The Genealogist

What You Can Learn from Funeral Records

By Amit Mehta

Funeral records are documents kept by funeral homes detailing the funeral services that were registered with them. When it comes to conducting research on the death of an individual, death records are often the first recourse while funeral documents are often (unjustly) overlooked.

One of the primary reasons why funeral records are ignored is that, unlike death records, they are not considered public records. Funeral homes are not required by law to release funeral documents unless there is just cause. But as of late, more funeral homes are allowing the general public to request for this information, provided that the name of the deceased and the date of death are provided accurately by the requesting party.

Since the funeral home director is tasked with the responsibility of filling out the death certificate, the latter is also part of the funeral records they keep at most funeral homes. Aside from the date of birth and death, other information that you can find in the death certificate includes the name of the spouse, name of parents, the place of residence at death and the name and location of the cemetery.

On the actual funeral records, one can find a list of surviving family members of the individual who passed away. Sometimes, even the names and addresses of the in-laws and grandchildren are included on this list, since this will be needed for placing obituaries in newspapers.

Although not often the case, there are instances when funeral documents also reveal the deceased person\’s last will or testament, birth certificate, insurance policy and military record. These information are of course especially relevant for those trying to trace their lineage, track down ancestors and uncover their own family history.

Funeral Records Go \’Live\’ Online

Due to the sheer volume of funeral records, many mortuary facilities have chosen to digitize all their records and offer them online. Being able to access funeral documents online is advantageous for mortuary facilities since this saves them the additional cost of having to maintain a separate physical archive, sometimes even employing the services of a third party record keeping company.

For people wishing to acquire copies of funeral records, retrieving them online preserves these records for posterity. Digitized copies mean that the risk of these records getting lost, stolen or damaged is significantly reduced and are more likely to be able to withstand the test of time.

One caveat for anyone accessing funeral records is that these records may not be entirely accurate since most of the information is supplied by the surviving family members and then compiled by the funeral director. As such, any information that you learn from funeral documents has to be double checked against other sources of data before they can be deemed as conclusive.

The registrar of vital statistics, the county of death and cemeteries may also have some related records that can be utilized for research purposes and serve as excellent supporting documents for funeral records.

About The Author

Want to Know the Top Sites to Find Funeral Records? Read Dr. Amit Mehta\’s Unbiased Reviews ==> RecordsSiteReviews.com

Separating Fact from Fiction in Historical Family Stories

As you sit down to do a genealogy interview with your grandfather, he leans over and whispers to you, “You know, your great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee Indian Princess, don’t you?” You will probably encounter this at some point in your family history research. Most people do. It can be extremely difficult to decipher fact from fiction as you are working through your research. While most of the stories you hear will have bits of truth embedded in them, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.

One of the first ways to decide what is and is not true is to familiarize your self with the common family history myths most genealogy researchers encounter. The first one is the story about some member of your family being an Indian princess. This myth almost always takes place in the Cherokee tribe, though you might occasionally hear of a Navajo or Apache princess. There are many reasons this myth might have evolved, but the primary one was prejudice against Native Americans. In past years, it was very difficult for most parts of American society to accept any white males marrying Native American women. Giving her the status of princess, while usually completely false, made it a bit easier to deal with. It is important to remember, though, that simply having Native American ancestry may also be a complete myth. It has become a rather popular ancestry to acknowledge in the past few years, so it is important to find some solid evidence before you jump into the belief.

Another popular myth is that three brothers immigrated to America. You rarely hear about seven brothers or two brothers and one sister. As a result, it can make tracking passenger manifests and other documentation difficult if the numbers and the genders of the immigrants are skewed. You will want to try to confirm that there were actually three brothers instead of one brother and two uncles or whatever other numbers, genders, and relationships your family immigrants may have had. The myth of having a stowaway immigrant history is also a popular one. Everyone seems to have had a great grandfather who was a stowaway on a ship. It seems to be more interesting. The truth is, though, that this was not a common practice. Even if you truly did have a stowaway in your family, they will be listed on the passenger arrival list of the ship, typically in the index or on the last page, as they were usually discovered before the ship managed to dock.

Another interesting genealogy myth is the one about having someone famous in your background. It’s hard to have the name Smith without considering the possibility that you were once related to John Smith, the explorer. That, however, doesn’t make it so. You will have to do some serious research, here, because it is possible that you were actually related to someone famous, but it is not likely. It is just a story people tell to make them feel as if they are legitimizing the family line. One final popular myth is that the family surname was switched at Ellis Island. No such practice ever existed. The most Ellis Island officials ever did was comparing the passenger names to the list created at the departure of the ship. In all likelihood, any names that were switched occurred because the immigrants themselves wanted the names changed to better fit with current American society at the time.

Once you’ve figured out the popular myths, it’s time to start working the truth out of your own family stories. It is best to rely on actual documentation, or primary sources, for your major finds. However, that is not always possible. As a result, if you must rely on oral history interviews, one of the best tips is to be sure to verify the information you have gotten through two or three other people. Relatives are notorious for trying the make the family sound a bit different than it actually is, and talking to several family members can usually help you find the level of truth that you need in your research.

Sorting out fact from fiction in family myths can be very difficult sometimes, but doing it well the first time will help you get an accurate family history that will help generations to come will appreciate.

GenMates Weekly News

Last week I tried publishing the GenMates News Update here on the Blog and we received a very positive response to it. So going forward we will publish here and send an email to GenMates members letting them know that the latest update is online!

A number of members have written to me and told me that they love the idea of Blogging but haven’t a clue what to do! So for them I have put together a new Squidoo Lens which explains how to Blog! You can take a look at it by clicking on The Blogging Guide. It is also complimented by our more advanced Blog for those who would like to make some money from their blogging. You can check that out by clicking on Blogging for Money.

GenMates itself has now risen to nearly 600 members and in the coming week we are due to be featured in Family History Monthly which we hope will see a further influx of members. Our 1911 Census Online Petition is also featured this month in Your Family Tree! Both Magazines are available from 28th September 2006 in the UK

The free offer of my Introduction to Scrapbooking ebook together with Shaking The Family Tree is still available for those who haven’t managed to get a copy yet. You can grab a copy by going to An Introduction to Scrapbooking.

You will remember that I mentioned all the problems we were having with 1and1.co.uk The Worst Web Hosts I haave ever encountered! Well some good came out of it as we now have a couple of additional domains registered which we think you will find of interest. Those are The Amateur Genealogist and The Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy

Just returning to the subject of Squidoo - if you have been looking for a way to put together your own website at no cost then Squidoo is definitely a possibility for you! You can join up by going here: Join Squidoo and if you want to take a look at my first Squidoo Lens then click on Genealogy and Family History.

I also look forward to seeing you at GenMates soon!