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Expert Question: I know when a person died and have a copy of their death certificate, but it does not show where they were buried. How else can I find this out?

Expert Answer: For starters, review the death certificate certificate for other clues.

Is the cemetery listed? You're all set.
Is the funeral home listed? Contact them for funeral home records.
Were they in a hospital? If so, if it the hospital is listed, check with the them for hospital records.
Is their physician noted? If so, see if the practice still exists for their medical records.

If you know the area of of the city where they died, this could help track down the cemetery through local religious institutions or cemeteries.

What religion was he or she?
What houses of worship would he or she attended near that location? See what records they might have. To figure out which houses of worship were around during the timetable when they died, consult a city directory from that time period.
What cemeteries existed in the city which have burials for that religion? See what records they may have. Again, the city directory at the time of death will help you narrow down the available cemeteries.

If all else fails, just do a mailing to all cemeteries in the area. While there may be 40 or 50 for a large city, you can use a word processor to auto-generate the letters. Be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped-envelope to make it easy for them to reply. An email address may speed up the process, but do not let that be your only method of being contacted.

And finally, if a person died in one city but was buried in another, there may be civil records for 'Bodies in Transit'. See if they exist for the city you are interested in.

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