Can You Find My Grandfather’s Date of Death?

A reader asked: “I am seeking the date of my grandfather’s death. His name was John L. Gray and died in Missoula, Montana. Can you help?”

I recently received this question—so I reached into GenealogyBank to help her find the answer.

She gave me his name and the city and state where he died, with no additional information.

Bang—first search in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)—and John L. Gray came right up.

Using GenealogyBank, I was able to find an SSDI record that matched the information about her grandfather that she provided me. I will send the SSDI record to her to see if this is the same John L. Gray that she is looking for.

Ancestor Search Tip: Look for records created throughout a person’s life. In this case his granddaughter wanted to know his date of death. Since a person’s DOD is recorded in multiple records, target those records first.

I knew that his Date of Death would be included in his SSDI Death record, so I searched this first with the brief information I had—and the record came right up.

Related Articles:

• I am not finding my great-grandfather, what do I do now?
• Family Memories: Finding My Grandfather’s Stories in the Newspaper
• Use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to Document Your Relatives