Years ago, I copied several records from the Bethany United Church of Christ in Tioga, Hancock County, Illinois. There were quite a few clues in those records–including the Bible verses on which funeral sermons were based.

The image on this post is the death entry for Franciska Trautvetter, who died on 15 January 1888. The entry indicates she was 36 years, 5 months, and 21 days old–and also indicates a date of birth of 22 July 1851. The funeral entry would provide primary information on her death and secondary information on her birth

The pastor even provides the funeral text: Psalms 102: 24-25. There could be a veiled reference in that  bible verse as well.

Some translations of verse 24 refer to someone being taken in the “midst of my days,” a likely reference to Franciska’s age at the time of her death. Sometimes those Bible verses chosen for funerals have a message–sometimes direct as in this case and sometimes less direct.

But they can be clues.