When you hear the news of the death of someone you care about, it can be hard to feel sincere if you don't know when that person died. You can also find it difficult to find information on someone's death to determine genealogy or find out the history of an ancestor who died long ago, especially if he died in a remote area. Fortunately, there is a lot of information on the internet that can help you find the date of someone's death.
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Method 1 of 3: Doing Research Online
Step 1. Start by doing a general full name search
If you search a person's name online, Ada can find news snippets in newspapers or other information about their death. This type of search usually yields better results if the person has an unusual name.
- Even if the person has the name “market”, you can filter the relevant search results by entering additional information. For example, if you know the person's hometown, enter it in the search field. An obituary of a person usually includes the city where the person lives.
- If you know the names of other people who are related to that person or know them, also include them in the search field to find more accurate results.
Step 2. Visit a genealogy tracking site to find a long-time death
If you want to find out the time of death of people who lived hundreds of years ago, this site is a must visit. These sites list combined data and documents dating back hundreds of years.
- For example, ancestry.com has a global burial index via the link https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60541. This database records a list of graves and burials dating back to the 1300s.
- You'll get more accurate results if you have a lot of information about the person. Otherwise, be prepared to find tons of search results.
Do you know?
Most genealogy sites require you to pay a subscription fee to access their database. However, regional libraries or historians' organizations often have accounts that can be used free of charge for research purposes.
Step 3. Check the government database
Governments in many countries provide limited access to online databases that have been created in digital form. Do an online search for “death index” or “death record” along with the name of the person you are looking for.
- If you believe the person died recently, or died less than 50 years ago, government databases may still record it.
- Old records may have many loopholes, especially if the area from which the person sought is based has experienced war or civil unrest, or has been affected by a significant transfer of power. For example, it is very difficult to find data on people who died in the Eastern European area in the early 1900s.
Step 4. Look for obituaries in the newspaper
Local newspapers usually publish news of someone's death. For some, this may be the only death record one can have. If you can find the obituary of the person you are looking for, you will know when the person died.
Visit https://www.legacy.com/search to find obituaries and funeral homes listed in Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, the UK and the US
Method 2 of 3: Doing a Self Search
Step 1. Talk to family members of the deceased
Family members may have records or a death certificate for the person. This can help you determine when he died, although it's not exactly accurate.
- An elderly family member can be especially helpful if you are trying to trace the death of an ancestor or distant relative.
- Prepare questions for the person's family members and make sure you don't overwhelm them – especially if the person you meet is elderly.
- If you have photos, documents, or other relics associated with the person, take them with you to help the person you ask remember and keep them focused.
Tip:
If there is a holy book passed down from an ancestor, sometimes it contains a special page that is used to record information about the death of that ancestor in the past.
Step 2. Look for will records at the nearest district court
If you know where the person died, the local district court may keep records of the person's will. This record is usually made when the deceased person has a will, or if he dies without a will, but has property that needs to be passed on to his living family members.
- Some district courts store records digitally and make them accessible online. If the person you're looking for is long dead, you'll need to go directly to the district court filings to find the documents.
- If you are unable to travel easily to the wanted person's hometown, contact the district court's archives office and state your destination. They may be able to do a search and report the results via mail.
- You will usually need to pay a fee to perform a court record search, as well as copy any found records. This fee is usually cheap (only tens of thousands of rupiah).
Step 3. Visit the provincial or national archives office
Countries usually have national archives containing important records and other historical information. The public in general can access the archives, but must make an appointment or register as a researcher first.
- Some records may already be available digitally and can be accessed through national archive websites.
- The national archives office most likely has records of the deaths of someone who died in wartime while serving in the military.
Method 3 of 3: Finding an Official Death Certificate
Step 1. Contact your country's embassy to find out if someone died in another country
If the person you are looking for is from your country, but died in another country, your country's embassy must have information about that person. Usually, the embassy will allow you to copy the person's death certificate.
If the person has recently died, the nearest embassy or consular office usually keeps the person's personal belongings as well. These items will generally be given to his heirs
Step 2. Contact the civil registry office where the person died
In small countries, civil records and population statistics are usually made on a national scale. However, in many places, death certificates are kept by the local government.
- For example, in the United States, you can find death certificates at the state or city level. Old documents are usually stored at the city level.
- Find out the process for obtaining permission to copy death certificates before scurrying through them. For example, there are regulations that require you to collect the certificate yourself. If you can't, it's a waste of time to submit a copy request.
Step 3. Fill in the special form to get a death certificate
The civil registry office provides a form to fill out to obtain a copy of the death certificate. You usually have to provide personal information, the person who died, and the purpose for which the certificate was copied.
- Access to death certificates is restricted in some areas. This restriction usually applies to recent deaths.
- Some areas require you to fill out a permit request form in front of a notary. Look for fields on the request form that must be affixed with a notary stamp. If this is necessary, do not sign before you meet with a notary so he or she can verify your identity and signature.
Step 4. Submit the form along with any required fees
This permit form has information on how to submit it, as well as what it will cost to obtain a copy of the death certificate. If you need the certificate, it may cost more. However, you don't need an original death certificate just to find out when someone died.
There are civil registry offices that allow you to submit forms online. However, if the form must be certified by a notary, you must send it by post or bring it directly to the office
Step 5. Receive a copy of the death certificate you are looking for
Once your request has been processed, the office will send you a copy of the death certificate by post. This certificate will show the date of death of the person along with other information about his death.
If you go directly to the civil registry office to submit the request form, you can receive a copy of the death certificate right away. However, if the person sought has long died, this record may be stored elsewhere. Retrieval of old death certificates takes longer
Tip:
Death certificates contain sensitive information, and can be changed to protect the privacy of the deceased. However, the date of death is usually not changed.
