FRIDAY FINDS ~ Michigan Death Certificates from 1946 - HART, LINDSAY & GROUT

Every 75 years the State of Michigan releases death certificates to public domain. There is a website dedicated to presenting these certificates, it’s called Michiganology.  Many of you may remember the former site we used, it was called Seeking Michigan.

I use my Legacy database to determine which of my ancestors died in a particular year in a certain place.  The list this year was a short one with only five people on it.  One of those 5 was my great grandmother, Mae Thorp Gould.  I had ordered her death certificate years ago.

The others on the list were:

John Murray HART, my half 1^st cousin 3 times removed

Roy Jerome HART, my half 2^nd cousin twice removed

Robert “Bobby” LINDSAY, Jr., my 2^nd cousin once removed

Nellie E. Tibbits GROUT, my 1^st cousin 3 times removed

I was able to go to the Michiganology website and conduct the searches to find all 4 of the death certificates. In one case I had to get creative with my search, but eventually located the correct certificate.

Why is it important to locate the actual vital records for our ancestors?

·       To obtain unknown information

·       To verify information we may already have

·       Because it helps us complete the picture of that persons life

·       Because as genealogists we cannot have enough evidence to prove the “facts” we have listed for our ancestors

Here are the four death certificates I downloaded and saved.

They have been added to my Legacy database and each one was sourced and information gleaned from them.

Click on any image to enlarge it

You can see that these certificates contain a wealth of information.  Do they add to already known facts or events? Does it give me new information to verify? Let the fun begin.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

USING MICHIGANOLOGY WEBSITE–Finding death certificates from 1944 & 1945

For a very long time I made use of the Seeking Michigan website.  They offered us death record images that were 75 years or older and various other historical documents.

Every year I looked forward to January 1st when the new records would come online.  I would use my Legacy program to figure out which of my Michigan ancestors died in a certain year and look for those records.  I believe we were up to 1942 or 1943 death records, when the Seeking Michigan site was taken down and all records were transferred to Michiganology. 

When this change over first took place it was nearly impossible to find records that were so easy to locate on the Seeking Michigan site.  Many of us with Michigan roots were pretty frustrated.  I offered a LOT of feedback to the new site, as did others.

In the ensuing 4 or so years I have pretty much avoided the website. 

Recently I decided that there really were records I needed and maybe, just maybe there had been some improvements in the search engine on the site.

I’m happy to say that I was well rewarded for my efforts. 

I went in with a list of 1944 and 1945 deaths for which I needed a certificate.  There were 11 people on my list.  In review I had two of the certificates already, shared with me by my cousins Paula & Marion. 

That left 9 death certificates to find.  

How many was I able to locate?  8 of the 9.

I found that the less information I entered the better my chances were of finding a record.  Just a first and last name or even just a last name and year of death. It seemed to me that the website was working better than it had a few years ago.  I still think there is room for improvement.  On the occasion when I didn’t enter a year of death I was given a list of names and the county they died in.  When you get a long list of results with the same name, it would be nice for them to list the year of death to narrow it down a bit.

As you can see below, in entering William Gould, I received 31 hits. This screen shot just shows the first few.  But, if I didn’t know what county I might end up having to look at all 31 records.  Having a death year would improve this. 

(Please click on the image to enlarge it)

Here are the list of names for those death certificates I located

CURRY, Frederick William – 5 Nov 1944, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

ERB, Catherine – 8 Dec 1945, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

GOULD, Helen C – 17 Feb 1945, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

HEAD, Emogine – 19 Nov 1945, Three Oaks, Berrien, Michigan

LINDOW, Charles Herman – 10 Feb 1944, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan 

McTAGGART, Sarah – 10 May 1944, Bad Axe, Huron, Michigan

PRATT, James William – 26 May 1944, Richmond, Macomb, Michigan

SINE, Hattie – 6 Apr 1944, Albion, Calhoun, Michigan

I was not able to access the record for Grace M. Thorpe Stanton, who died May 29, 1945.  It’s possible those images just haven’t been uploaded yet.  I’ll try again later this year.

UPDATE - On March 15, 2021, I went back to the Michiganology website and searched again for Grace Thorpe Stanton's death certificate and found it.  Perhaps I hadn't searched correctly the first time.  Never give up!

Overall, I’m very pleased with being able to locate this many death records.  Wouldn’t it be great if all states had vital records available like this?  I know many do….but not all.

