Book to Help You Find Your Ancestor's Death Record

Most genealogists search the obvious death records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Death Registrations or Certificates). These records are fairly well known but before Civil Registration began in whatever country your ancestor was from, you will have to look for other records for a death date.

If we don't find our ancestor in one of those common death records, we're stuck! Where to search next? The Ancestor Death Record Finder can help direct you to alternate sources for death records. All we need to do is think outside the box.

Ancestor Death Record Finder: Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is now available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Guide to Finding Birth, Death & Marriage Records

Are you stuck at a brick wall with an ancestor and unable to find a birth, death or marriage record? Looking in all the usual places has turned up nothing and you're not sure what to do next? Good news!

I'm really excited to announce that I've recently published 3 Guides to help you find alternate sources of these Vital Statistic records. These are the first e-books I've ever done and I'm hoping that genealogists will find them useful.

If you want to have a peek, here are the links for each guide. Oh and did I mention they are only $1.15 each? I probably shouldn't ask this but.....if you decide to purchase any of my new guides would you consider leaving a review if you think they are helpful? 

Also, you don't need a Kindle reader to read these. The Kindle Cloud Reader is free and it allows you to read any Kindle book on your computer (that's what I use!) and the free Kindle Reading App works on your smartphone, tablet and computer.

Ancestor Birth Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Birth Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is available on Amazon as an E-Book for only $1.15

 Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an E-Book on Amazon for only $1.15

 Ancestor Death Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an E-book on Amazon for only $1.15

You can also see a list of all my published E-books on my Author page

Seeking Death Records isn't Always Easy

The genealogy community and my Olive Tree Genealogy blog readers rock! With their help I now have a correct copy of Maggie McGinnis' Michigan marriage certificate and legible copy of her California death certificate.

I've written a letter of complaint to Michigan Vital Records and will update readers on their response (if any). For those who haven't been following the saga, here are the blog posts. Be sure to read the comments!

Caveat Emptor? Or Does Michigan have a Complaint Desk?

And Now a California Death Record Disappointment!

Briefly,  the family I'm seeking consists of Bernard (Barney) McGinnis born 1852 in Ontario Canada and died 27 October 1902 in Denver Colorado. Barney married his cousin Margaret (Maggie) McGinnis. She was born in 1844 in Ontario Canada and died 8 April 1945 in Los Angeles California. 

Thanks to the kindness of a reader, I now have the obituary for Maggie which was published in the Los Angeles Times in April 1945. As a bonus my kind reader (who has access to ProQuest) also found the obit of Maggie and Barney's son Vincent Joseph McGinnis who died in 1949 in Los Angeles. 

This has been a tricky family to track (aren't they all!) so let me share with you what I have found to date:

Barney and Maggie married in Lapeer Michigan 17 December 1876. They are living in Galt Ontario in 1881, 1891, 1901. That is the last record of Barney until an obituary placed in a Guelph Ontario newspaper. I would like to find another obit in a Colorado paper.

Maggie is in Galt in 1911 and then found on a Border Crossing record dated 1916 where it states she was as in USA 1873-1877 in North Branch, Michigan and 1902-1906 in Pontiac Michigan and Denver Colorado. She is in Los Angeles in 1930 and 1940 but I have no census record of her from 1911 until 1930.

I have found 6 children for Barney and Maggie:

* Elizabeth McGinnis born 1879 Galt Ontario died 1881 Galt Ontario

* Jean M. (Jennie) McGinnis born Dec. 1880 Ontario died 27 Aug. 1960 Los Angeles. She married Martin J. Skelly in 1910 in Colorado. I don't know if she died under the married name SKELLY or McDONALD. I am seeking her death certificate or obituary. Martin Skelly died 29 March 1929 in Los Angeles and I am seeking his death certificate or obituary. Jennie is in the 1910 census for Denver Colorado, then 1920 and 1930 in Los Angeles California

* Daniel Hugh McGinnis born June 1884 in Galt Ontario, died after 1927. Married Elsa Elfreda Cober in Waterloo Ontario in 1919. Looking for his death records

* Anastasia (Anna) L. McGinnis born 1886 in Galt Ontario married Arley James Haislip and died Jan. 1930 Los Angeles. Need her death certificate and obituary. Children born in Michigan and California

* Joseph Vincent McGinnis born 1888 Galt Ontario died 22 Sept. 1949 Los Angeles. Grateful to Kay, who sent me his obituary from the Los Angeles Times

* Mary Ellen (Helen) McGinnis born 1893 in Galt Ontario married Stanley Reuter in Waterloo Ontario in 1913. Last record of Mary Ellen is a Border Crossing for April 1916 when she and her son Allen are going to her husband in Michigan.

