Genealogists are always looking for new sources. Tracking down information about our ancestors is what we do best. Obituaries are a terrific source of information but genealogists sometimes overlook the hundreds of thousands of obituaries that are not published in newspapers.
For example the Department of the Navy annually report to the U.S. Congress includes a lengthy list of obituaries of naval personnel who passed away in the previous year. These detailed obituaries give the genealogical details of the person’s birth date, birth place and death date & place as well as the details of their military career.
These reports by the Department of the Navy along with the thousands of other documents prepared for government use are consolidated in what is called the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.
You can see a digital copy of the original pages of the 1883 US Navy Report, and other free newspaper content at: http://www.genealogybank.com/free/r/Legacy0807
The US Serial Set is available on GenealogyBank.com
It is good for military records, casualty lists, Revolutionary and Civil War pension requests, widow’s claims, orphan petitions, land grants and much more. GenealogyBank currently has more than 119,000 reports from the Serial Set and is digitizing March 1919 with plans to complete content through 1930 by December 2007 and through 1980 by 2009. New content is added monthly!
Tom