Re: Finding dead people
Dont 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.