Genealogists very quickly realize that at no other time during a person’s life are there typically as many records created as at the point of the ending of that life. There seems to be a myriad of records created at a person’s death. I would like to list just a few of those records, and point out how useful they can be for the family historian.
The Death Certificate – This civil document is largely a 20th century phenomenon. In the United States, the majority of states began statewide civil registration of death after 1900. There are exceptions, mainly in the East, but for the most part this holds true.
The Civil Death Register – Prior to statewide civil registration of vital records, many counties, towns and cities kept death records on a local basis. These records are still often accessed through the jurisdiction in which they were created. An excellent resource to locate what is available is the The Handy Book for Genealogists.
Church Death Records – Long before civil authorities began recording vital records, churches began to keep them. Whereas Napoleon required civil registration in areas conquered by France just after the turn of the 19th Century, local churches were keeping those records as early as the 16th century. Many of these records are still available for research today through the microfilm created by the LDS church and available through the Family History Library.
Fraternal Organization Death Records – Organizations such as the Masons have often kept a record of the passing of their members. These records are usually accessible by the public and can be useful in documenting an ancestor’s death. In some cases, entire books have been compiled dealing with these records.
Social Security Mortality Index – Since 1962, a database of the deceased has been kept by the Social Security Administration. Although not 100% complete, this database can be helpful in finding if, when and where a relative may have died. Also found is the birth date of the deceased.
Obituaries – Obituaries are typically found in newspapers, although I have found that church and organization journals are another good place to locate them.
Mortality Schedules 1850-1880 – Mortality schedules were taken by the census enumerators during the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The enumerator was to record the information on anyone who had died the previous year from June 1 through May 31, the census day being June 1. The following is found on a typical mortality schedule:
- The Name of the deceased
- Age at death
- Sex
- Race
- Marital status
- Nativity of deceased
- Nativity of Father
- Nativity of Mother
- Occupation
- Month of death
- Cause of death
- How long a resident of county
- Place of death
- Attending physician
Death Record Indexes – Indexes to some death records are available to the public. A few of them are available on the Internet. One of the best sites to find death databases is at Online Searchable Death Databases for the USA.
Personal Property Tax Lists – Clues to death may be found on Personal Property Tax lists. The tax lists were typically compiled by the local militia captain. In scanning the lists, the researcher will often find the word “estate.” When you see this word in the list, you can be pretty sure that the person has died within the last year. Tax lists for Virginia, Kentucky and the Carolinas are especially useful in this regard.