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Question:Ok, so I want to find out just how my older sister, Tabitha passed away, and I don't know where to go. She passed away long before I was even born and I don't know where to look. What's the best website to go to in order to find out some information about people who have passed away between 1900 and 1986? I want to know!! Please help.....I am at a lost. Thanx!


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Ok, so I want to find out just how my older sister, Tabitha passed away, and I don't know where to go. She passed away long before I was even born and I don't know where to look. What's the best website to go to in order to find out some information about people who have passed away between 1900 and 1986? I want to know!! Please help.....I am at a lost. Thanx!

Tips to narrow your search-
She passed away before you were born (YOU know what year that was). You also have an idea of how old your mother was when she was born (if mom was born in 1940, you know it was not before that). If you have an estimate of the year mom/dad were married, that puts you closer.
IF mom lived her entire life in Atlanta, Georgia, the probability is that she died there. Not guarantee... dad could have been in the military and stationed in Long Beach, CA. If you live in the UK, substitute other towns..
You have to identify the state at very least, and there are usually death indexes by state name. If she died between 1960-1986, she may have had a social security number. I was born in 1949.. young children did not require them at the time. Cn't tell the exact year.. I know tax laws changed to require ss# for dependants, leading to having to get them. So she could be in the social security death index, not guaranteed.
I am not assuming she had the same surname as you did. Perhaps she was from an earlier marriage/ relationship of mom's.
These are details you must have, to search. You may find her in a death INDEX for a certain state. Most states restrict the person(s) who have authority to order a death CERTIFICATE. That is the only place showing the listed cause of death, unless (by fluke), she died from an accident and it made the local paper.
IF mom has living relatives (sister, cousin, so forth), you might tactfully ask them. If it was traumatic for your parents, they may refuse to talk about it. Not uncommon. My kids know the details of the baby brother who died, but I am an open person.
Good luck..

Most modern counties in the U.S. will have mortality reports in the courthouse and/or health department. You will probably have to go there or hire a researcher to do the same. Call the county of residence at the time of death and the county of her birth if the other does not have the record.

umm... ASK YOUR PARENTS.

Unless you put it in your question, we can't tell what country you are from. It is the most frustrating thing Y!A does. Even if you go in through Y!A Austrailia, Y!A Canada or ordinary Y!A, all the questions in English go into one big "pot". I'm in California, for instance.

There is no single best web site; it depends on the decade and place. Very very few on-line death indicies include cause of death.

If she died in the USA, she might be on
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-b...
Social Security Death Index. Click on "Advanced".

She might not. She will probably be under her married name, if she married. You can Google "Death Index {state}" and see if there is one on-line for your state.

Once (if) you find out where and when she died, you can try for a death certificate or obituary.