Samuel BENDER b.3/21/1850 d.10/11/1919 Missing Death Certificate
I received a copy of old Samuel BENDER's will yesterday that confirmed
the date of death that was listed in the family bible. I was giving
some thought to why we were unable to locate a death certificate in
Wells County (Sam lived in Bluffton). Old Sam wrote his will in 1904
when he perceived himself as being in failing health that jeapordized
his life, but then lived for an additional 15 years. When he died, he
had a substantial estate. He left a total of $12,000 to his children
plus the house and estate residuals to his wife Eliza Jane HOUTZ
BENDER. If he was in need of a substantial degree of medical care at
the end of his life, he could have been taken to a "big city"
hospital...most likely Fort Wayne for specialist care. If he died in
Fort Wayne, would his death certificate have not been recorded in Allen
County?
Does anybody know where the death certificate would have been recorded.
Is there anyone in Fort Wayne that could check the Allen County death
records for me?
Greg