If you have Michigan ancestors and haven’t used the Michiganology website in a while, I’d encourage you to try again. 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

DOLERI OR DOTEN? WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT WE VIEW ACTUAL RECORDS AND NOT JUST TRANSCRIPTS

This subject has always been near and dear to my heart as a genealogist.  It is important/imperative that we view the actual record for our ancestor and NOT just a transcription or index.

Early in my research, I sent for and received death records for my 3rd great grandparents, Henry Hart and Olive G. Hart.  I did not know what Olive’s maiden name was and had hopes that a death record could provide that for me.  In addition, I had no idea who her parents were.
 
I received both their death certificates in April 2005.  I was still pretty much of a rookie genealogist back then.  I was excited to have the certificates.
 
The certificates were both typed and on “official” certificates from the County of Macomb in Michigan.
 
There they were – the names of Olive’s parents – Isaac DOLERI and Sally DOLERI (no maiden name for her).  Now I had names to search for in hopes of learning more about Olive.

Here is that certificate.



I began my search for the DOLERI family.  I searched and searched and searched.  I located not one single reference to a family with the surname DOLERI.  Not on any website I went to, from Ancestry to Family Search to NEHGS, FindAGrave and RootsWeb.  I set this search aside and went on to other family members.

However, I never forgot about it and have from 2009 forward recorded my efforts to find more information.  I made inquiries to people who had trees on Ancestry and to a researcher at the New England Historical Genealogical Society (I never heard back from NEHGS).  However, I did get responses from some of the Ancestry tree members.
 
The responses I was getting were leading me to believe that there was a transcription error on the death certificate in regards to Olive’s parents surname.  I now believed that her maiden name was probably DOTEN.

I contacted the County Clerk for the County of Macomb and asked if they would just send me a copy of the actual record, at my expense of course.  They declined.  I did make a note to order the microfilm containing the Michigan death records, however, I never ordered it.

In 2011 (now 7 years after receiving Olive’s death certificate), I located death records for two of her children.  These records gave Olive’s maiden name as DATEN.  Fast forward to 2015 and I located another child’s death certificate and this one gives Olive’s maiden name as DOTEN.

Without going into too much more detail I will tell you that I located many records related to the DOTEN family in Vermont, where Olive was stated to have been born.  I was also given the middle names of all the children by a cousin, Judy, who contacted me.  She said that Olive & Henry’s first born son, Isaac’s middle name was DOTEN.  Which does make sense as far as naming patterns.
 
TODAY I was doing yet another quick search to see if I could locate the actual death record for Olive.  Maybe I would find it online. I never give up.  Don’t you know, there it was.  The actual ledger containing her death information.
   

And what do I see…..her parent’s names listed as Isaac and Sally DOTEN!

Here is the record.

 
Here is the actual entry.


If you zoom into the parent’s name in the third column from the right, you will see the last name is written DOTEN.  There is an obvious cross of the “T” on both instances.  I do understand how things are misread by transcribers and indexers.  It happens.

I have a lot more research to do on Olive.  I have not yet located her in any Vermont records for her birth, nor any probate records for Isaac Doten, that might mention her.

So, keep looking for those records.  Don’t ever give up!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FRIDAY FINDS ~ Henry A. Hart Killed By A Train–His story

I’ve been doing more research on my Hart line this past week.  They are a direct paternal line for me and some possible DNA matches have me going back to this line and doing more research.

You know how it goes.  You begin looking at various websites and run across something that grabs your interest.  In this case it was a newspaper article  located on the website GenealogyBank with the title Henry A. Hart Is Killed by Train.

Here’s the article.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)


Henry was 64 years old and was married at the time, to Marian Brewster Hart.

Of course I had to learn more about Henry.

Henry A. Hart is my half 1st cousin 3 times removed.  He was the son of Hiram Harper Hart and Clarissa Curtis.  Henry A. Hart was born (according to his death certificate) on 5 Oct 1854 in Michigan.  He was the oldest of 5 known children of Hiram and Clarissa.  I expect he was named after his grandfather, Henry Hart (ca 1785-1879). 

This has been a tough family to trace and much of the information I began with came from an unverified cousin, named Judy.  While this information was very helpful and gave me a great start, there were no sources attached.  I’ve been hunting for sources every since.

Henry’s story spoke to me.  As I found out more about him, I discovered that he jumped from job to job.  All of them blue collar.  He never moved away from Grand Rapids, Michigan. At least not that I could find.  I didn’t locate any children born to Henry & either of his wives. He did have family in the area though.

