Guide on how to search for death records

Death Certificatesadditional tips on how to make an extensive family
The United States began authorizing in the early partresearch refer to this guide -
of the 20th century. - a directory of online deathCemeteries and Burial Indexes
indexes listed by state and county. Included are deathIf you don't know where someone is buried, death
records, death certificates indexes, death notices andcertificates often list place of burial. Some cemeteries
registers, obituaries, probate indexes and cemeteryhave placed their burial indexes online, while others
and burial records. You can also find information herehave been transcribed by volunteers.
about searching the Social Security Death Index Online.Probate Records and Wills
You can also utilize its digitized copies of deathWills and Probate Records are also vital resources for
certificates are available for online downloading for fivetracing one's family history. They can provide
states. These are: Arizona (1878-1956), Kentuckyinformation about a person's heirs, their family, spouse,
(1911-1953), Missouri (1910-1937 & 1945-1956 with morechildren, siblings, relatives and other personal
being added), Utah (1904-1954), and West Virginiainformation. Some counties now have recent probate
(1917-1956). For links to those and links to online deathindexes online. The LDS Family History Library in Salt
certificate indexes for many other states (and someLake City is a treasure box for old probate records
counties).and wills. You can also try the death index directory I
gave earlier or do a Google search. Microfilms can be
Obituaries are vital for family research as they giveordered and viewed for a fee at local Family History
date and place of death and burial. Obituaries usuallyCenters. You might also be able to find probate
provides the following information:records in the courthouse where the will was probated
- death or burial noticeor a local or state archive or other repository if the
- names of surviving and deceased relativesrecords were moved there.
A good source of finding copies of obituaries for yourSocial Security Death Index (SSDI)
family research can be found at local public librariesDeaths reported to the Social Security Administration
and more recent listings can also be found online. Beare listed in this useful index. It's available online at
advised that you will not always find these kinds ofseveral websites and some of them update it each
newspaper listings for everyone who died. For somemonth.