These 3: Finding Evidence of Death

4/18/2013

Sure, a death certificate find for your ancestor is awesome! But? What if you're looking for more evidence, or what if you're looking for a death that may have occurred before state registration of deaths?

Yeah. Then it becomes a little trickier, but not impossible. Below are 3 types of records to look at for evidence of your ancestor's death.

And then? In comments add places you've found evidence of your ancestor's death.

Tax Rolls/Records - When looking at tax records for your ancestor and you suddenly don't see their name but instead see their wife's name or the verbiage, "Widow of..." preceding your ancestor's name, then you've just narrowed down the time frame of when they passed away. To find: In online databases, survey the databases' available tax records for the location you think or know your ancestor lived in. Also, check the Family History Library's online catalog on FamilySearch.org, a local library in the area you are researching, the website of the state archives in the state you are researching in, or find & contact a local-for-your-research genealogical or historical society.
Land Records - If your ancestor died in the middle of a federal land purchase process, his widow and/or heirs were allowed to complete the process, and your ancestor's death would have/should have been recorded in the land case file for the purchase. To find: Federal land case files are located at the National Archives and they've prepared Info Paper No.114, Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office PDF with important information you'll need to locate those records. For non-federal lands, or State-land records visit the website of the state archives. Don't forget county land records. I once found a public affidavit filed by my 2nd great grandmother in the Historical Land Records online database for Bexar County, Texas, in which she stated my 2nd great grandfather had passed away intestate in San Antonio, Texas and she stated their adult children's names and their spouses so she could sell the house. {Bonus!}
Newspapers/Obituaries - You're probably thinking, "Duh." But? I don't mean this tip to be to look for an obituary or death notice...only. I mean once you find one, look for another. If a city had two newspapers at the time your ancestor lived in that city, then a lot of times his or her death announcement appeared in both and the information provided or listed just might be different for each one. For example, my grandfather's obituary appeared in both San Antonio, Texas, newspapers. The first one was just the basics. The second provided information about his employer and the fact that my grandfather had not been able to work for 3 years due to an illness. And I never knew he had been sick. Plus, since he had committed suicide, it mentioned a coroner's report. Also, keep in mind that newspapers tended to pick up news stories and obituaries from other areas either to fill space or because the town's residents had family ties to those other places. To find: online subscription databases like Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank.com; Family History Library's online catalog on familysearch.org; a local library in the area you are researching; the website of the state archives in the state you are researching in; or contact & inquire at a local-for-your-research genealogical or historical society. For even more ideas about online newspaper databases also check out Kenneth R. Marks' {TheAncestorHunt.com's} YouTube Channel where he has many how-to online newspaper videos.

Now it's your turn.
These are just 3 ideas. There are a ton more. In comments, share different places you have found evidence for an ancestor's death. {Bonus points for unusual!}

~Caroline

© Copyright 2013 Caroline M. Pointer

19 Comments

Kenneth R Marks link

4/18/2013 07:53:46 am

First of all Caroline, Thank you for mentioning my YouTube channel and the reference to my newspaper research videos. I appreciate it.

One method I have used to provide indirect evidence of someones death is via City Directories. Older versions prior to telephone books often had the name of the spouse in parentheses. If the husband had died, you might see the wife's name as "Mrs. John Smith (widow)" or even her given name with the term (widow of John) after her name.

So if in the 1889 directory John was there and in 1890 only his widow was there identified as a widow, one might conclude that he had died in the 1889-1890 window. Caution however, because some of these directories were not performed every single year and the following year version may have been a copy of the previous one only with the year changed.

Thanks for writing this very useful post.

Caroline Pointer

4/18/2013 09:51:08 am

Great tip, Kenneth! City directories are an excellent resource for a ton of information about our ancestors.

And? Thanks for reading ~ I really appreciate it! =)

~C

Jerry Kocis

4/18/2013 11:01:52 am

I spend a great deal of time reading the Slovakia Church Records on FamilySearch.org for the villages which my ancestors had once called home. Since the records are not yet indexed, reading the entries line-by-line and page-by-page is the only way to find marriage and burial records (many of the baptisms are indexed). The four years of high school Latin that I never imagined using, are finally paying dividends.
Prior to World War I, the area was part of Hungary, and so some of the villages have records or, at least column headings, written in Magyar, which has been a whole new learning experience. But, as there was no civil death certificate, these church records usually provide the only documentation of an ancestor's passing. They always provide the burial date and location and, usually, the date of death. In a few cases they have even revealed the cause of death (God bless the Jesuits for their meticulous record keeping).

