Saturday, November 11, 2023

Lizzie Beine, the Forgotten Mother

In 1889, two young German immigrants met each other in St. Louis, Missouri. She was Catholic and nineteen. He was Lutheran and ten years older than her. They never married. She became pregnant and died in childbirth. He disappeared. Using records from archives and libraries, I found some buried details of their lives and wrote this story.

Continue reading here...
Lizzie Beine, the Forgotten Mother


The door of the church in Essen-Stoppenberg, Germany where Lizzie was baptized.

Sunday, January 08, 2023

Online Indexes for Death Records, Cemeteries and Obituaries (USA) - Newest Additions and Updates

The Online Death Indexes and Records Website (USA) has been updated with links to the following items...

Alabama
- Montgomery County Estate Files Index, 1820s to 1940s

Arizona
- Arizona Death Certificates, 1870-early 1972; and Birth Certificates, 1855-early 1947 (update: year 1971 added for deaths and year 1946 added for births)
- Maricopa County: Mt. Sinai Cemetery Burial Directory (Jewish Cemetery in Phoenix)

Arkansas
- Union County: Funeral Records of Rumph-Owers Funeral Home, El Dorado, Arkansas, 1940-1948
- Union County Cemeteries

California
- Alameda County: Oakland, Coroner Records Index, 1926-1994 from FamilySearch
- Orange County: Saddleback Valley News Vital Record Indexes, 1969-1989 (indexes births, marriages and deaths listed in the newspaper; from the South Orange County California Genealogical Society)

Georgia
- Evans County: African American Funeral Programs, 1960-2022 (earliest program is from 1961)

Illinois
- Illinois Statewide Death Records Index, 1951-1971 from the Illinois State Archives
- Boone County Genealogy Research Resources (includes Boone County death and probate indexes, and other items)
- Macoupin County: Gillespie City Cemetery Plot Locator from the Gillespie Public Library
- McHenry County: Woodstock Public Library Local History Index (indexes some obituaries in the Woodstock Sentinel and other items)

Indiana
- Indiana Death Certificates, 1899-2017 at Ancestry (requires payment) index and scanned images of the death certificates (update: years 2012-2017 added)

Iowa
- Poweshiek County: Hazelwood Cemetery Burials (Grinnell, Iowa)

Kansas
- Logan County: Oakley Cemetery Burials Directory (in Oakley, Kansas)
- Sheridan County Cemeteries

Kentucky
- Kentucky Death Index, 2000-2018 from the Boyd County Public Library (Update: years 2014-2018 added)
- Warren County: Bowling Green, Kentucky, Death Records, 1877-1913

Louisiana
- Louisiana Death Records Index, 1911-1971 from the Louisiana Secretary of State (update: year 1971 added)
- Beauregard Parish GenWeb Genealogy Indexes (includes: Cemetery Indexes; Death Index 1913-1929; Hixson Funeral Home Records Index; and other items)
- East Baton Rouge Parish Library: African American Funeral Programs Collection
- East Baton Rouge Parish: St. James Episcopal Church Registers (in Baton Rouge; includes burials)
- Union Parish Cemetery Indexes

Massachusetts
- Dukes County: Oak Grove Cemetery Burials (in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts)
- Middlesex County: Newton Cemetery Burial Search (Newton Centre, Massachusetts)
- Nantucket County: Prospect Hill Cemetery Interment Index, Nantucket, MA
- Suffolk County: Boston Catholic Cemetery Association's Online Burial Search
- Suffolk County: Holyhood Cemetery Association Burial Search (for Holyhood Cemetery in Chestnut Hill and St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury)

Minnesota
- Minnesota, Veterans Grave Registration Reports, 1930-1975 from FamilySearch
- Red Lake County: St. Anthony Cemetery Burials Index (cemetery in Terrebonne, Minnesota)

Missouri
- Missouri Death Certificates, 1910-1971 (free) from the Missouri State Archives (update: year 1971 added)
- Callaway County Probate Records Index, 1821-1950
- Clinton County: City of Cameron Cemeteries (has a searchable map of burials in Evergreen, Packard, Graceland and Graceland Memorial Cemeteries)
- Greene County: Hazelwood Cemetery Burials (cemetery in Springfield)
- Saline County: Paris M. Walker Funeral Home (Marshall, Mo.) Records, 1898-1934
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch Obituary Index: Covers 1880-1931, 1942-1945, 1960-June 1971, and 1992-2022. (Update: more months added)

Montana
- Yellowstone Genealogy Forum, Yellowstone County Obituaries, 1955-1969 (from FamilySearch; includes digitized images of the obituaries clipped from the Billings Gazette)

New Hampshire
- Hillsborough County: Town of New Boston, New Hampshire Cemetery and Burial Ground Records (PDF from the New Boston Historical Society)

New Jersey
- Union County: Elizabeth Public Library Genealogy Vertical File Index (A-Mclain only) indexes some obituaries and death notices (partial)

New York City
- New York City Historical Vital Records Project, 1855-1949 (free) currently 76% complete; includes birth certificates, marriage records, and death certificates; from the New York City Municipal Archives; coverage varies by type of record and borough.
- New York Times Obituaries Index, 1858-1968 (from the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society)

New York State
- Nassau County: Town of Oyster Bay, New York Death Index, 1847-1849 and 1881-1920

North Carolina
- Gaston County Cemetery Survey Records
- Guilford County: City of Greensboro Cemeteries Burial Index (for Forest Lawn, Green Hill, and Maplewood Cemeteries)
- Johnston County: Town of Clayton Cemeteries Burial Records Search

Ohio
- Fairfield County Obituary Index: 19th century through December 2021
- Geauga County: Western Reserve Memorial Gardens Burial Records Search (Chesterland, Ohio)
- Hamilton County: Springfield Township Cemeteries - Burials Search for Smiley Cemetery and Beech Grove Cemetery

Oklahoma
- Delaware County: Talbot Library and Museum Obituary Indexes (Colcord, Oklahoma)

Oregon
- Oregon Death Index, 1971-2008 from FamilySearch
- Washington County: Forest Grove Newspaper Obituary Index (for assorted years; from the Forest Grove City Library)

Pennsylvania
- Indiana County: Oakland Cemetery Burials (in Indiana, Pennsylvania)
- Indiana County: Cemetery Records of Indiana County, Pennsylvania (scanned book from FamilySearch)
- Schuylkill County: Schuylkill Memorial Park Burials Search (Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania)

Rhode Island
- Rhode Island Death Records, 1853-1937 -- digitized ledgers with death indexes for 1853-1920 and 1956-1971 (update: more years added)

South Carolina
- South Carolina Death Certificates and Index, 1915-1970 (at Ancestry/requires payment) (update: year 1970 added)

Tennessee
- Haywood County: African American Funeral Programs, 1958-2005

Texas
- Orange County Death Records Index, 1865-present (also has probate cases search, 1852-present)

Washington
- Washington State Department of Health, Death Certificates, July 1, 1907-1997 (free) includes images of the death certificates (Update: year 1997 added)

West Virginia
- West Virginia Death Records and Index, 1853-1971 (update: year 1971 added)
- West Virginia Death Indexes, 1917-1991 digitized microfilm from FamilySearch

Wisconsin
- Wood County Cemeteries from the Heart O' Wisconsin Genealogical Society

This is a list of the most recent additions. There are many more links for death records indexes at: Online Searchable Death Records Indexes and Obituaries