You might mistake this for Ferguson Features, but rest assured, it is not.
Last weekend, we (the Stranger and I) were working on the Ferg, finally replacing the last set of windows on the third floor. Those windows still need trimmed out and the exterior work completed, but I have steadfastly refused to allow the Stranger to access the exterior via cherry picker, ladder or being suspended from a helicopter. No. Just No.
But while he was pushing and shimming and essentially fitting the windows into the space, I was trying to clean. I said trying because 1) I hate to clean and 2) there is no water on the top two stories, so I was limited to sweeping and dusting and a little straightening.
On a table at the foot of the rope bed there was an album marked LEDGER Oakwood Bank. I had seen it dozens of times and just assumed it was a bank ledger.
Boy, was I wrong. It was the ledger of a business that once existed in Oakwood or that vicinity. An undertaker’s business. And that ledger carried the list of the clients and various charges for the care and services rendered to the dearly departed.
Some of the entries were fascinating, like the young woman who was collected from her father’s home in Seiling where she died after being crushed by a truckload of firewood.
Some were heartbreaking, like the seven-monthold child whose burial expenses were recorded, but whose name was not.
As I dug further, I realized what a genealogical treasure trove I was exploring. Not only were there dates- and sometimes places - of birth and obviously of death, as well as frequently listing the cause, it often noted the date and place of birth for the parents of the recently deceased.
All of this is from near the turn of the last century and only chronicles the area around Oakwood, Seiling and Fay. But if you are searching for whatever happened to great-great Aunt Gertie who lived in that area, this little album could be a good place to search.
On the other hand, if you are just interested in a local showcase of 1,000 ways to die in the West, this is a good place to search. And lastly, if you are fascinated by the cost of dying in 1905 ($125 caskets) this is a good place to search.
Most of all, if it has been a minute – or a decade – since you stopped at the Ferguson Home Museum, swing by on Thursday or Friday afternoons or on the weekend. Make sure and check out this fascinating look at our history, recorded in a corduroy bound death ledger.