Death Records

Submitted by: HOST GFS CheriM@aol.com

 

Death records? You will need to write to the state's Department of Health or Vital Statistics to obtain the death certificate (DC). Each state charges it's own fee. Your local library may have a booklet called, "Where to Write for Vital Records." The Mormon (LDS) church has this booklet too. Also the addresses may be obtained from The Handybook.
***NOTE***A death certificate is a primary source for death only. Any other information you get off the death certificate (like your ancestor's birthday) is a secondary source. And remember, the DC is only as accurate as the person (informant) who provides it (It is possible that the informant is the spouse of the deceased, who may be very upset by the death of the loved one). If you are hunting down your ancestor's parents and the DC doesn't provide it, you may want to try a sibling's DC.

      a. Death Indices? Many states have made an alphabetical index of their death registers. Some states have both the index and the record on film. If your ancestor died and you don't know exactly when, you will find this a useful aid. These were filmed and are orderable from your FHC. You may also want to check with a state archive to see if a death index is in existence if your state is not listed below. Some information that may be found on a death index: deceased's name, county died in, Social Security number, spouse's first name (if survived by a spouse), the state number and the registration number and possibly the date of birth. (* means the death certificate was filmed too).

CA	1905-1993	NJ*	1848-1900
DE*	1855-1888 (certificates up to 1910)	NC*	1906-1950
FL	1877-1969	OH	1908-1936
HI	1909-1949	OR	1903-1994
ID*	1911-1937	SD	1880-1990
IL	1916-1942	TN*	1914-1925
KY	1911-1986	TX	1903-1994
ME	1892-1922	VT	1871-1908
MA	1841-1971	WA*	1907-1979 (certificates up to 1952)
NH	Pre-1900	WI*	1862-1907

Bibliography: Lehmann, Joy. "Are you Using Death Indexes in Your Research?" Heritage Quest (magazine), Issue #67, Jan/Feb 1997, page 15.

      b. Obituaries? While you are waiting for that death certificate to arrive in the mail, you may wish to check for an obituary on your ancestor. You can access obituaries from your local public library. Your library may have "Newspapers in Microform" and/or "Union List of Newspapers". The Gale Directory of Publications has more current newspapers. Most states also have a bibliography of newspapers. Three things to keep in mind while reading obituaries: Who said it? When did they say it? How did they know? The obituary may give you a birth town, the island or maybe just "Azores," "Madeira," or "Portugal." It will list the surviving spouse (if any) as well as surviving offspring. It may list places of where the deceased lived, and may even give you a time line. It may include the ancestor's occupation and how long in that occupation. Sometimes, you will find an article in the newspaper about the deceased, especially if your ancestor was prominent, or possibly died in a tragedy. A side note on newspapers here: some older newspapers have "Society" sections where they may say the Mr. & Mrs. ____ went to visit their daughter in ____.

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