It's been a process of discovery for me - finding out that I need to do more research to learn when Death Records were kept (and where) in different states, that I need to be more methodical in my search for ancestors on FamilySearch, and that writing up my findings as a blog post helps me to see the holes in my research AND reminds me of facts I've found but forgotten about!

I welcome any ideas or suggestions from my readers for my next steps in searching this family.

Weekly Featured Genealogy Database: Funeral Cards

Brian, of AncestorsAtRest, has a nice collection of Funeral Cards and Memorial Death Cards online.

Funeral cards are an overlooked genealogical resource. They often contain both the Birth date and Death date of an individual, and sometimes information about burial or funeral services is also provided. Some Funeral Cards contain photos of the deceased.

Funeral cards were meant to be sent out to family and friends to let them know an individual had died, and to inform them of funeral arrangements.

Memorial cards were just that - a card sent out to family and friends in remembrance of a loved one's death.

For help finding other death records when you can't find a death certificate, the free Ancestor Death Record Finder may be of help.

Lots of good tips and links to help you find alternate death records.

Death Reports of American Citizens Abroad, 1910-1974

Death Reports of American Citizens Abroad, 1910-1974 is now online on Ancestry.com

Death Reports of American Citizens Abroad includes records of the U.S. consular officers that reported to the Department of State the names of U.S. citizens who died within their consular districts. These death reports commonly provide acceptable documentation in the English language for cases in which satisfactory proof of an American death might be very difficult to obtain in any other form.

More death records can be found at AncestorsAtRest.com. The free death records on Ancestors At Rest include Coffin Plates, Funeral Cards, Obituaries, Cemetery records and more.

Don't miss our Ancestor Death Record Finder to help you in your search for an ancestor's death.

A Genealogical Fish Story

It's interesting how we genealogists are eager for stories of our ancestors - the more bizarre or unusual, the better! I'm sure everyone has an interesting tale or two (or more!) which has been handed down in the family.

But what happens when we find a paper record that might prove or disprove that family lore? How disappointing is it to find out that Great grandma Harriet was not the love child of the Duke of Wellington but according to her birth registration, was the child of a farmer and a scullery maid. On the other hand, how many bits of family lore do we find out are true, or have at least a grain of truth to them?

A bit of family lore passed down concerning my 3rd cousin twice removed had always intrigued me.

William Edward Learn (1885-1908) died tragically while fishing in the Niagara River. He had a rope tied around his waist while he was fishing and hooked a sturgeon which pulled him in and under. It was a month before his body was found with the rope and sturgeon still attached.

I wondered how accurate it was. A very kind correspondent sent this to me several years ago, copied directly from the Learn Family Bible. When the Ontario Death Records went online I decided to see what William's death registration gave for his cause of death. I expected to see "Drowning" as the cause of death. I expected I might not ever find out if the fish story was accurate.

Much to my surprise the cause of death was given as pneumonia which William had for 7days prior to dying. It seems a rather fanciful story for someone to dream up and record in a Family Bible. How did poor William's death from pneumonia end up being passed down in the family as William being killed by a fish?

I don't have the answer, I only have the story and a moral to the story. The moral is "Don't fall for family tales, hook, line and sinker or you could end up all wet"

Ancestor Marriage Record Finder

Can't find your ancestor in Marriage records?

Most genealogists search Marriage records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Marriage Registrations or Certificates). If we don't find our ancestor in one of those Marriage records, we're stuck! Where to search next? My AMF (Ancestor Marriage Finder) can help.

I am pleased to announce that Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is now available as an E-Book on Amazon for only $1.15

What happens when a couple marry? What events take place around a marriage? What kind of Marriage record paper trail is created at the time of marriage of an individual? The answers to these questions will lead you to other sources of marriage records and hopefully end that brick-wall.

When an ancestor is married, many records leading up to and surrounding that marriage might be created. Let's talk about records kept before an ancestor marriage and those created after a marriage.


Get tips and ideas in my E-book for alternate record sources when you've hit that brick wall

Get Help finding Ancestors with Ancestor Birth Record Finder & Ancestor Death Record Finder