The word obituary comes from the Latin word obit meaning death. It began to be used for death notices in the eighteenth century. The death of a prominent person would result in a description of the life and times of that individual.

Before 1850 obituaries were usually short and contained little family information. Most newspapers of the day contained only four pages. Politics, local news and advertisements filled those pages and left little room for long obituaries.

As more people settled in the Midwest, almost every town eventually had a newspaper. Obituaries began to provide more information about the life of the deceased person. The original settlers of the area covered by the newspaper were given longer, descriptive obituaries. The editor probably knew the deceased and was able to provide a great deal of information about him or her. The hardships of settling the land and building up the towns provided memories to which many readers could feel connected.

The lives of veterans of the Civil War (1861-1865) were celebrated for their bravery and heroic service. Members of the Grand Army of the Republic attended all funerals of their comrades as a group and often served as pall bearers. There were special graveside rituals written for the occasion. Every year they conducted memorial services for veterans who passed away during the previous year. These events were reported extensively in the local newspaper.

By the last quarter of the 19^th century, obituaries became longer and contained more family information. They provided many details about the person's life and family connections as well as the times and places of the funeral and burial. As an example, the obituary of Aaron Boyer, who was described in last week's article, filled a full column on the front page of The Daily Republican-Register.)

When August Sandburg died, his obituary appeared in The Daily Republican-Register of March 22, 1910. It was published on the day of his death. He died shortly after 2 o'clock  in the afternoon. He had lived in Galesburg for forty years and his health had been declining for a number of months. It is obvious family members had provided information for the obituary.

The obituary noted his birth on September 27, 1844, at Asbo socken, Sweden, and subsequent arrival in Galesburg. His twenty-five years of work in the blacksmith shops of the Chicago,Burlington and Quincy Railroad and his severing his connection four or five years before his death was mentioned. There is no mention of the word retirement. The date of the marriage of August Sandburg and Clara Anderson was given, as well as the names and locations of the surviving children. Two grandchildren were included without being named. The funeral was to be conducted from the home at 809 East Berrian Street, with burial in Linwood Cemetery.

Carl Sandburg did not return to Galesburg for the funeral. In part, that was because he lived in Milwaukee at the time, and the trip to Galesburg and return would have been expensive, especially if his wife accompanied him. He was also deeply involved in the mayoral campaign of Emil Siedel, the Socialist candidate. Finally, he had been somewhat estranged from his father because August did not believe his son could earn an adequate living as a writer. At the time of the publication of his two-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, Sandburg dedicated it to his parents, “Workers on the Illinois Prairie.”