Caroline

4/19/2013 02:31:31 am

Jerry,

I agree. Church records are an awesome way to gather evidence of a death {as well as births, baptisms, marriages, etc.}. I've been using them recently for my own personal research.

You mentioned having to look page-by-page and line-by-line. Personally, I think that can be a blessing because you find things you normally when it's indexed. You also get a sense of the community as it was then.

Thank you Jerry for joining the conversation and sharing. I really appreciate it. =)

~C

Mariann Regan link

4/18/2013 04:56:32 pm

Well, let's see. I was convinced for years that a telegram summoning my uncle to the family homestead was an indication of my grandmother's death that day. I was "almost" right. And I do seem to trust tombstones over state death notices, which are usually "off" by a day or two. And it's good to have more than one obituary to pool the information, as you say.

Otherwise, this advice is super-thorough but somewhat over my head. I'm going to save this URL, though, for the next time I meet a problematic death date or record. Thank you, Caroline.

Caroline

4/19/2013 02:37:55 am

Mariann,

Ah. The clues that our ancestors left -- knowingly and unknowingly! A telegram -- sounds like the beginnings of a good story.

Thanks for reading and sharing! =)

~C

Madaleine J. Laird link

4/20/2013 04:50:09 am

Obituaries often appear in the professional literature, especially if a person is well known in his/her field. I recently came across two obituaries for the same librarian, one in the Wilson Library Bulletin and the other in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. Genealogical societies often mention members who have died in their publications as well.

Caroline Pointer

10/9/2013 12:57:49 am

Excellent tip, Madaleine! I found an obituary in a professional publication for a vet. You just never know until you look.

Thanks for stopping by!

~C

Martha

4/20/2013 01:30:26 pm

If the person owned land look at deeds and court records for the time period you think they died. Deeds will sometimes shows the division of the property or who inherited it. I've seen deed that say land ofJohn Brown deceased, late of this county owned.. This might also show up in court records esp if there was no will.

Caroline Pointer

10/9/2013 12:59:12 am

You are spot-on, Martha! No will? There *are& other places to look and deeds are a great place to look.

Thank you for stopping by! =)

~C

Anna Hopkins-Arnold link

4/20/2013 10:47:28 pm

County Sexton records: I had conflicting information about a death that occurred in 1827. A family history for that surname said the man had died in Sunbury, Ohio (where his family lived). The biography of his son in an 1880 county history said the man was traveling to seek a climate better for his health, but died on a river boat enroute and was buried at the next town where the boat stopped, (Natchez, MS). I found no records of him in cemetery records or transcriptions, but when the Adams County Sexton records from that period were put online, I found him listed with the proper name, date, and cause of death. I was so grateful to finally have evidence to confirm the story.

Caroline Pointer

10/9/2013 01:02:40 am

Anna,

How awesome is that? You were able to confirm a family story that had been written about. Wow! That doesn't happen every day, that is for sure. Congrats on the excellent find! County records are invaluable.

And thank you for stopping by and reading! =)

~C

Luckie link

10/9/2013 04:12:26 am

Great info Caroline! Sharing with the FB Forum!:)

Caroline

1/28/2014 04:43:19 am

Thanks, Lucky! I appreciate it and you. Thanks for stopping by!

~C

Tara link

12/13/2013 09:47:25 am

Succession announcement in the newspaper for estate of the deceased. I was able to verify that my 2x great-grandfather's first wife died as well as confirm the names of their children.

Caroline

1/28/2014 04:44:31 am

Tara,

Well done! And an excellent resource!!

Thank you for reading and adding to the conversation. I really appreciate it and I'm sure the other readers and researchers do too! =)

~C

Yolanda link

5/26/2016 03:04:10 pm

When It Comes To Indigenios Genealogy,Can Get Very Difficult ,Some People Don't Have A Clue,Especially If You Were Born ,In The United States, I Am Tring To Find The Heritage Of My Grandmother Gertrudis Santos,My Mothers Certificate Of Birth Says She Was From Zacatecas Mexico But Sometimes, Clues ,Say Something Else,She Could Have Been From Taumaulipas Mexico, Because Of The Towns Mentioned,Gonzales And Tula,The Surrounding Towns Of That State.I Also Want To Thank You For All The Great Tips That You Have Given Me .I Will Look Forward In Hearing From You ,With Further Comments On The Genealogy Search. Thank You Again.Have A Great Weekend.

Caroline

3/16/2017 09:01:39 am

Hi Yolanda,

Great point!

Have you tried church records? Was/Is your family Catholic possibly? Look on FamilySearch.org to see if they're digitized. If not, rent microfilm from the Family History Library using their online catalog.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for stopping by!

~C

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These 3: Finding Evidence of Death

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