.), gives your family a place from which to begin. YOU are giving them a gift. I do not believe it is morbid. At a stressful time in their lives, in dealing emotionally with their loss of YOU, they will have an OBIT prepared by YOU. Think I will go update mine right now! PS. And.....I did not even mention the very well documented PA VOIGT Family connections to our TEXAS VOIGTS. Ahh, another layer to peel back at another time..... Fun, isn't it? Thanks for your comments!

Excellent suggestion, Beth. In fact, I purposely left Ghoghunter's post (above yours) open on my screen to prod myself to go do just that. Heaven knows I'm old enough to think seriously about these things.

We recently had a thread here at the KT asking who was interested in writing their own obit. It started me thinking about some things I'd like to be included, but at the time I wasn't thinking of future genealogists. Now, thanks to you, I am.