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Mary (Finnestad) Bell - Death Certificate

I have been searching for the husband of Mary (Finnestad) Bell for quite awhile.    Her death certificate from Snohomish county, state of Washington lists Mary as a widow.    No name was listed in the space for her husband but "no one knew".     That might apply to her actual birth month and day but I can only guess.    Apparently her brother, Rasmus couldn't remember the name of his brother-in-law.   I have yet to encounter a descendant of Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr that does know his name.



I previously posted information on Mary's two burials hoping the original burial place would have more information on the name of Mary's husband, however, they did not have any additional documents.

At this point I believe the closest I will get to discovering Mr. Bell's first name will be the deposition Mary provided to the prosecutor's office during the trial in which she was a witness.    The courthouse in Dixon, Illinois has a copy of the trial transcripts.     I have yet to verify whether the prosecutor's file is also contained with the trial documents.     

I do know Mary and her husband had a daughter, May Bell and Mary's husband was a clergyman who had died prior to the murder of Fred Tolsted on December 24, 1897.  

The search continues....

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Kenneth and Lillian Finnestad obituaries

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Ole Finnestad Jr obituary

Here is the obituary for my great, great grandfather, Ole Finnestad Jr from the Dixon Evening Telegraph of July 9, 1928. Note the misspelling of his first and last name, though Finnestad was spelled correctly within the content of the article. You will also note that his brother Rasmus had moved from Canada to Washington by the time of his brother's death. Oddly, there is no mention of the sisters that survived him, leading me to believe they may have lost touch by the time of his death.

Finnestad Farm - Stavanger, Norway

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