NGS 2005 Gregath Information
Authors & Books  Schedule

Alan Murray, Author to Sign Books at NGS

Gregath Co., publisher of Death Notices for Jefferson County, Kentucky, And other areas, Volume One, is pleased to announce the author, SSG Alan D. Murray will be signing his books at NGS/GENTECH 2005 in booth #417, Thursday, June 2 from 12:30 to 1:00 P.M.  A genealogist for over twenty years, this author got his start from being curious about the family tree in the Bible given to him by his Mother. 

As Murray searched through newspapers while conducting genealogical research, he realized there was a vast reservoir of genealogical information that weren’t made into easily accessible research tools for the general public.  Murray stated “I wanted to help get some of this information out to genealogists who may otherwise never see it.” 

Murray’s research tool, published for the first time in March, 2005, will be available in several formats including on compact disk (CD) accessible by Adobe Acrobat (PDF).  This book contains 232 pages and has an every name and place index, in addition to death entries being listed in alphabetical order. It contains death notices, obituaries and articles concerning the passing of individuals in the 1800’s.  A small sampling of inscriptions from tombstones of local cemeteries has also been included in this volume.  Notices/Articles were taken from the Annual City Report for Louisville, newspapers, and death records for Jefferson County. An effort was made to insure that text placed in this book mirrors that of the source document, thus spellings found in this text, reflect the original document. When text was illegible or difficult to read, transcription was attempted and is marked as such.  

While documenting Jefferson County deaths, many other death notices were included in Murray’s first volume.  These took into consideration members of families that were left behind as others moved westward.  Thus, a family may have members spread along the Ohio River from Pittsburgh all the way down to New Orleans or spread along the Wilderness Trail.  Taking into consideration this possibility, all death notices from newspapers were included, regardless of place of death.  Because of Murray’s exhaustive treatment, there are obituaries and other death notices included that bring to light people who may never be found any other way.  Instances of this include persons who were born or died between censuses or persons who moved from other states and died before the census was taken in the state of their final residence.

During the compilation of this research tool, the author found an obituary that gave him information about an ancestor that pointed him to more leads researching his family history.  This information helped establish the family’s migration from North Carolina, to Tennessee and eventually Kentucky.  This was an extraordinary find, considering Murray didn’t know the newspaper he found this information in even existed before undertaking this book project.  Murray feels that, aside from individual family history, it is very interesting to learn about the past, as well.  “In researching the book, I truly received a different perspective on life in the 1800’s, slavery, laws and the daily activities of individuals.” Murray stated.

The author is busy with his next genealogical publishing projects including the continuation of this series – currently planned in four volumes.  Far-reaching plans also call for Murray to compile a book about the 1859 and 1860 businesses in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Book Announcement Press Release

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Page Last Updated: October 12, 2018