Library patron and genealogy enthusiast Mary Lou Cotton helps display some of the local history documents available in the genealogy room at the North Webster Community Public Library. Photo Provided.
Library patron and genealogy enthusiast Mary Lou Cotton helps display some of the local history documents available in the genealogy room at the North Webster Community Public Library. Photo Provided.
NORTH WEBSTER - A team of researchers from the North Webster Community Public Library and local historian Michael Harris spent nearly four years developing a new funeral records database with over 100 years of records.

In 1952, Charles M. Harris purchased the former Carr Funeral Home in Syracuse, acquiring the records from Carr and his predecessors, according to a news release from the library. Harris provided funeral service until 1986 when he sold the business to a longtime employee and nephew, Gary Eastlund. The Eastlund Funeral Home continues to serve the community under the direction of Gary’s daughter and son-in-law, Sheryl and Dave Colquitt.

Harris also acquired the former Troxel Funeral Home in North Webster in 1961, and the Hartzler Gutermuth Funeral Home in Goshen in 1963. Over 100 years of records existed from those facilities.

When Michael Harris, Charlie’s son, sold the Goshen Funeral Home (Blocker-Harris), he acquired those records. At that time, he and his wife Rebecca wanted to preserve his father’s legacy and planned to create a database of the Goshen records.  Realizing that this task was bigger than two people could handle, he approached Beth Smith at the North Webster Community Public Library and asked for her assistance in documenting the records from all three funeral homes through Harris’ administration.

With the cooperation of the Colquitts, records were transported in phases to the library for digitization and transcription.

The records not only contain funeral information but in many cases obituaries and other information valuable to genealogical researchers, the release states.

The digitized and transcribed records are now available to search through the library’s website at http://nweb.lib.in.us/indiana_room/index.html.

In addition to Beth Smith, the Colquitts and the Harrises, the North Webster Community Public thanks Faye Myers, Terri Ritter, Ian Crighton, the Glean Team (genealogy club) and other volunteers who made this database possible. “Their years of work have made this valuable tool to anyone interested in genealogy a reality,” the release states.

These records plus many other genealogy and local history resources are available in the North Webster Community Public Library genealogy department. The genealogy work room is open to the public any time the library is open, and community members are always welcomed and encouraged to take advantage of the historical resources provided.

Library hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.