She was just nineteen years old. Kirsti Karoline Halvorsen passed away on the 4th of November 1891, one month and five days past her nineteenth birthday, which means her birth date, according to my Family Tree Maker calculator, was 30 September 1872.
I thought these two dates would assure me of success in finding our Kirsti in the censuses. No such luck. I am guessing Kirsti was of Norwegian descent and probably lived in the mid-west US. We know that she was not married. While a residence is not provided on the card, there is a manufacturer's stamp on the reverse "George Mitchell, Fine Memorial Cards, Greenfield, Ind."
George Mitchell produced and sold cabinet card-sized memorial cards for quite a few years across the mid-west. He would send a personalized, sample card to the next-of-kin of a deceased individual, using information found in newspaper obituaries and death notices. If the person wished to retain the card, they would have to pay .15 cents within 10 days, or return the card. They could also order additional cards. The price per card was 15 cents or a dozen for $1.00. Customers could choose an alternate poem from a listing of poems, or, for an additional 25 cents, they could provide a poem of their own.
This particular card was called "Design #3" on George Mitchell's advertising brochure of 1891.
I searched on the US, Canadian & Norwegian census databases for Kirsti Karoline Halvorsen and did not hit upon anything promising. There could be a problem with the spelling of the name in the censuses, but it will take me a bit more time to learn more about young Kirsti.
This is made more complicated by the "missing" 1890 US Census and the way the last names were changed by Norwegians.
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