Looking for death record for Joseph Lanigan (LHWC-DQG)
Hello all, I am new to this community but not new to FamilySearch. I have been searching for several years for the death record of my great grandfather Joseph Lanigan (LHWC-DQG) son of John and Louise Lanigan. He was born in Connecticut (Possibly Coventry, Tolland as all of his other siblings were born there) June 1885. The family moved to Franklin Town, Norfolk, Massachusetts sometime before the 1900 census. He married my great grandmother Anna (Annie) Barsalow 15 April 1907 in Palmer, Massachusetts. My grandfather Chester James Lanigan was born the following year 05 March 1908 and then Anna died 24 March 1908 just a couple of weeks later. Joseph left my grandfather to be raised by Anna's parents. I find Joseph in the 1910 census with his brother Oliver and his family and his widowed father John Lanigan. I can't find him anywhere after that. The family story is that he took his own life but I have not been able to prove that as I have never been able to find a death record for him. I went so far as to visit the graveyard where Anna and her parents (Eli and Mary Barsalow) are buried and talked with the office there. I was able to obtain the burial records for the Barsalows but no record to be had for Joseph. It was a Catholic graveyard and the Curator said if he did take his own life they church would not have kept a record and the grave would have been unmarked. Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.
Answers
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In this scenario, you probably need to look for civil death records rather than burial records kept by the Catholic Church or by the cemetery. See: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Massachusetts_Vital_Records
There could also be records from a coroner. This page briefly mentions this topic: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Massachusetts_Court_Records#Coroners_Court
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Found what I was looking for with the help of Barbara Lannigan. Thank you Barbara.
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