Now that you have found the death certificate keep on going! There are lots more records out there waiting to be found.
Here are some ideas about how to find out more
about your ancestor.
Click on any of the topics listed to the left.
I hope that you enjoy this lesson
I have prepared for you and
have lots of fun searching for your family.
At this point you have already gotten or plan to get or hope to get the death certificate for your ancestor. But don't stop there! Here is a list of ideas for searching for your ancestor. Maybe something on this list will spark an idea of where to look next.
a. track the family through the census. Census are taken every ten years so
you can track the family backwards. Census list age and place of birth and whether or not they owned property.
b. look for a will. They will be recorded some time after the death. If they owned property there maybe a will.
c. look for probate records. If they had land and no will then there should be
probate records also if there were young children, even if the mother was still
living, often there were guardianship records.
d. look for church records. If he was a member of a local church they may
be listed in the church records
e. look for tax records. The tax records will show when he started paying
taxes and when he stopped. That could mean when he move into an area and when he moved out.
f. locate the cemetery. If there was a stone for him, it may list his
date of birth and date of death. Also see who is buried near him
or in the same cemetery. If there were written records kept for
that cemetery (called sexton records)
then they may list where in the cemetery he was buried and the date of death
and birth.
g. if you happen to stumble across a family bible, it might have his death and birth
date listed.
h. and it is possible you might stumble across some old family letters listing who knows what great information.
i. if he was well known in his community then it is possible that if a county history was written, (for the county he lived in), that
his family may have been listed in it.
j. Look in old newspapers. In years closer to us you might find an obituary. Most of the time these listed spouse, children, brothers and sisters and parents and place of birth and date of birth
k. Look in pension records for military service. If the wife received benefits there may be a wealth of information listed somewhere in his records.
l. Look in the vital records for the marriage. Marriage records sometimes listed the name of the parents.
So, now how do you find the above records. Well most of them can be seen at your local Family History Center. Click here to learn how.
This is my favorite saying:
I fully realize that I have not succeeded in answering all of your questions. Indeed, I feel I have not answered any of them completely. The answers I have found only serve to raise a whole new set of questions-- which only lead to more problems-- some of which we weren't even aware were problems. To sum it up ... in some ways I feel we are confused as ever, but I believe we are as confused on a higher level and about more important things!
Happy Hunting!
Contact Susette click here.
Susette Cook
Copyright 9 June 2005