How to find out if someone has died (skin, database, test)

[Nerys52SoSilver]

Google search obituary + all official names and surname then sometimes one finds person. Some people use a modernized or shorten their first names but obituary carry the legal full names. One neighbour call herself Jacky but was Jakobina in her obituary.

[reed303]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

Well, he was not dead through 2014. I can't find anything through Family Search other than the SS Death Index. Am I navigating the site incorrectly? I did sign up with them

For a general records search, you should be able to start here:

https://www.familysearch.org/search/

Avoid their "Family Tree" feature for now. It is crowd-sourced, and unfortunately too much bad info.

[BoSox 15]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

Well, he was not dead through 2014. I can't find anything through Family Search other than the SS Death Index. Am I navigating the site incorrectly? I did sign up with them

It's possible he's still alive. You confirmed he was alive through 2014. I'm assuming you've done a Google search for his obituaries and came up with nothing.

You indicated you don't want to spend any money but you will have to invest time to get an answer. Best place to start is the last item you know to be true. If he owned the house you speak of, go on the local assessor's website (may be city, may be county) and search property records. See if the property is in his name. If not then find out when he sold it and you'll then know he was at least still alive through "X".

Did he have children? Any other relatives?

[SunGrins]

How to find out if someone has died

Social security index and Find-a-grave might be my first thought for death resources. Newspaper archives, maybe. I sometimes look at church records.

Otherwise, if they are cold and do not have a pulse, they are dead.

[bostongymjunkie]

Have you tried calling the last known telephone number? You can always hang up if he answers.

[NW4me]

Here's a competitor to Find A Grave: freegravefinder.com And perhaps there are others.

Counties have vital-records web sites. You could search his county's site for a death record
(assuming he died in that county.... if he died elsewhere, e.g. while traveling, his home county might
not have any info).

But the cemetery plot is the best potential clue... you just need to get the cemetery
administrators to tell you if it's occupied... you could call them, say that you're doing
family-history research, and ask: what was his date of death?

[ClaraC]

Can't you just call the funeral home and ask?

Also, I like the idea a poster had of posting an ad on Craigslist to see if someone would just wander over to the cemetery and look. There are lots of people that like to do just that sort of thing.

If you want, PM me his name and I'll look at the resources I have.

[happygrrrl]

I actually did call the funeral home. They were very kind & told me he was not buried in the double plot that he bought when my sister died.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

[Mike from back east]

The SSDI has not been online at ss.gov since 2014, that function was shipped from SS to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) where it is now known as the Limited Access Death Master File (LADMF). Access to the LADMF is restricted to those who pass a certification test to assure that the index is not used by criminals to create fraudulent identities. Google searches for SSDI usually end up taking you to ancestry.com where one needs to buy a membership to search. I've a membership but still cannot find two relatives back in MD.

If anyone reading this is certified to access the LADMF and would like to help the OP please let her know by DM, and also let me know by DM as I've two cousins I'd like to know about.

[reed303]

Mike,

Thanks for the LADMF info. I've wondered why none of the 3 SSDIs I check have not been added to since 2014, as they were supposed to be released every 3 years. I would guess only the 3 big credit checking outfits are able to get certification. ;-)

Re missing names, my wife passed in 2004, and to date her name does not appear. I've asked an SSA rep why, and was told they couldn't/wouldn't say why. Nothing is odd about her record or passing at age 60 so I'm still wondering why. (and I collected Survivor's benefits)

BTW, the 2014 SSDI is no cost at FamilySearch or GenealogyBank.