Henry was first married to Mattie E. Arnold on 27 Dec. 1889 in Corunna, Shiawassee, Michigan.
  





I could not locate Henry & Mattie either together or by themselves on the 1900 census.  However, I did locate their divorce record from 8 Jul 1902.  He filed for divorce from Mattie for the reason of “desertion” and it was granted.  I wonder what happened with this couple?  I have not located any further records of Mattie.

Source: Michigan, Divorce Records, 1897-1952



In 1903 I located Henry in the Grand Rapids city directory.  He is working as an Elevator Operator.

On 13 Aug 1904, Henry married Marian Brewster Kelly in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan.




The following year, 1905, he is still an Elevator Operator.  

Then in 1907 I find him working as a Sashman for P M R R (a railroad company).  I conducted a search for the definition of this occupation for the railroad and didn’t find it listed.  For a list of railroad occupation you can click here.

In 1910 Henry is working at another occupation, Cabman for a steam railroad.
By 1912, Henry has yet another occupation, Car Repair.
In 1913 Henry is a Carpenter.
In 1914 he is a Yardman.
In 1916 he is listed as a Laborer.
In 1918 he is an Oiler for Bissell’s. (Remember the Bissell sweepers?)
In 1919, the year of his death, he is listed as an Employee for Bissell’s.

What comes to mind as you read all these different jobs from year to year?  I wonder…..

• Why so many jobs? 
• Why so many different occupations? 
• Did Henry voluntarily change jobs or was he “let go?”  Was Henry a drinker?  Was he a fighter? 
• Was he ill with an issue that kept him from showing up regularly? 
• Or was he just a guy who was always looking for the next best thing? 
• Was he a dreamer?

So many unanswered questions.

The next thing we know, Henry was walking home on the railroad tracks and gets hit and killed by a train.  Why didn’t he hear or see the train? 



I had wondered what P M RR stood for from the 1907 city directory listing for Henry.  This death notice gives me the answer, Pere Marquette Railroad.

Here is Henry’s death certificate.



One of the first things I look for on a death certificate, is the informant.  Knowing that, can help us to determine how accurate the information might be. In this case Henry’s brother, Arthur Hart was the informant.

Henry’s wife, Marian, died just four years later on 2 Aug 1923 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  There is no image available for her death certificate, although it should be available on both Family Search and Seeking Michigan.  I have also not been able to locate any obituary for her.

Henry and Marian are buried at Fairplains Cemetery, located at 2056 Diamond Rd., N.E. in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

You can visit their FindAGrave Memorials here:  Henry #21057459 and Marian #21057460.

Source for the various years and occupations is the Ancestry.com U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995.  Those city directories can reveal a lot of information about your ancestor and family members in a certain time and place.

Please take a look at the two blog posts I’ve written about using City Directories in your research.

CITY DIRECTORIES - A Treasure Trove of Genealogical Information

TUESDAY'S TIP - Stree Guide Included in City Directories - Have You Used This Handy Resource?

I wonder if one day I’ll find a family member who has a picture of Henry A. Hart?
 
Most of our ancestors didn’t live exciting or famous lives, but just tried to make it from day to day.  Much like all of us.

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MICHIGAN DEATH RECORD IMAGES FOR 1940 NOW ONLINE! Here’s how I found my family’s certificates

The website https://michiganology.org/vital-records/ has many wonderful records & historical information for Michigan researchers. 
Certainly the one I’ve used the most is their death index and images. The images for records from 1897-1920 have been online for a while now.

The images for 1921-1952 are being released as the 75 year restriction rolls around.  As of today, they have uploaded the images up to and including 1940.

So, today, I’m going to use my Legacy search function and see how many, if any, of my ancestors have deaths in Michigan in 1940.

To accomplish this I will go to the “Search” tab and then “Find.”
I want two criteria in my search:

• Place of death = Michigan
• Date of death = 1940

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
 

And, here is my list



Let’s go over to seekingmichigan.org (UPDATE Oct 2019 - the seekingmichigan website if closed down - the new site is michiganology.org) and see how many of those four certificates I can locate.

NOTE:  As you know, uploading and indexing are not perfect sciences.  So, just because we hear that records are available, doesn’t mean they ALL will be.

How many of these death certificate images did I find?

