Death Records Now

I’m stuck on my great-great grandfather on my family tree. i have his birth year, his death year, his social security number, and I know he was in world war one. Ohio (his birthplace) didn’t start keeping birth records until 1908 though. is there anyway I can find out the name of his father? He was born in Ohio, but lived & died in Wisconsin. I just want to be able to find his father’s name. I don’t really care about anything else.

His SSN application, $27, should have his father’s name and his mother’s maiden name. His death certificate might have them. His marriage record might have them. The article about his wedding in the local paper’s society pages, on microfilm in the library, may have them.

You could post his name, DOB and the places he was born in and lived in (town, COUNTY, state) here and someone might find him on the census. That isn’t as good as the SSN app, but it is free. It isn’t as good because if he lived with an uncle and called him "Dad" because his parents died when he was young, he might be on the census with relation "son" instead of "nephew".

I’m hoping for some advice here. Normally, I would go to my mother for all things genealogical, but she’s more “old school” in that she’s used to dealing with hard copies that she has ordered and received. The majority of her research (the last 30+ years) was before the advent of ancestry.com, GenWeb, and online depositories put together by the individual states.

For most of my family lines, I’m the same way. My family is from Kansas/Oklahoma and North Carolina (so far). My ex-husbands paternal line is from Pennsylvania. All of which require you to write and order vital records directly from their local/state offices. Then it’s just a matter of scanning the received records onto my computer and inputting the information into my genealogy program.

However, my ex-husbands maternal line isn’t nearly as easy or clean-cut. They are primarily from Virginia/West Virginia which has started putting all their vital records online. So it’s easy to run a search of who I’m looking for and get immediate access to copies of their records. Then it’s off to ancestry.com or other sites to look up census records, burial records, tombstones, etc.

The trouble I’m facing now is that I just don’t know how to file the items on my computer. It started off easy enough. I had the main surname file for my mother-in-law’s maiden name. Within that file I had separate folders for her direct ancestors (Gma, Gpa, GGma, GGpa, etc.) with secondary files by their siblings.

For example:

I would have a folder for “Joe Blow” (Gpa) which I would save all his pertinent documents (birth, death, marriage, census records, etc.). Next to that folder would be one titled “Joe Blow Siblings”. Within that folder would be additional folders for each of his brothers and sisters.

Then, because I was getting into extended family, I would have subfolders for their spouse, their children, their spouses parents, etc. If I was doing any of the other lines, I wouldn’t be going that far right now, but because the files are online for the taking, I figured “why not”? Plus, I’m a little anal when it comes to blank spots, so I think a bit of OCD has kicked in.

Anyway, this is where the problem has arisen.

The family is primarily from the Cabell/Wayne County areas of W.VA and what I started to see what cousins marrying cousins (some 1st cousins, but a lot of 3rd cousins, 4th cousins, etc.). People have started to pop up in two or three (or more) areas of the family. In one spot they might be a spouse, then later as a brother, and then again as a 2nd spouse or something.

Obviously, the way I was doing it isn’t working anymore. I was going to start ending up with multiple folders for the same person and a billion shortcuts which would just cause even more confusion.

I’m sure others have run across this problem in small communities in which their families are long standing residents. Is there a better way to save the information to the computer? Has anyone figured out a good way to file their info in a way that makes sense, is easy to access, and limits the possibilities of duplicate individuals?

I’ve currently done away with the former system and just have all the saved files in the folder for my mother-in-law. But now I have over 700 files sitting there and several people with the exact same names (ex: Benjamin Franklin Doe, Andrew Jackson Blow).

Thanks so much for the advice!
Thanks Tom, I totally agree. And on a side note: I "enjoy" how someone gave you a thumbs down for your advice, yet didn’t offer any of their own.
Marci — Thanks for the tip! I had no idea this resource existed. I’m going to definitely check it out! Thanks again!

