I Can't Find a Death certificate? 
A death certificate will show name, age at death, place and cause of death, parents, name and relationship of informant, when and where buried, witnesses at funeral, was the person born in colonies or how long they had been in the colony. Also where married and to whom, age at time of marriage, the names and ages of living children and the number of dead children. One using the index for BDM's one obtains a reference No. for the certificate, applies and then waits for the postman.

When you can not find a record for the death of your ancestors all is not lost.

An excellent source for death details are available from cemetery records. Cemeteries are also a valuable source of information for the local historian. Information from headstones can include:-

Name of person
Date of death
Age of death
Year of Birth
Place of birth
Occupation
Place of death
Cause of death
Spouses name
Parents names
Children names
and other information
In many cemeteries, family members are buried together, so always check records or transcriptions for other family members. Many Family History Groups or Genealogical Societies have cemetery records and photographs relating to their area. An dont forget to check your local library.

Australian Cemeteries online Comprehensive list by individual states, mailing list support, transcriptions and lookups

The Ryerson Index: Contemporary Death Notices and Obituaries in Australian Newspapers

Old Burial Ground Sydney George St (Sydney Town Hall site)

NSW Death Certificates and Records 1788 - 1976
NSW BDM transcriptions
transcriptions.com.au

Find out if your ancestor left a will. Never underestimate the value of wills and probate in your family history research genealogy research

The NSW Supreme Court index is available on mircofiche 1788 - 1985, it will give the place of residence and date of death. The mircofiche is available at many family history groups and some libraries. Always search up to 10 years after the possible death year for an entry.

For information on wills in all states and territories in Australia (addresses, prices, seraches etc) see http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dpsoc/wills.htm.

Also check out the Deceased Estate file at the NSW Archives Office.

Type of Records to use in research
[Family History Research Course]
 
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