FOUR OUT OF FOUR!!!

DEATH CERT FOR WILLIAM W. BUSH	DEATH CERT FOR WILLARD B. GOULD
DEATH CERT FOR MINNIE ERB	DEATH CERT FOR KATHERINE MARTZ FORSYTH

Wonderful!  I’ve downloaded each of them, cropped and corrected them and now I can add them to Legacy and source them.  That’s what I call 15 minutes well spent online.

TIP:  I do not like the look of images as they appear in our downloads.  I don’t like the black surrounding them and I don’t like them to be crooked or too grey.  I fix all of this before I ever save the digital image to my computer.  I takes about one minute to perform the task and makes your images look so much better in any report or if you upload them online.  See my “Other Posts” below for a post I wrote about this process.

Time to go work on those records.  Please let me know how many new records you find in this collection.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE - Where can you find them?

Legacy 8 - THE SEARCH FUNCTION - What Can You Find?

EASY DOCUMENT EDITING - How to Straighten & Correct Images

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

DAY TWO OF THE MICHIGAN DEATH CERTIFICATES JOURNEY–NOW WHAT?

So, we’ve all been online checking the SeekingMichigan site for those 1921-1939 Michigan death certificates.  I had great luck in finding mine. 

The end count was 33!

 

After I created my list from the search feature in Legacy 8, I began going through it for those who might have died in Michigan.  Please see my post from yesterday for details about creating that list.  Here is the link: http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2015/03/michigan-death-certificate-images.html

Here are the steps I followed:

• Once I see a name on the list that is a “possible” I go to that person in my Legacy 8 database.
• I check whatever death record information I have for that person.  In some cases, I had already noted that the death record was on FamilySearch under the Michigan Death Certificates 1921-1952, but with no image.  When I find an index only, I copy and past the information under “notes” for that event on the Individual’s Information in Legacy.

You can click on that little plus sign next to each event and it brings up your options for Adding Addresses, Notes, Pictures and whether the event is shared.  I use this feature in Legacy every day. 

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

• Next I went to the Seeking Michigan site, which was already opened on my browser and I began entering the search criteria for that person.  When I did this I made sure that I was ONLY searching the death certificates for 1921-1952 (we know they only go to 1939 right now).  But, there are many databases on the Seeking Michigan site and I only wanted to search this single one.  A fellow blogger, Amy Johnson Crow, wrote a post with some tips for using this new collection.  Here is a link to her post: FINDING NEW DEATH CERTIFICATES ON SEEKING MICHIGAN
• Once I located the correct death certificate I wrote down the RIN number and name on a piece of paper (yes, a piece of paper), on my desk.  I just wanted a real quick way to keep track of what I was finding.
• Next, I downloaded the image (I always use the “large” option when saving).  My computer automatically opens any image in an editing program that I find very easy for everyday cropping, straightening and resizing etc.  I use Microsoft Office 2010 Picture Manager. I wrote a post about this and will site it at the end of this article. 
• I straightened, cropped and enhanced the image and saved it in the proper surname folder with my standard, consistent naming method.  I will not allow any of those black borders or crooked pictures to be added to my database.
• The process of editing and properly saving your images immediately, guarantees they will be in the correct place on your computer.  And, it only takes a few seconds to do. After all, we get interruptions in our daily life and may not get back to them right away.
• Now I’m ready to begin the process of adding all this wonderful information to my Legacy database.

THIS PROCEDURE WILL INVOLVE THE FOLLOWING STEPS

• Start with the first name on that list I made.
• Adding the death certificate image in the “pictures” area next to death event (see my RED arrow in the screen shot above).
• Adding the source citation in SourceWriter.  I already have a Master Source for Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952.

•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
• 
  
• Copying the citation to the clipboard so that I can add the source to whatever fields are necessary.
• Adding information to the Events/Facts area of the Individual’s Information.  I have created my own events when I didn’t find the ones I wanted on the list. Here are my additions:
• Informant on Death Certificate
• Funeral Home or Mortuary
• Residence at time of death
• Autopsy at time of death
• Occupation at time of death
• Physician listed on death certificate
• I will also go to the Parents list for that person and add the source (using the clipboard).
• I’ll add the cause of death in the medical notes.
• And enter the date of burial and location (if listed)

At that point I will consider myself done with this important piece of evidence in the life of my ancestor.  Since there is no paper copy, there will be no need to create one.  I do not create paper when I don’t have to.  When I send for and receive vital records I do save those in a binder after they’ve been scanned, but that’s about the only paper I have. 

