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I'm trying to locate the records of an undertaker for a burial in 1931. Goodman & Boller were in business as undertakers until at least 1952. They also had a furniture store of the same name as shown here.

How can I find if this business has been renamed or bought by another and thus their records might be held in a new company name?

I wish to inquire about a 17 Aug 1931 death and burial of Anna M Faught (married to Foster) in which they list Mt Washington Cess (?hard to read?). There is no Mt Washington in Boonville, perhaps it was sent to Independence, Missouri, but that cemetery has no findagrave entry for her?

Harry V.
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WilliamKF
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    What is your source for the 17 Aug 1931 death date for Anna M (Faught) Foster and her burial? If your source names living people in it, do not post the entire document. You could clip out the part of the image which you are having trouble reading if you'd like us to take a look at that. Also, I wouldn't put too much stock in whether someone had or didn't have an entry in Find A Grave. Find a Grave is hardly complete or accurate, and memorial inscriptions (stones) do not necessarily indicate a burial in the cemetery where they are found. – Jan Murphy May 03 '15 at 07:21
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    @JanMurphy The death certificate is here: http://sos.mo.gov/images/archives/deathcerts/1931/1931_00028469.PDF – WilliamKF May 03 '15 at 19:38
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    I think that "hard to read" text says "Mt Washington Cem" i.e. Mount Washington Cemetery and presumably the one at Independence – PolyGeo May 03 '15 at 21:43
  • This link mentions some of the undertaking business arrangements and may help but I don't think answer your question: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=cooperco&id=I11228 – PolyGeo May 04 '15 at 06:48
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    My two penn'orth - you are going about this the wrong way looking for undertaker records before properly looking for cemetery records. Mt Washington Cemetery in Independence is the biggest cemetery in Missouri, and not all records and gravestone photos are available online. It would be a mammoth task for someone to locate the grave without further information, thus there are loads of unfulfilled requests for grave photos on FindAGrave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=rapList&rapMode=cemetery&rapCemeteryId=30384 – Harry V. May 06 '15 at 14:55
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    Also you said in another question that Anna was living in Independence on the 1920 census, so it shouldn't be that surprising she is buried there? http://genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/8150/how-likely-are-1915-missouri-neighbors-with-same-last-name-to-be-related – Harry V. May 06 '15 at 14:59

1 Answers1

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  1. Cemetery listings

There are 2 Mount Washington Cemeteries in Missouri - one in Independence, Jackson County and a smaller one in Plattsburg, Clinton County. Most likely the Mount Washington in Independence was meant, since a city was not specified.

Anna Foster also not found in billiongraves.com & interment.net.

  1. Goodman and Boller Funeral Home

I found a 1964 obituary referencing Goodman and Boller. The founders died in 1954 (John Goodman), and 1966 (brother-in-law Gus Boller). Son Goodman Boller, who was also in the business, died in 1967. (Per A HISTORY OF THE THOMA / THOMÆ FAMILY)

The business was located at 505 Main St, Booneville in 1931; that address is now the "Your Money$ Worth Antique Mall," the previous address, next door, is now a bar (per GoogleMaps & Streetview).

None of the 5 current funeral homes listed by Google for Booneville seem good candidates for successor businesses but 50 years since the business was sold, renamed or closed is a long time.

  1. Options

Decide what information you are really looking for - is it where Anna is buried or information that may only be in the funeral home's records.

  • contact the cemetery to check their records
  • contact a local historical or genealogical society to access city directories, business histories, cemetery transcriptions, local knowledge
  • check the about pages of the websites of the current funeral homes in Booneville
  • create a Find-a-Grave memorial for Anna Foster, and submit a photo request. If the cemetery is incorrect, a photo volunteer will enter a problem report. Requests can also be submitted at BillionGraves.
bgwiehle
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