How to Find Lost and Deceased Family Members
Finding a family member that you haven't seen in a while, or finding a deceased family member, was once a difficult thing. The widespread use of the Internet has made things a little easier, especially as people build their own websites about their lives or their family. Using the Internet is the easiest way to find lost and deceased family members.
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Instructions
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Search Obits Archive. This website archives the obituaries from all 50 states and lets you search by name, date of death or text from the obituary, which is helpful if your relative has a common name.
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Look for people using Obituary Daily Times, which is connected to Roots Web. The search results provide only basic information, such as the name of the deceased, her age, where she died and the date of her death. You can use this information to determine where she lived and if she has any remaining family.
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Join a genealogy website with a separate forum such as Roots Web. These websites let users post questions and start discussions about their family. You can post if you're looking for a specific person, or if you're just looking for general information on deceased members of your family.
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Check the Social Security Death Index for information relating to deceased family members. The SSDI generally waits several years before listing the information to the general public, but it helps you see when the person died, where he died and sometimes the cause of death.
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Use a newspaper directory or index to search for your relatives. These directories include all news stories published across the country or from one specific area. You'll typically come across several people with the same name, but it helps you weed through the different people and locate those missing members. It also gives you access to obituaries for deceased family members.
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Tips & Warnings
Find lost or deceased family members by looking at telephone directories, both online and those available from your local library. You may not find the exact person you're looking for, but you might find other family members, including the children of your missing relatives.
Social networking sites are another good place to look. Even if the relative you're searching for has passed away, you might find a child or relative of the person.
