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01 October 2013

Not Telling Where Dad Died

My great-grandfather was ill for the last several years of his life. Bedfast, his wife and children cared for him in their home for several years. His condition finally reached a point where the family could no longer care for him at home and he was sent to a state hospital several counties away where he died in 1934. His obituary indicated he died at home and his children in later years made similar statements. No one wanted to admit that they couldn't "take care of dad at home" at the end of his life.

Is there a similar reason why you can't find great-grandpa's death certificate?

4 comments:

  1. Interesting! One of my great-grandfathers died either while visiting relatives in another state, or on the train ride there. His death certificate is proving a bit tricky to track down!

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  2. Similar reason: They didn't want anyone to know Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa were separated. Family Secrets.

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  3. I can't find the death certificated of a female ancestor around 1850. The date is stated in a cesus-like record (in The netherlands), but the missing date could indeed indicate that she died somewhere else, although they were quite poor.

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  4. I had a very similar situation with my great grandfather who died in 1929. I found his obit years ago, which stated he died at his home.in Manistee, Michigan.. I. I had the county search all name variations. but no one could find it.. I always thought that very odd.. .. Just this year was searching again and found his death certificate in a nearby county at a hospital. I made a trip to his county to search probate records and shortly before his death he was classified 'insane' ..From other notes it appears as though he had demetia..

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