Record of Death Documents - How to Find Them

Death records may sometimes be hard to find. However, thanks to today’s ‘free attitude’ towards information sharing, there are plenty of areas you can tap to find them.


Record of death can be an obituary, a burial notice, a tombstone or a death certificate. Anything that has to do with details of a person's demise constitutes a part of his death records. Family historians find such information useful in determining ancestral origins. Those eager to touch-base with long-lost relatives can get clues from death notices, leading them to other surviving kin.

What You Need to Find a Record of Death

You want to know about when and where your ancestors died but don't know where to begin your record of death research. First off, you'll need to find out their full names. Without such information, you'll find it hard to locate death records. Even if you did manage to locate them, verifying that they are indeed your ancestors would be next to impossible.

Approximate year of death is another thing you should determine beforehand. Estimating death dates is possible using such records as deeds, property settlements and wills. The date of death could also be narrowed down further by omissions of the deceased's name from tax or census records.

The approximate place of demise should also be checked. Their last known residence or location is an excellent place to start. If this search yields nothing, try checking other localities where other relatives lived at the time of the individual's death.

Record of Death – Where to Investigate

Once you've got the above details covered, it's time to start looking for your ancestor's record of death. Most of the same sources that supply birth information can also provide death information. However, the availability of such records can differ by country and time period. Here are some places worth trying.

• Newspaper obituaries or notices are likely sources for death dates. They're quite reliable seeing as they're generated so soon after the unfortunate event.
• Death certificates present an obvious source of death data but can be difficult to locate if approximate location and time of death are undetermined.
• Family sources like interviews, insurance papers, letters and diaries are other places that could contain clues to ancestors' death particulars.
• Church registers often include the date of death. They can likewise be sources of additional information like burial site and funeral specifics. However, these records can be tough to find if people have no idea which kind of church their ancestors went to.
• Cemetery records like sextons' records, tombstones and funeral home documents are great sources for death dates too.
• The US Social Security Death Index can be used to pinpoint death dates and places of ancestors who passed away in the US in 1937 or later.
• Land records like property transfers from ancestors can provide indications of date of death. These can be used to support other records that suggest when ancestors died.
• Another place to search for death records are online search service providers. Many of these sites have links to thousands of data centers across the US, making finding death records easier than ever before.

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