Microfiching Catches a Family History Whopper

I've been known to tell some pretty good fish stories!  Mostly about how the Bigun's Got Away or the fishin' was so good they were jumpin outta the water and snatching the worms right off the hook. 

It's been awhile since I've been fishin' for whoppers, but recently I got the idea to go Microfiche-ing.

I've been carrying around the 'Bait' for several months and was just waiting to be in the right place at the right time to catch what I hoped would add some insight to what happened to...

....Great Granddaddy's Second Wife!

I caught a Whopper and Opened Up a Whole New Can of Worms!

FORT STOCKTON PIONEER
August 23, 1918

DIED

Mrs. G.W. Pittman, of Grandfalls, who only recently had come here for medical treatment, died very suddenly from organic heart trouble, at the Riggs Hotel, Saturday evening August 16th.

The remains were prepared for burial by Undertaker W.H. Bird, after which they were taken to Grandfalls, Sunday afternoon and interred in the cemetery at that place. 

The funeral services were conducted by Reverand M.O. Williams, pastor of the Methodist Church, of which church the deceased was a devoted member.

A husband and two children, who reside in Grandfalls, are left to mourn her loss.

Obituary for Mrs. George Washington Pittman...Nancy Anne Carey Forkner Pittman.

Born...April 23, 1854 in Monroe County Tennessee to John E. Carey and Ellen M. McAllister

Died...August 16th, 1918 at the age of 64 in Fort Stockton, Pecos County, Texas

Survived by husband George Washington Pittman of Grandfalls, Ward County, Texas.

and....here's the Opening of a Whole New Can of Worms....

....the two children left to mourn were her Granddaughters. 

This I knew from the 1910 Census that listed Maime 4 years and Tillie 1 year, and who at the time of Nancy's death would have been 12 and 9 years of age.  Who and where was the Mother of these two granddaughters?   Why weren't Nancy's SIX children she reported as having given birth to in the 1900 Census, listed as surviving her or preceeding her in death? 

Yep, looks like another Fishin' Trip!

But first, the Obituary Revelations!!

The Riggs Hotel where Nancy died has been a subject and photo resource for many of the posts here on CollectInTexas Gal.  As a former member of the Fort Stockton Historical Society and Board Member of the Annie Riggs Museum, I have spent many hours there.  What a Special Moment it was for me when I read that my Great Grandfather and Step-Great Grandmother had stayed there exactly 95 years ago to the day that I Microfiched the Obituary!  I can hardly wait to get back to Fort Stockton and the Annie Riggs Museum to find their Signatures in the August 1918 Registry.

The remains were prepared for burial by Undertaker W.H. Bird, after which they were taken to

Grandfalls, Sunday afternoon and interred in the cemetery at that place. 

That place being the Tamarisk Cemetery.

Another Special Moment to realize that another of my Pittman Texas Ancestors

 can now be officially laid to rest with other Family Members including

George Washington Pittman's Grandsons and Great Grandsons

Willard Carroll Pittman and MD Pittman

Stacy Scott Pittman and Billy Carroll Sinks

Rest in Heavenly Peace

Nancy Anne Carey Forkner Pittman

April 23, 1854 - August 16, 1918

You are fondly remembered in the Pittman Family Tree and History

as documented in

Tracks of My Texas Ancestors.

Your story will be told.