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eLearning Series: Geneology
My Family Tree is Important to Me
( 50 articles in this series )
Death
Records Can Help
Complete Your Family Tree
The
key to most genealogists’ success is the location of marriage,
birth, and death records. They are sources
that are created on the local or town level, but can give you
an abundance of information as well as confirmation. For the
most part, you probably know that such records are found through
the county. However, many death records and the like in New
England are found through the town clerks. You should be able
to find death records dating back through the middle of the
1600’s.
In fact, that information is important on another level as
well. Before probate districts were put in place in parts of
New England, the town clerk kept other records as well. Often
the town clerks at these times were responsible for the recording
of wills, land records, and deeds. All of these can be very
important records when it comes to the search for genealogical
records, and so it is important that you keep that in mind
as you work on it.
If you are into genealogy, you should know that death
records are some of the most important in your being able
to fill in
gaps that you may have in the family tree you are researching.
For instance, if you have a relative for whom you do not know
very much to continue back, their death record can be a huge
help. A proper death certificate will likely have the date
and place of birth on it as well as the names of both parents
of the decedent. In that way, death records are a fantastic
source and can thus at times be the holy grail of a given genealogical
search.
Here is one
tip to keep in mind when looking for those death
certificates and or records. Around the start of the twentieth
century, most of the states began to require that copies of
all marriage, birth, and death records be filed with the state
office of vital statistics. So, if you are looking for a record
after that time, you actually can check for this information
at the state level. That can make things much easier for you
if you are having trouble pinning down a town or local area
to check. However, if at any point the state’s vital records
were destroyed by fire or some other act of nature; you can
look back at the local level. On a similar note, if the county
courthouse of a locality was destroyed after the turn of the
twentieth century then check the state records.
What if you are having
trouble finding the death date for
a particular relative from your tree? First, try determining
whether or not the local county clerk’s office kept records
of probate or land during the time period the person in question
died. You may, like many people, be under the impression that
probate records are made only if a person leaves a will. Even
if your relative did not, like many in the past, leave a will,
the judge of the local city or county was required to identify
heirs and creditors which leave a probate record. The probate
packages usually include not only a list of property and debts,
but also a date of death. If you can find a property record,
look for when the property was transferred to an heir to get
a death date. So as you can see, though death records can be
incredibly vital to genealogists, there are ways to get information
even in the absence of one. Get creative and be thorough and
you will be able to find more information than you might initially
think you can.
To
find the actual addresses of town and county clerks
offices,
your best resources are online. There are also a number of
genealogy how-to books that will help you with finding the
records and clerks offices of many cities and counties throughout
the country. Getting in contact with these offices is the first
step in filling in those gaps in you family tree.
Genealogy is a great hobby and to be successful at it there
are certain resources you need to enjoy access to. Death records
are one example of these resources. By finding death records
or knowing who to contact about death, birth, and marriage
information can be a great asset in filling in those annoying
gaps in your family tree. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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