Death Certificates for Genealogy Research

The state of Texas has been keeping death records for over one hundred years. These records can be important genealogy resources for professional historians. They can also be a great addition to your family history library!

Why Death Records Are Important to Genealogical Research

Death records are a fundamental part of genealogy research. For many family history researchers, death certificates are the first type of document they search for when researching an individual. The documents often contain important information beyond just details of their death; there might be clues about a person’s origin and life as well. A death record can be one of the best genealogical resources to help in finding the missing piece on the family tree.

These historical records are readily available and come with a wealth of information, making them an excellent choice for professional genealogists and local history hobbyists. If you want to learn more about death records and how they can help with genealogical research, then here are a few things you need to know:

They Contain Vital Family History


Vital Family History

An individual’s death certificate is an important historical document that provides crucial information such as the date, time, and place of passing. It can also reveal information about their birth date, birth location, spouse, and parents. Additionally, it has interesting clues about their life, including their last known residence or military records.

What does this have to do with your genealogical research?

Depending on confirmation from primary sources, the names you discover in a death record (spouse, parents) might lead you to additional relatives and perhaps provide you with more details on a past generation. It can greatly enhance the quality of your research.

In certain situations, a death record may be exactly what you need to figure out a woman’s maiden name or find a hint to a mystery in the ancestor’s life. This is why these historical documents are central to your research.

They Provide Leads to Important Family Stories


Important Family Stories

Names of cities, towns, and villages might be important clues on the death certificate, which will be useful in tracing your family’s history. The burial site of an ancestor may lead to the discovery of other family members buried in the cemetery. The birthplace listed on the death certificate may lead to the discovery of hospital records showing the birth of previously unknown siblings or cousins.

A home address found on a death certificate may help you discover connections to census records, city directories, and/or land records. The date on the death record may indicate other documents such as newspaper obituaries, passenger lists, or local news stories, all of which will prove useful in researching your family’s history.

Finally, the cause of death might be useful in establishing a medical family history or providing a stimulus for newspaper research on the fatality.

How to Order Death Certificates

The vital records office in the county where the death occurred is where you’ll find the initial repository for most death certificates. You can get a copy there or go to another repository as long as the record was created after 1903. Putting in an application for a death certificate online is usually the quickest way to acquire a death certificate here in Texas.

Order Death Certificates Online

Now that you have discovered how essential death records can be in reconstructing lost family history, the next step is to locate a dependable and successful method for obtaining your ancestors’ death records. TX-DPS Records provides expedited service for death certificate applications here in Texas.

We are an authorized external ordering source for rapid, secure government records processed with the issuing agency at the lowest possible price online. With TX-DPS Records, your application will be sent directly to the vital records office and processed as quickly as possible. Depending on your chosen delivery method, you could have your request within a few days or weeks.

You’ll be amazed about how much you can learn about your family story from a death record! Order online here!