WOW! You are way more organized than I am. I file under my and DH’s 4 grandparent surnames with file-names that indicate the name or family the document concerns. Fortunately I have not had any crossovers. If I find a particularly interesting family, I might have a sub-folder for them. I feel so disorganized.

Lisa Louise Cook on Genealogy Gems has covered this topic several times on her podcasts, You might want to listen to some of the suggestions she and her guests have had.

http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi
California Death Records 9,366,786 records from 1940 thru 1997

Warning 1: It is an index; the most you’ll get is name, sex, birthdate, birth state, father’s surname, mother’s maiden name, residence at time of death, death date. That’s the most; many records have blank fields.

Warning 2: It is supported by advertising. The ads rotate. Sometimes the ad asks for a name and leads you to a pay site. Scroll down past the ad.

www.findagrave.com is nation-wide and free. It has some entries for California. The entries range from the simple (John Smith, 1903 – 1971) to the elaborate; some have biographies, cause of death (especially if the person died in an accident, in battle, or of a disease) and links to spouses and/or parents and/or children.

You can find obituaries in old newspapers on microfilm in libraries. They usually don’t mention cause of death, but they usually have a mini-biography.

My Grandmother died in 1949 in Los Angeles California. I looked on the California and Los Angeles County records website to see if I can order her Death Certificate as part of a geneology project but it says 1995 to present deaths only. I went to rootsweb and got her SSN#, but not sure if its correct. Where else can I look?

This link is to the California Death Index. Enter her first name, her married surname and the death year. The results should give you her date of birth/death, her maiden name and her mother’s maiden name http://vitals.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ca/death/search.cgi

For death certificates, you find more information about how to order copies for deaths between 1905 – present at this link http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/Pages/default.aspx

what kind of information can you find on the social security death index?…I’m doing some family research and I was able to find my gg-grandfather’s ssdi, it has his birthday (dec. 25, 1860) and death-date (jun. 18, 1965) and where he died (Tulare, California), but nothing about the parents…other family member’s index’s have had something about parents on them, even if it’s the father’s surname or mother’s maiden…I also am having trouble finding a death certificate. Where would I look for that, and would his parent’s info for sure be on that?

I’ve been using Ancestry, Family Search Org, Roots web, and Family History Records data bases.
will it be my best bet to order the actual death certificate for his parent’s information?

The on-line SSDI has jus what you saw; name, birth date, death date, last residence and last benefeit, one of which may be th death place, and where the SSN was issued.

The SSN application, which costs $27, will have parents’ names, exact birth place, address and occupation at the time, and, for women, maiden name. Roots Web’s SSDI will format a letter to the SSA for you; click on "SS-5", print, add a check and wait 6 – 8 weeks.

The California Death Index, by Roots Web, has father’s surname and mother’s maiden name, sometimes. No SSDI I have seen has anything about parents. Some other death indicies do, most don’t.

Looking for parents of :
James Francis Johnson..dob March 1871 in Buffalo,New York.
father :James Johnson born in Ireland.
mother of Irish decent: Margaret Hassen ( this is on his death certificate) born in New York. I do not have a birth date for either. This is a clasic brickwall.Any help would be so welcomed. Thank you.

Have you tried to secure his birth record. That will give you more definite information on the dates and location for his parent’s marriage.

According to the New York state archives http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/research/res_topics_gen_vitalstats.shtml "The indexes do not include births and deaths in Albany, Buffalo, and Yonkers prior to 1914, or marriages in those cities prior to 1908. (Contact the local registrar of vital statistics in those cities for information about earlier records.)"

So my best guess is to start with the registrar Buffalo about your ancestor’s records. They were likely married in the area as well so you should check about the marriage records at the same time.

Are you sure that Hassen is his mother’s maiden name and not a 2nd marriage after becoming a widow?

