Slave Update

"William Milton Scholl owned slaves, how many I don't know, but I do remember distinctly at being at grandpa Scholl's for a Sunday dinner. An old negro lady was there, having been owned by the family, and was highly regarded by all the family. She was treated as a guest in every respect. She died about 1915, and had a long obituary in the Fulton Missouri Gazette. No one today can recall her name." This is Our Story, p 66.

We have researched all deaths in Callaway County for 1914, 1915, and 1916. There are 1,073 recorded deaths for those 3 years. Based on the 1850 slave census we know that the Scholl family had two female slaves listed as 13 and 8 years old. We identified the females in the database and reviewed all of their death certificates looking for those with an approximate age of 68 - 83 at the time of their death and a designation as Negro, colored, or black.

We identified 24 individuals who fit the criteria. However the historical society just notified me that none of these 24 individuals are listed in the obituary index for the Fulton Missouri Gazette within the 3 years in question.

The historical society did let me know there is a Fulton Journal index that lists 3 possible candidates that passed away in 1914 and 1916. However, none of those 3 individuals appears on my list of possibilities.

Is the story wrong? Is the date wrong?

The historical society is going to search for the 3 obituaries in the Fulton Journal and I will also check the 1860 Missouri Slave Census to see if any additional information can be found there.