Death records are perhaps the most difficult to locate, because there is an element of guesswork unless you have proof from some other source. On average, the lifespan in 1870 was around 40 years – by 1940 the average was 70 years. Census records may reveal clues – if a person ‘disappears’ and a widow is found in the next census, you can be certain to find a death within the intervening ten years. Similarly, if a person is absent from trade directories or electoral registers, a search can begin.

Searching GRO indexes

• Try internet sources such as www.thegenealogist.co.uk using filters to narrow searches by location and date range. Use www.genuki.org.uk to locate the correct reference for known area
.
• Search GRO death indexes (available at TheGenealogist), noting all possible entries in that area. Ages at death do not appear in the indexes until 1866 – if several possible entries are found, the local registrar may be willing to investigate these for a person of the correct age or occupation. Deaths after 1969 are registered giving precise date of birth.
• Certificates of death contain date, name of person, his age, address and occupation and cause of death. The accuracy of this information can be variable, depending on the informant’s knowledge.

Other sources:
• Try burial registers online or at the relevant local record office – these may hold indexes to local burials or monumental inscriptions compiled by Family History Societies.
• If the death was subject to a coroner’s inquest, these can be located at county record offices. Read Coroners’ Records in England & Wales by Jeremy Gibson & Colin Rogers (3rd edition, 2009).
• Coroner’s inquests may also be published in newspapers.
• Wills indexes and Death Duty registers up to 1971 are located at local record offices or diocesan offices. TheGenealogist has many will indexes and country court (non-PCC) Death Duty registers 1796-1811 are online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.