How to Find a Dead Family Member

You may uncover the address of where a family member once lived.

Finding dead family members is necessary if you're building a family tree. There are several ways to find a dead family member--in fact, deceased people are easier to find then living ones.

Instructions

1. Get a notebook that is just for genealogy purposes, and when you uncover information, record it and save it. You will find not only the location of where a family member is buried, but you will also find birth, marriage and death dates with locations, and spouses' names and dates. You'll also find children's names and their birth dates, addresses and census information.

2. Ask living family members for any information they have. Use it as a reason to call that uncle or aunt you haven't talked to in a while. Older family members will likely know where the person is buried and when the person died. They might also be able to tell you stories or other important information about the deceased.

3. Conduct a cemetery search online. Several databases contain millions of cemeteries nationwide. Enter the name of your deceased family member and results will appear for people with that name. Or, go to the cemeteries around where your family member lived last or where other family members are buried.

4. Check newspaper archives at the library for an obituary. You can contact newspapers directly if you know what paper the obituary was published in. Newspaper sometimes keep copies of every paper printed. Obituaries contain valuable information such as death date, birth date, spouse's name, children's names, burial location and last known place of residence.

5. Search family trees online by entering in your deceased family member's first and last name. The more information you can enter the better your online search will be. There might be many results to sort through if only the first and last name is entered, but if you can enter birth and death dates, you will likely find your family member on the first page of results.

References

• More INFO and list of databases

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish