Write for Death Records
Now you're ready to take the next step in piecing together your heritage: obtaining death records for your ancestors. Death records are an essential tool for discovering genealogical information, because they include the following:
- Exact place of death — which leads you to other records about the person's death (and life) Name of the person's father and the maiden name of the person's mother Exact date of birth and death
- Possibly, the person's spouse, cemetery where the person was interred, Social Security number, information about the informant (who may be a relative)
How to write for death records:
- Determine the state in which the person died. (Statewide registration of vital records started between 1900 and 1920; all but a few states have records from 1910 forward.) Find the address for the state's vital statistics registration office. You can get this from the Social Security Administration by phone at 1-800-772-1213.
- Write to the vital statistics registration office and provide any known information about the deceased (name, approximate date of birth, parents' names, spouse, etc.).
Things to remember:
- Treat the brothers and sisters of your ancestors as equals — get death records for them too.
- An estimated 20% of birth/death certificates have mistakes, thus, it's important to obtain many different kinds of records to compare for accuracy.
Genealogist's Glossary:
Informant - the person who provided the information for a death certificate for your ancestor
For more information:
"Where to Find Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Records," and "Finding a Person's Birth, Age, or Birthplace: A Checklist of 80 Sources," free articles by William Dollarhide, available in our Genealogy Bulletin online archives.
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