Have I missed anything in my procedure?  Is this how you process your records or do you have a different method?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
EASY DOCUMENT EDITING
DIGITAL FOLDER ORGANIZING AND NAMING MADE EASY

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

AN EXACT DEATH DATE IN A CITY DIRECTORY LISTING

Page 953 - Detroit City Directory - Listing for Wm. Lindsay (deceased) 

I know that city directory listings can be great sources of information for our ancestors.  I use them all the time.

I’ve seen the women listed as “widow of John Smith.”  However, today, I found a listing for my 2nd great grandfather, William Lindsay in the 1899 Detroit City Directory.  I wasn’t looking for him specifically, but for another of our Lindsay clan.  As I’m going down the list I see this entry:

Lindsay, Wm (aged 68), died July 4, 1898.

I wouldn’t have thought to look for a listing for him in the 1899 city directory, knowing that he’d died in 1898. 

This gives one more piece of evidence as to his death date.  I already have a death certificate, his headstone photo and his burial record from Woodmere Cemetery.  But, isn’t it nice to have one more piece of evidence that confirms what I already have?   
Can we ever have too much evidence?  NO!

This gives me motivation to look at other city directory listings in the year following an ancestor’s death, and see if they are listed.
 
Was this just a one time thing, done only in 1899?  I guess I’ll find out.

Have you found death dates in city directories?

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
 CITY DIRECTORIES - A TREASURE TROVE OF GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION
MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE - WHERE CAN YOU FIND THEM?

Happy hunting,

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SURNAME SATURDAY – Thornton of England, Canada & Michigan

The Thornton’s are connected to my family by marriage.  My great grandaunt, Mary Elizabeth MILNE married John Thornton.

What I know about John THORNTON

He was born in Lincolnshire, England on 17 May 1851.¹
His father was Samuel Thornton², born 1820 in Yorkshire, England, died 24 Dec 1893 in Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada.

His mother was Mary STATEN, (also spelled Staton) born about 1820 in Yorkshire, England and died 16 Feb 1910 in London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada.

John Thornton had 3 brothers – James, George and Samuel Jr. and 2 sisters – Ann & Mary.

John married Mary Elizabeth MILNE³ on 19 Dec 1871 in Lambton, Ontario, Canada.  They had 6 sons – Samuel Charles, Alfred, John Jr., George, Andrew Ritchie and Orman Staten and 1 daughter – Lottie May.  Two of the sons, Samuel and Alfred did not live to adulthood.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLAGE IT)





John’s obituary⁴ gives quite a bit of information about his life.  He came to Canada at the age of two and came to Michigan when he was 17 years of age, settling in Owosso.  He later returned to London, Ontario, Canada and then to East Tawas, Michigan.  From the obituary we learn that John was a pioneer resident of Muskegon, moving to the town in 1891.

John spent practically all his working days on the railroad.  He is listed as a retired Locomotive Engineer on his death certificate.
 
He was a member of the Maccabees and the Canadian Order of Foresters. His wife Mary, was a Treasurer of the Companions of Foresters.






















John & Mary lived in Ontario, Canada for the birth of their first five children.  By 1888 when Orman⁵ was born, they have moved to East Tawas, Iosco, Michigan.  Their daughter, Lottie⁶, was born in Muskegon, Michigan.

BIRTH RECORD OF ORMAN THORNTON 

   


We find the couple living on Prospect St. in Muskegon, Michigan in the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census.
 
John died 25 Jun 1921 at his home 37 Prospect St., Muskegon, Michigan.  Cause of death is listed as Angina pectoris-arteriosclerosis¹.



Mary lived for seven more years and died 22 Aug 1929 at Hackley Hospital in Muskegon, Michigan.  Her cause of death was Arteriosclerosis, myocarditis, nephritis, terminal lung infection.

Both John & Mary are buried at Oakwood Cemetery, Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan.1  Here is a link to their memorials on findagrave.com – John, Mary.



If you think you might be related, even remotely, to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me!

Sources:

1- Michigan, Death Certificate, 1921-1952 and Newspaper obituary-The Muskegon Chronicle

2 - Ontario, Canada, Death, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947

3 – Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1926

4 – The Muskegon Chronicle, page 9, column 1, published 27 Jun 1921

5 -  Michigan Births, 1867-1902

6 -  Michigan, Death certificates, 1921-1952

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2015   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

MICHIGAN DEATH RECORDS ONLINE–Where can you find them?

