How do I find out where a non-famous person is buried?
A friend from my High School days, whose name and city of burial I know of, died quite a few years ago. I want to pay my respects…suggestions on how I find the site?
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I think the easiest way would be to ask his family or someone close to his family if that is at all possible.
You can also ask the local cementery, is not gonna be something easy, but, you can always try.
The other option, although quite possibly time consuming, depending on city is to call up the cemeteries and ask
oop, flameboi beat me to it…
You could try and find the obituary in the local paper and see if that gives you any info. It might mention where the service was held.
You could check the archives of the local newspaper’s obit section. They usually mention where someone is to be interred.
jp, I owe you a coke!! GMTA!
@bsilver
great minds think alike (PnL told me that) :)
It is on the death certificate which is filed where the person died, not where he or she is buried.
When and where did this death occur? There are web-accessible databases for deaths in the past including some recent ones,
In some cases, this might depend on the state in which the person died.
Be specific and I can maybe give you some genealogical assistance.
SRM
@ srmorgan But don’t you have to be immediate family to see a death certificate? I tried to get one of my Mothers, and there was tons of paperwork involved. I had to prove I was her daughter among other things. This was in the state of New York.
@scamp
You know I have to check this. I have obtained death certificates of distant relatives but these are for deaths sometime in the past and I have gotten them through the genealogical services of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church).
I am not sure about very recent death certificates. I also did not read the poster’s comment as throughly as I should have where he stated that he knows the date and location of his friend’s death. I was going to suggest using some of the on-line indices like California or Connecticut which are kept reasonably up-to-date on-line.
You can obtain “un-certified” copies of a death certificate by stating that you are requesting this for genealogical purposes. I have never tried this for a friend, only for a relative. But again, if the Mormons have microfilmed the records of this particular city, getting a photocopy is really a snap.
SRM
@bunkin Sorry, Harp beat you there. See above.
@srmorgan My SO has used the Mormons for research about his family and were very helpful. That is a great resource. I think the difficulty I had obtaining my Mother’s Death certificate is because I asked for it post 911. My Mother died in 2000 in Syracuse while travelling. They gave me some forms to fill out and mail back to them, and said I had to send a copy of my birth certificate, social security card, and photo ID along with the reason why I was asking for this information. They also wanted around $20— $30 for a copy. I had found some unclaimed insurance money of hers, and I needed her death certificate to claim it. Since it didn’t amount to much, I just dropped it.
I don’t know if you’ve tried, but on occasion, googling the deceaseds name will turn up vital records results, including most information on the death certificate, and if obituaries or death notices were put out in papers, those will occasionally pop up as well, I’ve found a few on my grandparents and other loved ones.
grave registry.com and look in local libraries I could probably find it.
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