How can I find out how my grandmother died?

Question

She died in 1977 when she was 33 years old. I called the hospital to ask, but they said the records were thrown out. Can they really do that? And how can I find out for no cost? It's a sensiive topic in my family, so I don't want to ask. I would really love to find out, because my mom wants to know too, thanks for the help in advance. :•)

Answer 1

Her death certificate should list a cause of death. They do tend to be very general though. If you can't talk to an attending physic or nurse; and family members are out of the question you may never know the whole truth. Being her daughter, your mother would have the most leverage in any search for documents. If there was any suspicious circumstances around the death an autopsy could have been performed. Autopsy reports can be viewed by kin in most places. Check for any police report if they were involved. If you know the ambulance service or paramedics involved they should have records as well. If you know the funeral home that handled the burial they may have records as well. If they had to do a lot of work on her the work they did may offer a clue to what happened.



Not everything I listed is free but most costs are nominal, unless you hire an investigator then the sky is the limit.



Some suggestions if I may. Take one road at a time; exhaust it before you go looking down some other avenue. Decide what level of knowledge will satisfy you. I.E. if it was a drug overdose is that enough or do you want to know whether the drug was prescribed, unprescribed or some street drug. Do you want to know if it was accidental or suicide? See what I mean? There are many levels of knowledge so decide what you want to know before you start. You must set an objective or this search will never end. You say it is a sensitive topic "in my family". So is there a friend you can talk to? And, a family is normally several people, not everyone is alike. Is there one family member who would talk to you if the two of you were alone?



Man I wish you luck. I was in attendance when both of my parents died. I am quit satisfied that I have all the information I need to rest peacefully. I hope that in some way you find peace, it is obvious that some of your question could have dark overtones.



Good luck



GIMP

Answer 2

This site is from St. Louis, Missouri, but what it says should hold true anywhere:

http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/libsrc/stl-death.htm

It says:"Before they elected to require statewide keeping of vital records,many states had a period when keeping of vital records (usually by county clerks) was discretionary. Compliance wasoften low, but some county clerks did keep vital records during this trial period. Sometimes copies of such records were sent to a state office; often, however, they were kept only by the county office. You should check with the COUNTY CLERK [sometimes called the CLERK OF COURT] in the county where a person died to see if there is a death certificate, even if there are supposedly no death records for that period for that county.

CORONER RECORDS: If an ancestor died an unnatural death, especially in a big city or well-established county, there is a chance that a city or county coroner held an inquest to determine cause of death. This may be so, even if that state at that time did not mandate keeping of vital records. Coroner case files are usually well-organized and indexed.

HOSPITAL RECORDS: If your ancestor died in a hospital, there is a chance a record of the event still exists. This is especially true if the ancestor died in a city hospital, quarantine hospital, or other government-run health-care facility. Such a record may exist even if the state did not require the keeping of vital records at that time. A hospital which did not maintain a special

register of deaths may have made note of patient fatalities in the hospital's register of admissions and discharges.



[It could be that WRITTEN records were thrown out, but they should be there, even if on microfilm/microfiche/or computerized. For instance, EVERY record of my own doctors' visits are on computer at my local hospital, and they date back 30+ years. It is also possible, when you asked about them, they figured "How do we know this girl is related to Mrs. X.?? She could be ANYBODY." In this case, if your mother is wanting to know as well, have HER call about them. She was a daughter of the woman, after all.

One final thought: for her to have died at such a young age, it could have been from a number of things--from a botched abortion to inherited diseases. If there IS some genetic diseases in your family, you and your mother should have the right to know about it.

Also try http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Default.aspx. You can search for her obituary there if you know the date and place she died. They cover the years 1700-2009!!]

Answer 3

You know her full name and date she died? If not you need that information. Then you call your county health department and ask for a copy of the death certificate. You will be charged about $10.00 for it or possibly it is done cheaper in your state..On the certificate is the cause of death.

Answer 4

Alright, the first thing you need to do, is ask family members.



Throw the sensitiveness (if that is a word) out the window, because this is important information, that someday, no one in your family may know.



Even if it is hard, please do ask. It is your family as well, and you deserve to know what happened.