The only information I currently have is from she was born Dec 7 1882 in MO near or in St. Louis. Her parents names are Jack and Caroline, Jack could be a nickname and he could be a Sr. I know she had a son named Fredrick Haninger Jr. born Oct. 16, 1904 in Kansas and then married Samuel James Crowley before 1909 in KS. They then had my grandfather Samuel Robert Crowley born March 9,1909 in Wichita, KS. I have found her living with Samuel Robert Crowley in the 1910, 1915, 1920, and 1930 census records all in Wichita, KS. After Samuel James Crowley’s death in 1940 she married a man with the last name of Ward. Sarah Emmaline Davis went by Emma in the census records I have found and is also the name on her tombstone. She died in Wichita, KS on July 18, 1954. I am unsure of her maiden name, living relatives believe that Davis is her maiden name. Any information about her would be awesome help. Willing to answer any questions that I have answers too. Thank you all for your help.
Or if anyone has some websites that would be helpful. I had a subscription to ancestry.com and several other sites such as the familysearch.com.
I have not been able to find any state records, before 1909 in the state of kansas.

Just ran a search & found an Elma who lived near a John & Caroline–not an exact match but close enough to list just in case. Good luck!

1900 census: Kirkville, MO

901 E Jefferson St.
Davis, Johnothan A, head
born Mar 1831 in Indiana (parents TN)
Davis, Caroline, wife
born Oct 1844 in Maryland (parents England)
Davis, Emmet, son
born Mar 1879 in MO

913 E Jefferson St
Davis, Elma, roomer with Mary & S H Darnell
born July 1882 in MO (parents unknown)

and in between those two–
903 E Jefferson St
Davis, Jas W & Sa

The same John A & Caroline Davis appear in Bee Ridge, Knox Co., MO in 1880 (ages 49 & 36). Children in 1880 include:
John E, age 13
Nettie M, age 11
Anna L, age 10
James W, age 8
Perry E, age 1

His name is Allan or Allen Shirley. I’m not for sure on the correct spelling. He died in 1985. I’m doing this for my mother so alot of help would be appreciated!
WITHOUT PAYING MONEY! because we all know it’s tight right now!

RootsWeb has a death record data base for California 1940 – 1995. They don’t have one for every state and they don’t have anything later or earlier for California.

http://vitals.rootsweb.com/ca/death/search.cgi

SHIRLEY, ALLEN
B. 02/14/1934 in COLORADO
Mother’s maiden name: MANQUIS
D. LOS ANGELES(19) 04/08/1985
[I don’t know what "(19)" means]

The corresponding SSDI says his LR was El Monte.

That is a death RECORD, not a death Certificate. The Certificate will tell you his mother’s full name and his father’s full name, if the person who supplied the data knew. His SSN application is $27, but he filled it out. 30% of the death certificates I see say "Unknown" for parents. 99% of the SSN applications I see have both parents filled in.

You would have to drive to the county library branch in El Monte, or send them a request and a check, to get the obituary. He was almost certainly not in the LA Times, unless he was famous or infamous. He may have been in the El Monte (News / Herald / Sun / Star) – whatever the local paper is there.

Mainly trying to find out who her father is. 1880 census in Ness Co., KS lists both her parents b. in PA.

What do I know is she married John Stephens bef.1850 probably in PA (RootswebWC shows IA) but they’re listed in Beaver, Clarion Co. PA as married in 1850. They had 9 children in Benton Co. and Dallas Co, IA. from 1851-1873, then moved to Ness Co., KS btwn. 1873.-1880. John in Ness Co. listed as widowed.in 1885 census.

Can anyone find her birth, marriage or death record – or something that shows her father’s name or mother’s maiden name?

Thank you very much in advance – I appreciate all efforts in trying.
Hmmm no answers. Any suggestions on where I could find this information?

Kay,

I believe I located an online tree w/ her on it. Unfortunately, it does not mention her parents. But, if you are not familiar w/ this tree, you might want to contact the person who posted it and see if he knows of someone who might have further information. You can see this tree w/o a subscription to ancestry.com
Go to: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=johnbouscher50&id=I7526