Pease Funeral Home Records (MS 4809)

The Pease Funeral Home was founded in the early 1870s by James Pease (1840-1922) and his brother, Calvin Pease (1834-1903). The brothers operated both a funeral home and store at the corner of Center Ridge Road and Dover Road in Dover Village, Ohio (now Westlake, Ohio). Following the death of James Pease, his son Clifford Pease (1879-1944) took over the operation of the funeral home and moved it to 2914 Dover Center Road in 1929. Clifford’s wife, Alice Minerva Osborn (1888-1959), and daughter, Marion E. Pease (1910-1991), took over the operation of the funeral home upon Clifford’s death, and in 1955 they sold it to two former employees, Glen Jenkins and his son Melvin Jenkins. The Jenkins Funeral Home continues to operate at 2914 Dover Center Road in Westlake, Ohio.

This collection provides the genealogical researcher with valuable information, particularly those interested in family history in Bay Village, North Olmsted, and Westlake, Ohio, and includes a significant number of individuals of Scandinavian, Italian, and German heritage.

The records provide the researcher with the name of the deceased, maiden name, race, residence, next of kin, veteran status, occupation, employer, date of death, age, burial location, officiating clergyman, religion of the deceased, birthplace, state of residence, location and cause of death, attending physician, birthplaces of the parents, lists of funeral expenses, and location of newspaper obituary notices.

This index allows researchers to search the record books, registers, and card files located in MS 4809 Pease Funeral Home Records, Folders 57 through 61and 93 that document individual funerals held in 1917-1927, 1934-1935, and 1941-1955. The index provides the full name, death year, and age of the deceased, and the name of the cemetery where the deceased was buried. Once the researcher knows the year of death, the location of the funeral documentation can be ascertained from the collection finding aid descriptions for folders 57 through 61and 93.

More detailed information, as described above, is provided in the WRHS Research Center Reading Room. Manuscript 4809 Pease Funeral Home Records, 1883-1975 contains other documents and files in addition to the record books, registers, and card files. See the finding aid to this collection for more information about the collection and what it contains.

Researchers can access and make copies from the collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society Research Center Reading Room. Reference staff can provide copies for researchers unable to schedule a visit to the Western Reserve Historical Society. For information about the WRHS Research Center location, hours, admission fees, and research fees, contact the reference staff at 216-721-5722, x1509, or via email at reference@wrhs.org.