How Obituary Records Can Help Complete Your Family Tree Research

While most of us frown on seeing death, obituary or funeral records, these seemingly-sad or dreadful pieces of information may actually be a goldmine for someone who's searching for family history records, or is in the process of building a family tree. For people doing genealogy research, obituaries, death certificates and cemetery records can actually be exciting pieces of data, which can help complete the puzzles of a genealogical puzzle. Here are some reasons why obituary records are exciting pieces of information for those who are building family tree charts.

Death Records Provide a Plentiful Source Of Information on Your Ancestors

Death records can be very exciting and useful pieces of information about your ancestor's life. Once you stumble upon a death, obituary, cemetery record, you'll be able to know the person's date, time and place, as well as cause of death. These vital information pieces may give you a clear picture about your ancestor's previous address, occupation, how long they lived in the area, and the names of other relatives that had preceded them in death.

Other Interesting Pieces Of Data That May Be Included in A Death Record

Obituary records can also contain the names of your ancestor's wife, or the maiden name of your great-great grandmother, as well as the names of other female relatives who were buried close to your ancestor's grave.

If your ancestor's siblings died between the census years, the gravestones in your ancestor's cemetery may help you discover more about their existence. Once you get these snippets of information, these could lead you to other related searches, and give you a clearer picture of the life events of other ancestors. The information you get may also include or contain references to your ancestor's membership to various fraternal organizations, civic groups, religious societies and community organizations.

How To Process Death Records

Once you're doing the actual process of checking your ancestor's obituary or death records, after you find one type of record, make sure that you use the information to cross-check or locate other types of death records that are available, so you'll be able to piece together more details about that individual. If you exactly know where your ancestor or descendant previously lived, you can drop by the city or town's newspaper, to find out if they have obituary notices that can provide additional family history information.

A family tree or genealogy project will never be complete if you won't make use of death and obituary records. These information sources can offer an abundant resources about the life of a long-lost relative or ancestor, including their families and relatives during that period. If your great -great grandparent or relative was an immigrant, his or her country or city of origin will also be included, along with other related data about the events during that period.