1. Understanding records of death & how our ancestors died
Michelle Kratts
Lewiston Public Library
February 26, 2018

2. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Niagara Falls, NY
Burial Records
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Niagara Falls, NY
1870

3. Burial Permit at Oakwood Cemetery Niagara Falls, NY 1887
Cause of Death: “Dysentery”

4. Death Certificates --if on file for at least 50 years
Where can you find records of death in the Lewiston/Niagara Falls area?
Death Certificates --if on file for at least 50 years
(unless you can prove relationship)
Where are they?
Niagara Falls City Clerk (1881-present)
Lewiston Town Hall (1881-present)
Burial Information or Permits
Contact local cemeteries

5. Church Burial Records Where are they?
They are available at the churches or in digital form or microfilm.
Church Burial Records available at the Lewiston Public Library:
Please see handout
Church records as microfilm at the Lewiston Public Library:

6. Obituaries
Obituaries often list cause of death, or at least date of death and other pertinent information
Where are they?
We have local obituaries as printed in the Niagara Falls Gazette (with some) dated from 1854 to the present.

7. Other Where are they? NYS Death Index Census Mortality Schedules
Ancestry.com
FamilySearch.org
Social Security Death Index
Other local records (IOOF)
Check local libraries for obits and any other vital records information!

8. International Classification of Diseases
(ICD Codes)
There is a number 126 that is circled in the “Cause of Death” section of this form.
This number comes from the International Classification of Diseases and is currently maintained and updated by the World Health Organization.
We can look up the code to reveal the cause of death in a clearly written database.
Check the codes at:

9. What disease has killed the most people throughout human history?

10. According to Sonia Shah, author of “The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years,” Malaria ….has killed over 50 billion people.
Other deadly diseases include:
Tuberculosis—1 billion—the leading cause of mortality in adults across the world today
Smallpox—500 million
Plague—240 million
Influenza—50 million
Cholera—40 million
AIDS—36 million

11. From the New England Journal
Top Ten Causes of Death: 1900 vs. 2010
From the New England Journal
of Medicine

12. Cause of Death in 1811
Abstract of the Bill of Mortality for the Town of Boston.

13. Family Trees focusing on cause (and/or age) of death

14. Old Medical Terms Causes of Death What is their meaning?
Accouchement Catarrh Erysipelas
Ague Cholera Grippe
Bilious Fever Dropsy Hydrophobia
Bloody Flux Diphtheria Malignant Sore throat
Bright’s Disease Inanition Marasmus