1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum Here. You or someone you know may still 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: subscribe to a local newspaper, to a print edition, even 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: depending on a number of factors such as your age 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: and health and whether or not your beetlejuice. You might 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: turn immediately to the obituaries section, curious if there's anyone 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: you recognize among the faces and names of the recently deceased. 8 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: If so, you are certainly not alone. For more than 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty years, newspapers have published obituaries to 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: announce the deaths of both the famous and familiar. Obituaries 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: fulfill a unique role in local communities and broader society, 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: both notifying the public of a passing and inviting them 13 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: to join the collective mourning process. As print newspaper circulation 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: has declined sharply over the past twenty five years, as 15 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: so have print obituaries, but the familiar format of the 16 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: obituary remains even as death notices move online to websites 17 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:15,319 Speaker 1: or heartfelt posts on social media. Just for one example, 18 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,559 Speaker 1: ancestry dot com, the genealogy website, about five years ago 19 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: upgraded its online obituary archives to include more than two 20 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty two million published obituaries dating back to 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:31,199 Speaker 1: the seventeen fifties. They used algorithms to extract biographical data 22 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:37,279 Speaker 1: from centuries of print obituaries, birth and death dates, geographical locations, parents' names, 23 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: and next of kin in order to automatically populate the 24 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: family trees of subscribers to their service. But the practice 25 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: of death notices goes way further back. The first obituaries 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: were published in ancient Rome around fifty nine BCE on 27 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: papyrus newspapers called daily events, but these notices of death 28 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: didn't become prevalent until much later. In newspapers. From before 29 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds, ancestry dot com spots could only find 30 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: a handful of obituaries per year. A few years later, 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: the number broke a hundred for the first time. Papers 32 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,679 Speaker 1: did regularly publish stories about the deaths of well known 33 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: public figures like politicians, wealthy socialites, artists, and other newsmakers, 34 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: but those stories written by journalists were distinct from these 35 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: shorter death announcements that evolved into the modern obituary. By 36 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen hundreds, newspapers were regularly publishing death notices 37 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: submitted by local funeral homes. Before the linotype machine was 38 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: invented in eighteen eighty six, every printed letter of every 39 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: word printed in the newspaper had to be set by hand, 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: so papers tended to be short, and obituaries were briefed, 41 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: typically around fifty words long, just enough to give the 42 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: name of the deceased, the name of a principal surviving 43 00:02:54,880 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: family member, and the date and location of the funeral. Sadly, 44 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: infants and young children died in large numbers in the 45 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: nineteenth century from illnesses and diseases that we now have 46 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: vaccines for. Unlike adult obituaries, which stuck to the facts, 47 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: a child's obituary may have included a brief bit of poetry. 48 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: For example, this verse from an eighteen fifty one notice 49 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: in the Philadelphia Public Ledger about the death of an infant, 50 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: Dear Richard's gone to realms above to receive his savior's 51 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,959 Speaker 1: dying love. By the height of the Civil War, published 52 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: death notices increased to tens of thousands a year. As 53 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: more space and attention were given to obituaries, they began 54 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: to serve as places for public expressions of mourning. For example, 55 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: in the February seventh, eighteen sixty five edition of the 56 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: Baltimore Sun, one death notice included a brief eulogy to 57 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: a promising young man's life cut short at twenty one years. 58 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: The subject of this notice was married, but six weeks 59 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: ago he had just embarked in business and possessed the 60 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: health and vigor to render it profitable. When the strong 61 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: hand of affliction was laid upon him and the form 62 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: recently so manly was soon prostrate in death. A further 63 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: article this episode is based on how Stuffwork. Spoke with 64 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: Genevieve Keiney, a president of the National Museum of Funeral 65 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: History in Houston, Texas. She explained the death notices published 66 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: in local newspapers also functioned as quasi legal documents because 67 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: the newspaper was a public forum. A death announcement served 68 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: to notify creditors who might want to file a claim 69 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: against the deceased's estate. With the automation of typesetting, newspapers 70 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: expanded at the turn of the twentieth century, and more 71 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: space could be dedicated to death notices and obituaries. Like 72 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: classified advertisements, newspapers charged a fee to publish obituaries, and 73 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: publishers quickly realized there was good money to be made 74 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: from them. Ancestry dot COM's obituary extractor found an increase 75 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: in obituaries from nineteen hundred to the nineteen thirties of 76 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: about three hundred percent. It was around this time, in 77 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties and forties, that the modern obituary template 78 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: took shape. Here's where we start to see families in 79 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: funeral homes writing death notices that adhere to a familiar 80 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: four part structure, a death announcement, short bio survived by 81 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: section and funeral information. If you look at the obituary 82 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: section of the Richmond Times Dispatch for July third of 83 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight, for example, it's a mix of shorter 84 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: death notices written by families and longer obituaries written by 85 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: staff journalists and wire services like the Associated Press. The 86 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,040 Speaker 1: shorter death notices had the deceased person's name of the headline, 87 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: while a longer obituary written by the paper might carry 88 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: the headline Missus Susan Murdock dies, writes Monday. Some of 89 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: the obituaries had pictures that deceased in their youth, a 90 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: regular feature of today's obits, one from nineteen thirty eight, 91 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: even written after the funeral and shares an account of 92 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: the service. That standard template can be a tremendous resource 93 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: for experienced genealogists and folks just starting out researching their 94 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,360 Speaker 1: family history, as most standard obituaries include the spouse's name, 95 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,280 Speaker 1: children's names, including married names for adult daughters, grandchildren's names, 96 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: and more. The style remained fairly unchanged throughout the second 97 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 1: half of the nineteen hundreds, but things took a shift 98 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: after the attacks on September eleventh of two thousand and one. 99 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:38,679 Speaker 1: Obituary expert Susan Sopper explained to NPR in twenty eighteen 100 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: that in the months following the attacks, the New York 101 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: Times published short narrative obituaries on each of the nearly 102 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: three thousand people killed that day. She said they were fabulous. 103 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: Everyone was recognized as a whole person, and they had 104 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: fun anecdotes. They made you cry, they made you smile, 105 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: And to me, that was sort of when the tide 106 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: turned in abituary and people realized that you could bring 107 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: a person to life and keep them alive in even 108 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: a short written bio. Soaper theorized that these obituaries started 109 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: a trend toward more honesty and openness and remembrances instead 110 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: of using coded language like he died at home or 111 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: she died suddenly. Families were opening up about how things 112 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: like addiction or clinical depression took a loved one's life 113 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: and including previously taboo details such as queer partners and 114 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: children born out of wetlock. Families now use the space 115 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: to talk about the passions and dreams of the deceased, 116 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: and a few obituaries even go so far as to 117 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: say that the deceased will not be missed. Today's episode 118 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: is based on the article how obituaries went from dry 119 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: death notices to tributes to truth on how stuffworks dot com, 120 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: written by Dave Ruse. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio 121 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuffworks dot com and was produced 122 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit 123 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 124 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:08,239 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.