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To conduct genealogy research or settle an estate, finding the right death records is crucial. Look in cemeteries or consult government agencies for local records, or search national government records and genealogical associations. Online sites can also provide helpful information.
Whether you’re conducting genealogy research or in the process of settling a loved one’s estate, securing the right death records is essential to the task. Fortunately, there are several ways to find and obtain copies of records of this type, with many local resources. Here are some possibilities that may lead you to the death record or documents you need.
If your goal is preparing a family history or doing family tree research, one of the first places to look is in cemeteries. If the deceased belonged to a religious organization that maintained a cemetery on their property, there’s a good chance the congregation’s historical records will include details of who was buried there, along with the death dates of each person buried in the cemetery. Even if the records don’t include the exact date of death, they will usually include the lot and space number assigned to the grave, making it easier to visit the burial site and read the data from the marker.
Another approach to obtaining death records involves consulting government agencies. Depending on the country concerned, there may be local agencies that can directly help with the search. It is not unusual for county and parish records to include information on all deaths and burials that occur within the jurisdiction. The data usually includes copies of the death certificate issued by a coroner once both a doctor and a government agent certify the death.
In the event that local records have been lost or damaged, there is always the option of searching through the death records registered with the national government. For example, in the United States it is possible to obtain information on the deaths of individuals dating back as far as the early 19th century. While the oldest of these records may contain only low quality amounts of information, records from 1900 to the present tend to be very detailed. Copies of death certificates can often be obtained from a national government agency when they are no longer available from other sources.
One final avenue to explore is with free death records maintained by genealogical associations. In many cases, such companies have microfilm and microfiche copies of county death records that are many years old. More recently, computer technology has made it possible to scan original documents for storage, making the recovery process even easier. The free records that may be placed in various genealogical societies often also include other public death records such as church graveyard records, birth and death lists maintained by towns and villages, and a wide variety of other public death records.
You can also search death records by accessing online sites run by various organizations. While not always providing direct access to formal documents such as a death certificate, these sites can often provide enough detail to allow you to connect with an entity or organization that can provide a copy of the original. In some cases, there will be no cost, although sometimes there is a small fee to cover printing and postage.
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