How to Find Out When Someone Passed Away in the '50s

Obituaries and death notices are commonly published in newspapers.

If you're seeking a deceased family member, friend or classmate, there are various ways of finding out when someone passed away. The methods are especially helpful when you know where that person lived. The time in which a person lived at a particular location is a factor as well. You can employ a combination of traditional methods and the Internet. When the deceased person passed away in the 1950s, finding the exact date of death requires some basic investigative know-how.

Instructions

1. Obtain the person's death certificate. When a person passes away, a death certificate is kept on file with the office of state records. Request a copy of the death certificate from the office of state records in the state where the person passed away. A list of addresses for vital records in each state is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (see Resources).

2. Check county public records. If you know the city where the decease lived, contact the County Clerk's office for that city. The Find County Records website (see Resources) provides links to county offices in every state. County records include property, birth, criminal and tax records. The records will include references to the person's date of death. Request a copy of the deceased person's records by phone, mail or in person.

3. Contact state genealogy associations and funeral director boards. These organizations maintain cemetery and burial records. These records include birth and death dates. A directory of state cemetery records is available on the Records Projects website (see Resources). The directory also includes military burial records.

4. Research newspaper obituary archives. Visit your public library as well as college and university libraries. The library may have an archive of newspapers dating back to the 1950s. Ask the reference librarian for assistance. He will show you where the newspaper archives are and how to search for the obituary notices.

5. Hire a genealogist or private investigator. Provide the genealogist or the private investigator with as much information as you know about the deceased person. For example, the person's first name, last name, date of birth, approximate death date, last known resident, names of relatives, job information and military service are helpful. The genealogist or investigator will conduct interviews with the person's family and friends and scour public records.

References

• Rootsweb: Rootsweb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees

Resources

• Find County Records: Choose a State
• The Records Project: Cemetery Records Overview
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Where to Write for Vital Records
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Vital Records Application Guidelines