Graves/Deaths

 The federal government of the USA maintains a database of social security card holders who have died since 1962.  Social security started in 1935, so for folks born after that and who died after 1962, a record exists of when and where they died, where they were living at the time, and other information.  This link will take you to Familysearch’s compilation of those records.

 This is a very useful website.  Put in a name, location, and date, and perhaps you can find the gravesite of your ancestor.  If you’re lucky, you’ll get a pic of the headstone and a bio from a relative who posted the information.  Naturally, you have to be careful with this, as mistakes are often made by descendants (SEE: Elvis “Aron” Presley’s headstone).  But you might gather up some really good information, such as birth dates or names of spouses (who might be buried next door).  Sometimes, whoever posted the gravesite info also posts an obit, which often includes life history tidbits as well as surviving relatives.

Interment is another compendium of gravesites. As with Findagrave and other sources, there will be some overlap, but there will also be some unique records in each database.

This website is more of a gravestone/cemetery research site. If you’re looking for the history of a particular cemetery, or the artistic heritage of a particular gravestone style, this is the place. You might find information relating to why certain cemeteries are laid out as they are, why certain headstones were prominent in particular eras or locations, etc. All of this sort of information may seem off-point to genealogy, but sometimes it can offer clues into ancestor deaths.

This database is operated by the VA and provides locations for vet burial locations.

BillionGraves offers much the same information as Findagrave. They claim to provide GPS coordinates and a picture of every headstone they record, and of course the two companies will not completely overlap in their coverage.  You might find a burial record here that Findagrave does not have, or vice versa.    

The Political Graveyard is a unique database in that it only contains burial (and biographical) information on those who have served in public office. So, if your ancestor was a senator or state representative… this is a resource for you.

Legacy offers a database of US obits.  In this way, it is similar to HeritageHub, but as with other overlapping databases, there may be some here that are not found in other databases.

*Please type WVL in front of your library card number to log into this resource. Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and funeral home notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 U.S. states, and territories, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images. Access is available 24/7 on any device.