My last column was probably the hardest one to write, talking about my nephew’s tragic death. But it morbidly inspired me to address a few death records: obituaries, newspaper or media reports and Find A Grave.
I now want to focus on other death records and resources.
Why look for resources that herald such tragedy in an ancestor’s life? Depending on when and where the record was created, it could tell you more about that person’s life, parents, families or children — all of which are important for creating an accurate and fuller picture of their life.
Death records encompass a wide range of collections, but often start chronologically with the death certificate — a relatively modern record that didn’t start until about 1910. This document, usually created at the time of death, is considered a vital record, and as such, requirements for its creation vary widely from state to state, and country to country. Each state has different rules for who can obtain death certificates, and how. A growing number of older death certificates are coming online, but they are still a small minority.
Depending on the time and place (frequently a major variable in all genealogical records), death certificates may give the name of spouses, parents and informants (often adult children), along with birth date and birthplace and cause of death. Privacy laws may limit what information appears, and who may obtain them.
Certainly deaths were recorded before certificates, but their format varied considerably. As far back as 1790, Vermont started a death registration system — but it wasn’t until over a century later that most states caught up with similar requirements.
Headstones are also death records, often giving birth and death information. Most Jewish gravestones — especially older ones — give the father’s name, usually in Hebrew. For help on deciphering Hebrew gravestones, go to www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/tombstones.html.
A word (or more) about accuracy. Just because it’s literally written in stone, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. In most cases it will likely be, but not always — and you can’t tell just by looking. This is true for all records, even government-issued documents.
That’s why you need to get several independent sources to verify any fact — like a journalist.
Cemeteries — if they are active — and funeral homes may also have burial records or information about your ancestors. While their main business is not genealogy, they might help you find info, if you approach them nicely.
What if you don’t know where the gravetstone, the matzevah, is? The largest database is Find A Grave, but there’s also Billion Graves.
However, the database most significant to Jews is JOWBR: Jewish Online World Burial Registry. They are part of JewishGen.
A growing number of cemeteries are putting their “residents” online, so if you know the name of the cemetery, try looking it up first.
For example, Mount Zion, in NYC has its own website: www.mountzioncemetery.com, where you can search thousands of headstones.
For roughly the last 50 years, the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) has been published (in print and now online) by the federal government of all US recorded deaths.
This is an invaluable genealogical resource, that can find or verify someone’ death, along with giving you their social security number.
That number can help you order the original social security application, which asked for the person’s birth date, birth place and parent’s names.
A relatively small number of those applications are online on Ancestry. The SSDI itself is also available on ancestry.com (a subscription site) or Family Search (a free database).
There are other important resources that document deaths, including wills and probate, landmannschaft, Yizkor book, Yahrzeit plaques and more. We’ll cover those in the next column.
Coypright © 2020 by the Intermountain Jewish News
