Winfred Eugene Henderson d. 28 Feb 1976 Eugene, Lane County, Oregon

After several repeated attempts at getting a Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness volunteer to send me a copy of Ira Henderson's obit, I finally received a copy that I could see and read. I used it to update Ira's Find A Grave Memorial (46526701). I already had his wife's obit (Eula); however, one child Winfred had died before Eula, which was the reason I was pursuing Ira's obit.  I was hoping it would provide some leads on Winfred, their oldest child. It worked.

Winfred Eugene Henderson (went by Fred)
b. 9 Sep 1916 Texas (probably Clarendon, Donley County)
d. 28 Feb 1976 Eugene, Lane County, Oregon
m. 27 Dec 1934 Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Bertha Agnes Briggs
b. 19 Sep 1915 Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
d. 7 Jan 2008 Eugene, Lane County, Oregon

Winfred was born in Texas, a grandson of Lucinda Ann (Booth) Henderson, a great grandson of Mary Jane (McKee) Booth. A year after Winfred's birth, in 1917, his father, Ira, registers for the World War I draft, listing his home as Clarendon, Donley County, Texas.

About 1920, Winfred's grandfather  (Hezekiah Othnell Henderson) moves his family to Kansas City, Missouri. Most of the Henderson family follows Hezekiah. Hezekiah dies in Kansas City in 1933.

Because I had contact with a member of the Henderson family, I knew to look for later records in California, and I found lots of records in California. In Winfred's case, this knowledge did me no good. However, with his father Ira's obituary, I found that I should be looking in Eugene, Oregon. With that piece of information, tracking Winfred became an easy task.

Through my research, I've found that I can't overstate the value of obits. For the subject of the obituary, you frequently get confirmation on parents' names, date and place of birth, who they married and when and where the marriage occurred. The survivor lists provide married names for daughters and place names for everybody. Lots of obits provide interesting details like occupations and hobbies, which you can use to locate more information. These invaluable leads are the reason that I pursue every obit I can.