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USA records -anyone an expert at finding things please?

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  • USA records -anyone an expert at finding things please?

    A bit of a tall order this but hoping someone can help, many thanks.

    I have a James William McCall born 17 August 1893 at Pyetscleugh, Sanquhar, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Only son of William McCall and Janet Muir.
    All we know of James (apart from the US Social Security record which has an incomplete death date) is that he died December 1970, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA. The death date December 1970 is on the reverse of a family gravestone which confirms he was the only son and that he died, Detroit, Michigan.

    We think James was a bachelor and we know he had a will. Due to all his immediate relatives bar one having predeceased him, the sole beneficiary was my Gt. Grandfather John Hiddleston, a cousin of James on his mother's side - Christina Hiddleston nee McCall. However by the time it was established that John actually was the only beneficiary, he had himself passed away in April 1972 (him being 95 years of age and 17 years older than James). The inheritance was divided amongst John's living children. None of the descendants of those children have actually seen the said will nor do they know which solicitors dealt with the estate. They could have been either in Sanquhar or Detroit.

    Can anybody find an exact death date and place of death for James and where he was buried/cremated? I have tried the US newspapers on findmypast but drawn a blank. Also can anybody find out anything about James' will such as where probate was granted and whether a copy of the will can be purchased?

  • #2
    there is this one on Ancestry but you have to subscribe to the newspaper to view the image

    James McCALL
    Gender: Male
    Death Date: 22 Dec 1970
    Obituary Date: 25 Dec 1970
    Obituary Place: Detroit, Michigan, United States of America

    Comment


    • #3
      Help Val! What did you enter to find that? I have tried with minimum info for James McCall, death date 1970 and just USA because neither Detroit nor Michigan were giving me results.
      I also tried searching only the Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current and still got zilch.
      I don’t have a sub to the newspapers either.

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      • #4
        I tried all sorts first , before I found that, seems you can have a free trial on the newspapers, can you do that? or would you like me to, unless somebody has a sub already.
        Going to bed in a minute.

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        • #6
          I think I paid a researcher to retrieve a DC, obit, and will in abt that time frame, in the Detroit area. That was several years ago, so maybe there's more now?

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          • #7
            My relative's records were from 1977. US DC's have space for informant, parents, burial place.

            I believe the researcher retrieved it from Michigan Dept. of Public Health, Lansing.

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            • #8
              Here's MI public hlth dept abt obtaining records:

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              • #9
                Originally posted by PhotoFamily View Post
                Here's MI public hlth dept abt obtaining records:
                https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,588...245---,00.html
                Thanks PhotoFamily. Followed that up and it’s way beyond my pocket. Had to enter an answer to everything on each of numerous pages including my UK driving licence number and expiry date and finally got a cost to post to UK. The equivalent of £72 If I was in USA it was the equivalent of £44. Seems there’s no way to avoid the £28 to post via UPS Air Services. Makes the English certificate fee seem paltry by comparison!

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                • #10
                  Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
                  I tried all sorts first , before I found that, seems you can have a free trial on the newspapers, can you do that? or would you like me to, unless somebody has a sub already.
                  Going to bed in a minute.
                  Hi Val, given my post above at #9, the obit is going to be the only way to go. Would appreciate it very much if you did the trial.

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                  • #11
                    if you log in - you can see snippet, might help:

                    gl obit.JPG
                    Carolyn
                    Family Tree site

                    Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                    Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

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                    • #12
                      I can’t get those to open Carolyn. Could you expand please?

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                      • #13
                        mccall.jpgmccall.jpg

                        here they are Galloway, I'll try and register

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                        • #14
                          Not sure why they won't here is a link:
                          www.familytree.chatandthat.co.uk/random/gl%20obit.JPG
                          Carolyn
                          Family Tree site

                          Researching: Luggs, Freeman - Cornwall; Dayman, Hobbs, Heard - Devon; Wilson, Miles - Northants; Brett, Everett, Clark, Allum - Herts/Essex
                          Also interested in Proctor, Woodruff

                          Comment


                          • #15
                            Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
                            [ATTACH=CONFIG]20365[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]20365[/ATTACH]

                            here they are Galloway, I'll try and register
                            Many thanks Val. Will cross my fingers they provide some family info when expanded.

                            Comment


                            • #16
                              Well, snoofling about in the net with the address I could just make out in the bottom one got me a cracker of a fact. Nothing to do with James but a real turn up surprise. You can see the full article here https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.m...dia=AMP%2bHTML

                              3975 Cass Avenue, Detroit was until 1981, the W.R. Hamilton and Co. Funeral home. It was then sold and became the Detroit Art Center Music School.
                              While it was the funeral home, W.R. Hamilton and Co. had been the firm who had prepared Harry Houdini’s body for onward travel to his funeral in New York. He was temporarily laid out in a coffin that had been commissioned as a prop for one of his stage-shows. Houdini's body was transported by train from Detroit to New York where over 2,000 fans gathered to mourn the famous illusionist at his funeral.
                              In 1927, Houdini's wife Bess began a tradition of holding a séance every year at the Masonic Temple at 500 Temple Street in Detroit (only half a mile away from the funeral home) to contact his spirit. Bess claimed that Houdini had told her that when he died, he would prove once and for all whether the spirit world existed. She said that her late husband gave her a secret word that only she would know — and if spirits were real, he would communicate this one word to her from beyond the grave. Year after year, Bess failed to make contact with the spirit of Harry Houdini.
                              After the building became the music school, a strange turn of events added yet another layer of mystery to Houdini's legacy in Detroit. There were a lot of factors that added to the enigma of this building that housed both classical music lessons and rowdy punk shows, but the most intriguing of all the unpredictable elements, was that it was believed that Houdini's spirit was also present.
                              An elderly receptionist at the Detroit Art Center Music School named Juanita Hammond always greeted students and guests with a warm smile. She was a vital character in the organization, which was founded in 1922. She had worked for the school since long before its relocation. One evening, Hammond said she was alone, finishing some work. It was Halloween. She felt a cold rush of air, and when she looked up, she claimed she saw none other than Harry Houdini standing in the doorway of her office — a phenomena that occultists had tried to experience since 1927.
                              In Hammond's years of service at the DACMS at 3975 Cass Ave., she said that she grew to expect a visit from Harry Houdini whose spirit would appear without fail, every Halloween, on the anniversary of his death.
                              Hammond lived to be 102 years old.
                              Last edited by GallowayLass; 10-12-19, 00:13.

                              Comment


                              • #17
                                What a fascinating find, I'd add that to my tree, another interesting fact.

                                Now when I tried to register a page kept coming up asking me what sub I wanted for Ancestry?? will try again today.

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                                • #18
                                  after all that I registered and this is all it saysObituary_for_JAMES_McCALL.pdfObituary_for_JAMES_McCALL.pdf

                                  had awful trouble this is all it says
                                  Attached Files

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                                  • #19
                                    have you got this recordJames William McCall.JPG

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                                    • #20
                                      No Val, I have not seen that before. What is it a registration card for?
                                      I see the image now for the where and when of his funeral which must be the one from 25 December p.22. What does the one from the following day 26 December page 18 say?
                                      I am a bit puzzled as to whether either of these snippets are the same thing you mentioned in your post #2 as that gives a date of death. The snippet of his funeral announcement doesn’t mention his date of death at all.

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