Genealogy Blog Family History

More Types of Death Records: Death Certificates, Mortuary records, and Sexton’s recordsPosted by Administrator on September 28th, 2011

By Sherry Stevens,
Professional genealogist

Many types of records are created at the time of death, and one of these three record types might help you to find the missing piece in your ancestor’s puzzle.

Death Certificates
Death certificates usually contain the deceased’s birth date and place, death date, cause of death, and address at the time of death. They may also include the spouse’s name, the deceased’s occupation, the name of the attending physician, the name of the mortuary or funeral home, and the name of the cemetery in which they were buried.

To find a death certificate, try searching online first. Many free databases such as FamilySearch are adding death certificates to their collections regularly. Ancestry.com, a subscription database, also has a good collection of death certificates. In both of these databases, I prefer to start my search by location rather than by the person’s name, so I can see what types of records are included in the database. If they have death certificates in the location I need, I can then go back and search using the person’s name.

If you can’t find your ancestor’s certificate in an online database, you may need to send for a copy from the county or state health department. You can find the correct agency on the Internet by typing in the name of the county or state, followed by “death certificates”. Government agencies usually charge a fee of about $25 for a copy of a record, but if you’re lucky, some are free.

Your ancestor’s death certificate may also be available on microfilm. Check the online catalogs of the Family History Library or the Allen County Public Library in the location in which your ancestor lived, then contact the library for more information. Family History Library films can be checked out and viewed at your local FamilySearch Center for a small fee.

Funeral Home or Mortuary Records
Your ancestor’s funeral home may have more information about your ancestor than you could learn from their headstone. Such information may include the obituary, death certificate, funeral card or program, place of burial, and billing information of the next-of-kin.

To find the name of the funeral home, you may need to consult the person’s death certificate. Then search the Internet to determine if that funeral home is still in operation today. If the funeral home cannot be found on the Internet, do not despair– it may have merely changed its name. Even if it is no longer in business, its records were probably not destroyed, but just passed to the succeeding funeral home or one nearby. Call a few of the surrounding mortuaries, and they might be able to steer you in the right direction.

To find the nearby mortuaries, enter your ancestor’s final address into Google Maps, then hit Search Nearby, and enter “mortuaries” or “funeral homes”.
To find your ancestor’s address, search records such as federal census records (it’s usually written up the side on the far left), state censuses, death certificates, and old phone books or city directories.

Sexton’s Records
A sexton is the person or team in charge of a cemetery. They keep the cemetery records and also serve as its caretakers. In the case of church-run cemeteries, the sexton could also be the priest or his appointee. Most cemeteries, except perhaps small family cemeteries, have a sexton. Sexton’s records are especially valuable if your ancestor’s the headstone has been lost or damaged.
Sexton’s records generally name the individual buried there, the plot location, burial date, and the name of the plot’s owner– which can be a clue leading to other family members. In some cases, you might even find the death certificate or obituary, cause of death, names of possible family members, or learn if the deceased was moved from that cemetery.
To find sexton’s records, contact the cemetery office. If the cemetery is older and burials are no longer taking place there, its sexton’s records are likely located at a local archive, historical society, or city hall.
Sextons are not required to provide their information to the public, so be extra courteous in your requests to them. You might ask for the charge per name or per record, or offer to make a small donation in exchange for the information you seek.

Next time I will discuss even more types of death records and how to find them. Until then, I wish you success in all of your diggings!
Sherry

Sherry Stevens is a professional researcher, writer, lecturer, and the owner of GenPro’s, a genealogical research firm. A descendant of Danish immigrants, she specializes in the records of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the United States. For more information on research services in these or other locations, please contact Sherry at: mygenpro@gmail.com.

Other Types of Death Records: Digging Up Cemetery RecordsPosted by Administrator on September 9th, 2011

By Sherry Stevens

After you’ve checked the Social Security Death Index, if you’d like even more death-related information, try cemetery records. Cemetery records often reveal the birthdate, death date, location, and of course, the cemetery. Often you will even find the names of those buried next to your ancestor, or tombstone inscriptions. Sources are popping up almost daily on the Internet to help you find burial and cemetery records. Here are some of my favorites:

Cemetery listings:
Find A Grave- This is probably the largest database of grave transcriptions today. You can browse it by name, birth date, death date, or cemetery.
US GenWeb- This is a large database that must be searched by location and cemetery. The names in each cemetery are listed alphabetically, and include their tombstone inscriptions.
Interment.net- This is a smaller database but well worth a look. Many of the more obscure graveyards are included, including those no longer in existence.
Names In Stone- On this newer database, you can see a map showing the location of the gravesite in the cemetery, and the names on the plots nearby. You can even get GPS coordinates and driving directions. How’s that for thorough?
Billion Graves This brand new site is sure to become a hit. Using new technology, an iPhone or Android app first captures images of headstones, and a desktop piece transcribes the information on the headstones into a searchable database. The Smartphone app stores an accurate location and a photo of each grave. The database is small right now, but likely to grow quickly.
Cemetery Surveys- This site focuses mainly on the cemeteries in the southern states.
Nationwide Gravesite Locator- This site lists the burial locations of U.S. veterans and their family members.
American Battle Monuments Commission- The burial locations of U.S. veterans who died overseas are listed here, plus Tablets of the Missing.

The Internet
Many people post their family’s genealogy on their own websites. To find these gold mines of information, just enter your ancestor’s name and birthdate and/or place. Don’t forget to enter a variety of spellings if there was any chance your ancestor used a nickname or alternate name spelling. If their name was common, try entering the name of their spouse(s) or a child instead. If you strike gold, always contact the website owner to verify the information with actual documents or other sources.

Compiled Databases
Try entering your ancestor’s name and information into FamilySearch, the database of the Family History Library. The Family History Library is the largest genealogical library in the world, and is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, otherwise known as the L.D.S. or the Mormon Church.

Ancestry.com has a vast collection of cemetery records from many locations. If you don’t have a subscription, you can access many of them free at your local library or FamilySearch Center. If you have a subscription, also remember to check their Public Family Trees under the Search tab.

Microfilmed Records
If you know the place of death but need the date, try searching the Family History Library Catalog. Just enter the Place Name to see what cemetery records they have for the area. If the town is small and there is no cemetery listing, try entering the closest larger town. If you find a microfilm you would like to order, for a small fee you can have it sent to the FamilySearch Center of your choice, where microfilm readers are available to view it, and helpful volunteers can assist you.

Still having no luck finding your ancestor’s grave? Here are some tips that may solve the problem:

Check all possible cemeteries
City cemeteries were the most common place to be buried, but don’t overlook private, military, or family cemeteries, or those owned by various religious denominations. To find them, go to Google Maps and enter the location. Click on Search Nearby, and type in “cemeteries” to find their contact information.

Another way to find cemeteries is the Internet. Just enter the name of the place, followed by “cemeteries”. You may be surprised to find that obscure cemetery where your ancestor was buried.

Check cremation or mausoleum records
Perhaps your ancestor was not buried in a cemetery at all. Check the Internet for mausoleums in the area, or in the case of cremations, search for other types of death records such as mortuary records, probates, death certificates, coroner’s records, obituaries, medical examiner’s records, and state death indexes. More articles will be written in the future on these types of records and where they may be found.

Have fun in your searching, and good luck!

Sherry Stevens is a professional researcher, writer, lecturer, and the owner of GenPro’s, a genealogical research firm. A descendant of Danish immigrants, she specializes in the records of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the United States. For more information on research services in these or other locations, please contact Sherry at:http://mygenpro.com/.

Genealogy News September, 2011Posted by Administrator on September 1st, 2011