Hi there! I'm Lisa Lisson, and I'm passionate about helping people like you discover their ancestors and expand their family tree without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the next steps.
Your ancestor's death certificate is hiding something
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Hi, Reader, You found the death certificate. Name, date, cause of death confirmed. Filed away. Most genealogists stop there, but the four most useful clues on the document are still sitting unread. I just updated this post with exactly what to look for and why each one matters: → 4 Death Certificate Clues Everyone Misses The first I'd start with: the informant. Who reported the death? If it's a neighbor instead of a family member, that's not random. It's either evidence of estrangement, or a relative you don't know yet using a married name. Either way, it's worth researching. The other three are birthplace discrepancies, occupation changes, and death location. They look like administrative details. They're not. If you have death certificates you've already found, this is worth going back for. The records haven't changed. What you're looking for in them is about to. If you want to go deeper, my Beyond the Grave webinar covers the full process for finding an ancestor's date of death when the obvious sources aren't working. $37, one hour, instant access. Happy Ancestor Hunting, Lisa |
Are You My Cousin? Newsletter
Hi there! I'm Lisa Lisson, and I'm passionate about helping people like you discover their ancestors and expand their family tree without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about the next steps.
Hi, Reader, Where I live, “back to school” is a little complicated. We have traditional-calendar schools, year-round schools, modified year-round schools…basically, somebody is always going back to school. But August still feels like back-to-school season. And for genealogists, it’s a good reminder to ask a question we often overlook: What records did our ancestors leave behind when they went to school? School records can be surprisingly useful especially when you’re trying to place a family...
Hi, Reader, I bet you've done this. You've pulled the census for that ancestor more times than you can count. Same searches, same names, same dead end. Nothing that moves you forward. After years of searching, I finally took down a large section of a genealogy brick wall! Darwin Talbott left Virginia in 1848 and went "west". That's it. Family clues suggested I should start the search in Kentucky. For years I could not find him anywhere in Kentucky or elsewhere. Every name search came up...
Hi, Reader, Sometimes the best thing you can do for your family tree is not add another record. It’s to step back and ask yourself: Do I actually trust what I’ve built? On Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00 PM Eastern, I’m hosting a free live genealogy workshop: Build a Family Tree You Can Trust: The key decisions that matter whether you’re starting today or starting over This workshop is for you if: You’re new to genealogy and want to start the right way You’ve been researching for years but have a...