I found a record that MIGHT be my great grandfather's death record but some of the facts as I know t

LegacyUser

I found a record that MIGHT be my great grandfather's death record but some of the facts as I know them do not match EXACTLY. How do I know if it is a true record of my family?

Last name is close but not exact, person listed as spouse is my grandmother, which would have been great grandfather's second daughter.

Dennis J Yancey

Just like any discovery - at the beginning you may not know for sure -and there is no magic test - to magically know the answer.

But now that you know this record exists and you have certain clues/posibilities - look for other records around the same date and place, other clues, other documents from other sources - and together over time - make a judgement with all the evidence you have gathered.

 

even official and legal documents can have wrong information. there is rarely a magic test that says "YES this is 100% true with no possibility of error)

 

so you do your best to gather information from multiple sources and weigh and balance the information.

 

see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd_fUIZk5fo

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn7rrAP9xIM

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7LU4PfawJQ

 

 

Carol Ann1

Dennis has a great answer, but I just wanted to expand a little from my own experience.

 

Death certificates can contain errors. My son's death certificate says his biological father was the informant and he was living at my address in Texas. In actuality my husband (his step father) was the informant. I keep meaning to get this changed because down the road someone is going to wonder why my first husband was living with us in Texas at my address.

 

Always keep in mind death certificates are what the informant may or may not get exactly right (or the state filling out the information may not get exactly right), but they are definitely a clue to lead you in the right direction. At least in the case of my son, his father's name was correct, but he definitely was not the informant.

 

I've had several death certificates in my lines which were instrumental, even though not entirely correct. They were all helpful, even though sometimes very confusing.

 

Just wanted to add my thoughts, but thanks Dennis for the great answer.

 

Carol