Wrote His Own Obituary
The importance of obituaries in genealogy can hardly be overstated. They provide researchers the date and sometimes even the circumstances of death, along with the names of at least some near relatives. Rare but very prized is the obituary that goes beyond the basics and gives its readers insight into a life lived.
Today I read a report by the journalist Kristen Hare on her project to write reported obituaries on regular people. Reported obituaries are like the ones you read in the New York Times about a famous actor or scientist who just died. They contain a summary of why the person was important while also going back to their birth and giving us a miniature biography. And all of this is accomplished after thorough research and reporting. Grieving family members may not have the ability or interest to do this kind of writing and they also may not have the distance. I don’t think Hare makes that point, but it can be difficult to sum up the life of someone like a parent in a way that is meaningful to someone outside the family.
And yet … I recently discovered an obituary of a relative with the intriguing headline: “WROTE HIS OWN OBITUARY.” It was published in a Kansas newspaper in 1917. I was familiar with Maurice Wolfe prior to discovering this. I had researched his birth and death dates. Who his parents were, his wife, and kids. I knew he was born in Illinois and was buried in Kansas. For many family members, that’s about as much as you can learn. So one of the things that was so striking about this obituary was how it reminded me of everything we don’t know. It was as if Maurice Wolfe’s entire life had been obscured until I read it. The second striking thing: how completely without airs his writing is. There’s no attempt to justify or puff up or celebrate. It’s almost as straightforward as a grocery list—except that it also manages to be incredibly poignant. That last sentence, especially.
Here’s a transcription. You can read the original here.
WROTE HIS OWN OBITUARY
Maurice Wolfe Came to Kansas in Early Days.
Freighted by Ox Teams When Many Indians Were Quartered in This County in ’50s and ’60s.
Writing one’s own obituary is a novelty that is seldom known but the late Maurice Wolfe, 80 years old, who died at Garden City on November 26, wrote his several years ago. And a resume of his life dates back to the Indian days of territorial Kansas. For many years Mr. Wolfe was a resident near Pomona and his obituary is dated “Pomona, Kansas, September 1, 1912.” It follows:
“I was born near the town of Listowel in the county of Kerry, Ireland, about the year 1837. Came to America with my parents when a small boy. Came to Ottawa, Illinois; grew to manhood there; worked for David Strawn; drove cattle for him to Chicago in 1855 ’56. The stockyards at that time were known as Bulls Head. The country was nearly all open at that time from Strawn’s place to Chicago.
“Came to Kansas in September, 1857. Stopped at the Sac and Fox agency, now Greenwood. Worked at freighting, hauling goods with ox teams for the Indian traders in the years 1858, ’59 and ’60 from Kansas City. At that time it was called Westport Landing. It wasn’t much of a place at that time.
“Then went to Quenemo as the Indians had sold part of their reservation The agency was moved to Quenemo. About that time the war broke out and the hauling of goods was from Leavenworth. Was employed for some time by the company of Fuller, Carney & Stevens on their ranch now known as the Usher ranch west of Pomona. Had the issuing of beef and corn to refugee Indians. There were several hundred of them. They were the loyal Indians of different tribes—Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Cickaws, Chocktaws, Caddoes and Uchies.
“Spent some time on the plains. Had charge of 1,500 head of cattle from the Usher ranch in the fall of 1864. Took them to Fort Union, New Mexico, for the government, then freighting to Salt Lake City, Utah. Had charge of moving the heavy freight with ox teams for the traders and Indian agent in 1869 when the Sacs and Foxes moved from Greenwood to the Indian territory, now Oklahoma. Stayed there some time. Came back to Kansas and soon after bought 160 acres of raw prairie land about three miles southeast of Greenwood. Settled down; quit roaming about. Got married in 1877 and went to work farming.
“The above is a short sketch of my life as near as I can remember.
“MAURICE WOLFE.”
Mr. Wolfe was married to Mary Fitzgerald in the spring of 1877. After writing the above he added the following:
“We had four children, three boys and one girl—John, Edward, William and Annie. John died when one and. a half years old. Ed and Will are both married. Ed lives in Garden City, county seat of Finney county. Will lives in Douglas county and Annie in Iowa with my sisters, Mrs. Joseph Collison and Julia Wolfe. They took and raised her. She was only six months old when her mother died. She is 14 years old, is getting a good education and has a fine home, better than I could give her.
“M. WOLFE.”
After Mr. Wolfe’s death his body was taken to Pomona and interment was in Greenwood cemetery near where he had so many interesting experiences in the early days.
All the children were present at their father’s funeral.
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