Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
It varies by state and county. If you know the county, call the County Clerk (or County Courthouse, again the name of the dept. will vary) and ask what records are available and the best way to access them. Often times county level genealogy societies will know how to access these records as well.
I know in Maryland we have extensive records on-line, but using search sites like Google is hit or miss.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
No, not all records are public knowledge. It varies by state and by time frame.
Unlike some other countries, the U.S. has no national vital record database. It is the duty of each state to maintain birth, marriage, divorce & death records. Each state has its own rules regarding access.
And, in the case of New York City, they keep their vital records separately from the state of NY.
If you are looking for a specific record than please post your question here with more detail, for example, searching for birth of John Smith in NY circa 1870. You get the idea.
People on this list will help you find what you are looking for (assuming it even exists.) Some states did not start keeping vital records until the turn of the century.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
1. as others have said, not all records are public.
2. even if they are "public", many such sites have taken steps to prevent being searched by Google and the other search engines.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
Generally not. Some states or counties will offer a free index of BMD records, but not the actual full records. For that, you usually need to order a copy of the record for a fee. Some older records which have been archived can be found for free at FamilySearch, but often times, more recent records can only be found online at Ancestry. That's because the state/county doesn't want to give up the ability to make money off providing copies of the records, and Ancestry (or other similar subscription sites) will pay them a reasonable amount to host the records (which makes up for people not ordering records by mail for a fee). In turn, that means users have to pay to access most of Ancestry's records, because they had/have to pay a good deal to obtain the records, digitize them, host them on their servers, pay people to transcribe them, etc. FamilySearch is free because it's funded by the LDS church, which has a lot of money because their members tend to pay a lot of tithing. Everything costs money, and it has to come from somewhere.
Quote:
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
Not necessarily - most states have restrictions on vital records. After a given amount of time has passed, some will release them to the public, some won't. Indices are easier to gain access too and there's a group called Reclaim the Records who are attempting to get vital records released to the public, but it's easier for indicies: https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
Yeah, go directly to the county's web-site.
Note that not all counties publish data, and whether they do or not depends on that State's laws. For example, Alabama will not release birth records until 125 years after the fact, so if you're looking for somebody born within the last 125 years, you're not going to find them.
In the alternative, you may contact local historical or genealogical societies. For example, Cook County, Illinois doesn't publish a lot, but there's a genealogical society in Cook County that does.
I had a relative from Ohio who drowned in Lake Michigan at Chicago, and if it wasn't for the genealogical society there, I would never know that. Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank don't cover the Toledo Blade, but fortunately the incident was reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Sometimes one can see death dates for American citizens due to Social Security information online (without payment). But as already said/written not all information can be seen for free online.
Sometimes one can see death dates for American citizens due to Social Security information online (without payment). But as already said/written not all information can be seen for free online.
Even Social Security's Death Index (SSDI) is not 100% complete.
My wife died in 2004. To date she is still not listed. One side effect, because the 3 big credit reporting outfits use the SSDI to close out an individual's report, is that I had to send a copy of her death cert to each one to stop all the junk mail coming in her name from banks, credit cards, etc.
At the time, I filed for the Lump Sum benefit, and Survivor's benefit, so SSA is well aware of the death. However, to this day, the SSA refuses to tell me why she is not listed.
So far the only known problem created by this non-listing has been the credit report issue.
Is there a way to actually search for, say, local deaths, marriages, births by county without being directed to a genealogy site each time? I'm wanting to do some local searching of marriages and deaths for "free". Is that possible?
It seems that if I google deaths in my county, I should be able to find records right? They are public knowledge correct? I thought this would be an easy thing to search.
Happy, I've joked with my wife about this. She's been working on her families for over 40 years. I've joked that the only reason she married me was to have another family to work on. lol But there was nothing she enjoyed more than going to libraries that had geneology departments and looking up birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and death certificates. We've gone to cemeteries taking pictures of monuments for people on findagrave and randomactsofkindness. It was hard work and she enjoyed it thoroughly. Now all she has to do is go to ancestry or one of the other sites.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
SSDI not 100%
