Death Records

There can be a variety of reasons for searching death records - although genealogical research and life insurance claims are the most common causes for such investigation. Finding data on a specific death can also be important when a bequest is in dispute (or potentially in dispute), or even for medical reasons - discovering why an ancestor died can hold the key to preventing death from a hereditary disease or weakness, for example. Whatever prompts the searcher into this rather grim field of investigation, however, there are a number of resources available in the contemporary world, thanks in large measure to the Internet. This array of resources is expanding steadily, meaning that each year, searches for death records become easier and more convenient for the average user.

Since all deaths are legally required to be recorded using a death certificate in most modern nations, and since these death certificates are required to include many details about the deceased person and their medical cause of death, they are a good source of practical information for those who are probing their ancestry or following similar lines of inquiry.

Death certificates are also public information, and since they are straightforward, uncomplicated, and contain fixed information (there is seldom an addendum to death, after all, considering its finality), they are easy to search and are often available in their entirety on the Internet. Some states now offer online databases of death records, searchable by name. The searcher can purchase a printed or electronic version of the death record directly from the website, making the process of obtaining the record much faster and neater than in the past.

Many genealogy websites also offer databases of death records, although these are not a substitute for official death certificates when dealing with such matters as life insurance claims. Some of these services are paid, and some are free, with the quantity and quality of data varying according to the professionalism and zeal of the site's constructors.

The Social Security Death Index provides a fast, accurate database of information about deaths in the United States, although it does have several limitations. One such limitation is that the social security number of the deceased must be known - and since such numbers are usually a closely-guarded secret, only a close relative is likely to know the social security number. Furthermore, the death index only lists people who died since the introduction of the social security system in 1935, meaning that the genealogical research possibilities of such death records stretch back little further than living human memory. The Social Security Death Index obviously only applies to U.S. Citizens as well, but within its boundaries, it is still a useful tool for finding death records and a basis for further investigation.

In short, with all the tools now only a few mouse-clicks away, anyone with Internet access and a good computer can obtain death records from the comfort and privacy of their home. Whether the records are needed as part of a bequest settlement, for collecting life insurance, or as part of the process of discovering the mosaic of one's family past, an ever-growing array of electronic resources are at the searcher's fingertips.