Strategies for Death Records

[michaelw]

Folks,
I have had a pretty good time finding birth records in Sicily (Palermo & Roccamena). People tend to write their birth date on things later in life, which leaves a trail to follow backwards (even if a surprising number of people are not listed as having been born on their record on the date they give). However, how do you all find death records? I have no idea where to begin. I could only guess the Commune and pick some rough dates given how old they were and when they were likely to die. I must have looked through hundreds or thousands of images to find the birth certificates even knowing the year and Commune. How do you all find birth records? I am pretty sure from what I understand that I will need the death records to apply for citizenship--they were my most recent ancestors to have been born in Italy (1883 and 1885).
Thanks! Any hints?

[michaelw]

I just want to make it clear that I am looking for strategies for hunting down death records. My best guess is that they died in Palermo but the date???

[sacesta]

Death records are the most difficult of the vital records to find and provide the least information, in terms of both quantity and accuracy. A person's date of death is not usually found on any other document, but there are exceptions, such as notations appended to birth records, etc…

Without knowing an approximate date of death, you may have to search several decades worth of records. Use indices when possible. It's easier to go through a few dozen pages of indices than it is to pore through thousands of records.

You can begin by searching in the comune where the ancestor was born, but there are no guarantees the person died in the same comune in which they were born and lived.

I can't speak to whether death records are required for Italian citizenship.

I'm sorry I can't provide you with a better strategy than this.

If anyone else has tips for finding relevant death records I'd be interested to know also.

Steve

[Tessa78]

One good search strategy to narrow the possible year of death is to find the year of birth of the last child born to the couple, and then to find the marriages of the children.

The marriage act will not only identify the parents, it will provide their place of birth and residence AND whether they are living or deceased. This helps to narrow down a death date...

AND, by all means - use the indices whenever available to help with the search.

T.

[sacesta]

Excellent point Tessa!

[michaelw]

That is a very good point indeed! I think I can find the marriage records from all the children, so that would be a great start.

And yes, the locale is tough. Its totally possible that an infirm elderly person would go to live with the children in a nearby commune...in which case I might never find it.

The indices are just at the end of each of the record books, right? Thats what I have seen looking through the microfilm. At the end of each record book there is typically an index. Or is there another set you are referring to?
THANKS so MUCH!

[Tessa78]

THere are not always indices. It is a bonus if you find them.

Sometimes they are at the front of the book, sometimes at the end.
In the digitized online records they sometimes get out of order...

Good luck.

T.

[Italysearcher]

If you have been hoping to find notations of death on microfilmed or on line records you need to understand that these records are the second copy. Whether the notation was made depends on the date the second copy was sent to the archives. You need to request an original birth record from the town to get one with all the notations.

[sacesta]

THere are not always indices. It is a bonus if you find them.

Sometimes they are at the front of the book, sometimes at the end.
In the digitized online records they sometimes get out of order...

Good luck.

T.

Michael, another thing to keep in mind about the indices is that sometimes they are alphabetized by the surname and sometimes by the given name. Either way, when the indices are available, they greatly help your research. Even when the first name is unknown it is easier to search through a few pages of indices rather than countless records.

[michaelw]

The death has occured outside of the range for which familysearch has records, meaning that the death is more recent than 1910. I guess that means I either have to visit or hire somebody. Its more fun finding it on your own!