Sunday's Obituary - Annagusta West Drake

From The Marion Enterprise January 12, 1922

Over the past week I was off and I spent a great amount of my time working on my family research with a special focus on Annagusta West Drake.  She is my third great grandmother.  I have many of my ancestors death certificates and obituaries but I realized that I did not have Anna's so I set out on a mission to find it.  Luckily, she died in the town that I live in and my father happens to know the town historian quite well.  He contacted her and told her that I was looking for a way to access the old Marion, NY newspaper entitled The Marion Enterprise.  I was hoping she'd know where I could get access to the papers on or around January 9th 1922.  She mentioned that in Jennie's House, our local museum, there are boxes of the old papers from the 1880's through the 1930's.  Great, I might be in luck.  She gave my dad the key and off we went to explore.  After moving a bunch of dusty old boxes and bed frames I found the box with the right date and inside were all of the  papers from 1921-1924.  They were yellowed, brittle, full of information and all in order.  I located the right date and with great care scanned the 90 year old paper for her obituary and I found it!   I took a picture with my iPad and was ecstatic with my treasure.  

Here is a transcription of Annagusta's death notice:

Mrs. Annagusta Drake

Mrs. Annagusta Drake, widow of Charles W. Drake, passed away at 6 o'clock, Tuesday moring, January 9, 1922, at her home on Palmyra Street, after a long illness, being 79 years of age.

Mrs. Drake had survived her husband only two months.

Her maiden name was Annagusta West.  She was born in New York City.

She had been a resident of Marion the last twenty years, coming from Sodus with her husband.  She was a  member of the local W.C.T.U.  She leaves one sone and six daughters:  Joseph Drake, of Newark, N.Y.; Mrs. William Carroll, of Williamson; Mrs. Sarah Haskins, of Marion; Mrs. Charles Boyle, of Oswego, Illinois; Miss Janet Drake and Mrs. Clara White, of Buffalo; Mrs. Agnes Hasselwander, of Rochester; eight grandchildren and four great grandchildre; also one brother, Edward West, of Newark, N.Y.

The funeral was held Thursday afternoon, at half past one o'clock, from the house, Rev. L.W, Bumpus, pastor of the Baptist church, officiating.  Burial was in the family lot in Marion cemetery.