Carnegie Public Library

This collection is housed at the Carnegie Public Library in Angola, Steuben County, Indiana. It was started by Audree Seibel Lewis in 1950. For more than 15 years Lewis clipped obituaries from newspapers and mounted them to index cards or to the backs of old library catalogue cards. Frequently, she contacted family members of the deceased and interviewed them to gather more information. She hand-wrote the additional information on the cards. The collection also includes some anniversary announcements, photos, court cases, and family reunion announcements. Most of cities mentioned in the records are located in Steuben County, Indiana. On the obituary cards, the name of the cemetery where the deceased is buried is often handwritten in block letters on the corner of the card. In the mid-1960’s Lewis discontinued her hobby of collecting obituaries. After about a 10 year gap, the Carnegie Library staff took up the task of adding to the collection, which continues to this day.