More Types of Death Records: Death Certificates, Mortuary records, and Sexton’s records

By Sherry Stevens,
Professional genealogist

Many types of records are created at the time of death, and one of these three record types might help you to find the missing piece in your ancestor’s puzzle.

Death Certificates
Death certificates usually contain the deceased’s birth date and place, death date, cause of death, and address at the time of death. They may also include the spouse’s name, the deceased’s occupation, the name of the attending physician, the name of the mortuary or funeral home, and the name of the cemetery in which they were buried.

To find a death certificate, try searching online first. Many free databases such as FamilySearch are adding death certificates to their collections regularly. Ancestry.com, a subscription database, also has a good collection of death certificates. In both of these databases, I prefer to start my search by location rather than by the person’s name, so I can see what types of records are included in the database. If they have death certificates in the location I need, I can then go back and search using the person’s name.

If you can’t find your ancestor’s certificate in an online database, you may need to send for a copy from the county or state health department. You can find the correct agency on the Internet by typing in the name of the county or state, followed by “death certificates”. Government agencies usually charge a fee of about $25 for a copy of a record, but if you’re lucky, some are free.

Your ancestor’s death certificate may also be available on microfilm. Check the online catalogs of the Family History Library or the Allen County Public Library in the location in which your ancestor lived, then contact the library for more information. Family History Library films can be checked out and viewed at your local FamilySearch Center for a small fee.

Funeral Home or Mortuary Records
Your ancestor’s funeral home may have more information about your ancestor than you could learn from their headstone. Such information may include the obituary, death certificate, funeral card or program, place of burial, and billing information of the next-of-kin.

To find the name of the funeral home, you may need to consult the person’s death certificate. Then search the Internet to determine if that funeral home is still in operation today. If the funeral home cannot be found on the Internet, do not despair– it may have merely changed its name. Even if it is no longer in business, its records were probably not destroyed, but just passed to the succeeding funeral home or one nearby. Call a few of the surrounding mortuaries, and they might be able to steer you in the right direction.

To find the nearby mortuaries, enter your ancestor’s final address into Google Maps, then hit Search Nearby, and enter “mortuaries” or “funeral homes”.
To find your ancestor’s address, search records such as federal census records (it’s usually written up the side on the far left), state censuses, death certificates, and old phone books or city directories.

Sexton’s Records
A sexton is the person or team in charge of a cemetery. They keep the cemetery records and also serve as its caretakers. In the case of church-run cemeteries, the sexton could also be the priest or his appointee. Most cemeteries, except perhaps small family cemeteries, have a sexton. Sexton’s records are especially valuable if your ancestor’s the headstone has been lost or damaged.
Sexton’s records generally name the individual buried there, the plot location, burial date, and the name of the plot’s owner– which can be a clue leading to other family members. In some cases, you might even find the death certificate or obituary, cause of death, names of possible family members, or learn if the deceased was moved from that cemetery.
To find sexton’s records, contact the cemetery office. If the cemetery is older and burials are no longer taking place there, its sexton’s records are likely located at a local archive, historical society, or city hall.
Sextons are not required to provide their information to the public, so be extra courteous in your requests to them. You might ask for the charge per name or per record, or offer to make a small donation in exchange for the information you seek.

Next time I will discuss even more types of death records and how to find them. Until then, I wish you success in all of your diggings!
Sherry

Sherry Stevens is a professional researcher, writer, lecturer, and the owner of GenPro’s, a genealogical research firm. A descendant of Danish immigrants, she specializes in the records of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the United States. For more information on research services in these or other locations, please contact Sherry at: mygenpro@gmail.com.