Vernal and Nellie appear in City Directories up to 1920 but can't see nothing later so far.
Hi Debbie, Sandra, and Shelly:
The Lawrence City Directories that I've seen usually indicate if a person (usually male if he had a family) died or moved out of town. The 1920 directory would cover addresses for the year 1919.
As for the Spanish Flu, it is a possibility but if Walter was born in 1920, at least his mother was alive. In Lawrence, all of the victims would have been recorded. Massachusetts was/is very thorough in those sorts of things.
As for where to look next:
The main cemetery in Lawrence is Bellevue Cemetery, which charges for look ups (scroll down the page for contact info and fees):
http://www.cityoflawrence.com/bellevue-cemetery.aspxLots of people from Lawrence were buried in Elmwood Cemetery in the neighboring city of Methuen:
http://www.cityofmethuen.net/index.php/home-mainmenu-1.htmlThe cemetery is administered by the Department of Public Works, but I couldn't find much info when I went to the DPW link.
There is the City Clerk's Office for possible BMD look ups (The Clerk's e-mail address is at bottom of the page. There may be a fee.) at
http://www.cityoflawrence.com/city-clerk.aspxThen there is the Lawrence Public Library at
http://www.cityoflawrence.com/public-library.aspx. Click on Special Collections. There is info (including fees) and an e-mail link to the human person named in the info. Having done business with this person, I can vouch for his/her skills.
One last question: Is it possible that Thomas Dobson's family might have originated in Thornton (near Bradford)? Some of my Dobsons from Thornton moved into Bradford in the 1870s and 1880s. The Thornton connection would have been my direct ancestor Joseph Dobson (who incidentally married a Longwood from Bradford) and John Dobson.
Regards,
John