UPDATE - 16 Oct 2019 - One of the primary sites for finding Michigan Death Records was seekingmichigan.org.  That site no longer exists and all of their collections have been moved to Michiganology.org.  Unfortunately, there is no redirect and you must actually go to the new site.  I have updated my post to reflect these changes.

This post was prompted by a private message sent to me today on Facebook.  The inquiry concerned where to find Michigan death in the 1900’s.  

I answered the inquiry and that resulted in a couple of more questions about death records in Michigan.  

So, here is a quick reference on what records you can find and where you can find them.

Michigan began keeping death records, by law, in 1867.  Registration of these records was not enforced until a 1905 law made the filing of records much more effective.

WHERE TO FIND RECORDS ONLINE

1867-1897

You can find an index for these records on the website
Genealogical Death Indexing System (commonly referred to as GENDIS) http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/gendisx/search.htm

(See the update below regarding viewing images of these records)



-- REMEMBER CLICKING ANY IMAGE ON THIS PAGE WILL ENLARGE IT--

Once on this page you can enter the descendant's name, father’s last name, county of death, and a range of years from 1867-1897.  You can sort by any of those criteria using the drop down list in the lower right hand corner.

NOTE:  My experience in using this database is that you can usually just enter a last name and click on search.  Unless, of course, your searching for Smith or Williams or another fairly common name.  There are few enough records on this site that entering just a last name will give you the biggest result.  If you find there are too many records (or the site tells you there are too many), then narrow your search by entering more information, such as a first name.  As with any search, less is usually better, so that you don’t miss anything.  I throw a big net and then narrow.  Some people like to throw a narrow net and then enlarge it.  Whatever you are comfortable with will work.  

When I entered the last name HART, I got a page full of hits.  And, the site told me the query was too broad to show all matching records.  In that case you’d want to enter more criteria.

Here is a sample from that page.



Let’s click on the first name on the list, Abigail Hart.

Here is our result.



As you can see this is some really good genealogical information.  Everything from the date of her death to her cause of death to her father’s name and much more.  

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Deidre who reminded me that the images to these records from 1867-1897 are now available on familysearch.org.  This link will take you directly to the death records search page https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1452402

Once you have entered the search criteria for the person you are looking for you will see a screen like this.

 

As indicated above, click on "View Document" to bring up the image.

NOTE:  Be sure to go to the next page in the record in order to view all the data available.  Many times the first page you see will not contain everything.


1897-1920

These records came online slowly, but steadily, until they were finished a couple of years ago.  We waited with great anticipation, knowing that they were loading images as well as the data. 

These records can be located on the website

michiganology.org

 Here is what you’ll see when you open the site.

Scroll on the page until you see Death Records and then click "view collection"

This opens a screen that looks like this:

NOTE:  Thanks to reader, Sonja, for letting me know that the images for this group of records will be gradually added to the michiganology.org site.  Due to restrictions on the release of death information, they will only show those that are over 75 yrs. ago.  So, as of 2019 they have posted images back to 1944.  I look forward, each year, to the new set of death records to view.




Isn’t it wonderful to see an actual image, online?  Now you can use your own skills to determine what each entry says.  Transcribers don’t always get it right, do they?

NOTE:  Before I would save this image to my computer and add it to my database, I would want to get rid of that awful black border, maybe darken the image a bit and possibly straighten it just a tad.  I do this ALL the time with images from Ancestry, familysearch or other sites where I find images.  

Here is my blog post about the method I use for making the images look great: 
EASY DOCUMENT EDITING    http://www.michiganfamilytrails.com/2013/11/easy-document-editing.html

Here is the image after I cleaned it up.




1921-1952

The index for these records is available on familysearch.org.  There are 1,681,256 as of 29 Apr 2013.  No images have been added yet, but at least there are transcriptions of a portion of the death certificate.  

Go to familysearch.org, Search, then click on United States, then on Michigan and you will get all the Michigan selections.



You can see the fourth selection from the top is Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952.

Another place to check for vital records is at the county level.  Many counties throughout the U.S. have websites.  Some, like West Virginia and Missouri have indexes and images.  

That’s it.  Those are the available online death records for Michigan.  I hope you’ll have great success in using these resources.  I know I have.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright © 2013  Diane Gould Hall