Tag Archives: State HIstorical Society of Missouri

Thomas Copeland Obituary Request

Hello Cousins!

I just wanted to let you know that I recently contacted the State Historical Society of Missouri to request a copy of Thomas Copeland’s obituary. There were several papers published in Dunklin County at the time of his death, so I figured that his obituary would be in at least one of them. I was hoping that I might learn more about his parents and/or siblings. Unfortunately, it looks like there was no obituary published. Here is the response I received:

State Historical Society of Missouri Research Request
Leeman, Lauren Fri, Nov 15, 2013 at 4:31 PM
To: “kelcopeland@gmail.com”
Dear Ms. Wilson,

I am writing regarding your request for the obituary of Thomas Copeland. Unfortunately, the newspapers did not carry the news of his death. I checked the Malden Merit, Twice-a-Week Dunklin Democrat, and Farmington News.

I’m sorry we came up empty handed on your request. Let me know if you have any questions.

Lauren Leeman
Reference Specialist
The State Historical Society of Missouri
1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201
Tel: 573.882.1187 | Main: 573.882.7083
leemanl@umsystem.edu | shs.umsystem.edu

You can view Tom Copeland’s death certificate HERE, which lists his parents as George Copeland and Mary Lawson. I am sure that George Copeland was his father, but I have doubts about Mary Lawson, considering that George’s wife on both the 1870 and 1880 Census was named “Sarah.” I believe there is a connection to the Lawson family but it would have been through George’s first wife, who was not the mother of Tom Copeland. My grandfather, Bill a.k.a. “Uncle Delvie”, told me that Tom’s mother was named Charlotte Eve Kingsley. I haven’t found anyone by that name living in Dunklin County around the time that George was there, but I’m not 100% sure that he married “Sarah” (the woman who must be Tom’s mother) in Dunklin County.

The hunt continues!

Your cousin,
Kelli Signature