Finding dead people

[cjones4@hvc.rr.com]

A friend asked me to search the internet to find the death records for his father. His dad was born in Poland in 1892. Last contact with him was many years ago, was living in NY state at the time but was rumored to have moved out of state. <br /><br />After many hours of web searching I still come up blank. Most sites I go to link to a site that requires payment up front. We are reluctant to pay to use the site without knowing if they will have what we are looking for. Does anyone have any good tips for finding this type of info? <br /><br />He needs to find proof of death to clear up the deed to his property that still has is fathers name on it.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Finding dead people

Don’t know about Poland but most countries accept either 100-years or 101-years after birth for an assumed death.<br /><br />Your friend must sign a form to access the Social Security database for his father. (Check the SS website for the form.) He probably had a SS number, even if later in his life. The SSA records will show the date and county of record for the death. From there your friend can request a copy of the death certificate from the state his father died in. None of this can be done by you. After 9/11 almost all access to public birth/marriage/death records were limited to immediate family only.<br /><br />Note: your friend is almost certainly going to need something called an Apostille for every government document from the U.S. that is used/filed in Poland. The Apostille is available from the Secretary of State that holds the original death certificate.<br /><br />It is possible (likely!) there will be errors in dates, locations and/or spelling on the death certificate. He should review the death certificate for accuracy before paying for the Apostille. Your friend can file an amendment to make these posthumous corrections. You may be able to make the corrections for your friend; it varies from state to state.<br /><br />If all else fails, extinguish your cigar, sober up, brush the coffee stains from your teeth, and walk over to your local Mormon church and ask for help. These folks wrote the book on genealogy and government documentation to that end.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Finding dead people

i'd really spend the $30 and let the web find the records for you. with a good ssn, something should turn up.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: Finding dead people

death certificates are recorded with county clerk.<br />check county in NY last know?

 

[neumanns]

Re: Finding dead people

If ALL ELSE fails you can proabably go to a judge and show your extensive attempts and have a judge declare him dead. Document everything you attempt so if it comes to this you can show a good faith effort to the judge.

 

[cjones4@hvc.rr.com]

Re: Finding dead people

Great replies.<br /><br />18rabbit - is the Apostille something we will need if he was a US citizen and died in the states or is that only needed for info from other countries?<br /><br /> We don't know his social security number... can he still be found at the SS site without it? <br /><br /> It must be time to clean up my act if the smoke & coffee stains are showing up in my posts. <br /><br /> Thanks to all

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Finding dead people

Mooner – the Apostille is nothing more than an official government certification that the other government document (death certificate) is authentic…not forged. Weird, but required by the Hague Convention of the early 60’s. Most countries are signed on to require it…and they do.<br /><br /> http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/c1267.htm <br /><br />You do not need his SS number. Name, dob, parent’s names, place of birth are matched against computer records. The ss office can then supply an abstract of the person with any death info…and their ss #. You can try entering just the name in the Social Security Death Index and see what you get for matches.<br /><br /> http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ <br /><br />Can you tell I’ve been thru this?