Where and How to Find Records of Defunct Funeral Homes
Searching for vital records is usually the first step we take in researching an ancestor. For death records in particular, we often search first for death certificates, then for religious burial records, obituaries, cemetery records, or gravestones. Having found one or more of those records, we generally stop there. Even more experienced researchers often forget about the potentially rich resource of funeral home records.
What’s included in funeral home records can vary significantly. For great examples of the variety you may come across, check out this 8-minute YouTube video from the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Or see Tina Beaird’s 1-hour YouTube video, “Death Demystified: Digging Deeper into Coroner & Funeral Home Records,” found on this page from Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbroke, Illinois. Or see FamilySearch’s wiki page, United States Funeral Home Records.
The purpose of this article, however, is more specific. What about records from a funeral home that is no longer in business? What happens to those records? Where do they go? And how do we find them? The answer is a very common one in genealogical research: it depends.
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About Author
Aaron Goodwin
Aaron is a genealogist and house historian specializing in New York City research across all time periods, from the Dutch colonial era to the 20th century. His book, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, won the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources. He is also editor of NGS Monthly, former contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and former editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. In 2011, he received the American Society of Genealogists’ Scholar Award.
Thanks for the timely information.
1) I found records of a defunct funeral home about 10 years ago. I was not looking for them nor had I heard of the funeral home. By chance, I met the son-in-law who has the records. The family still has not let me see or donate them. Every couple of years I sent a card reminding them of my interest.
2) Glad to see your story you have given me a new option to try. I will be seeing if Iowa has something like Funeral Directing Reports. On December 1, 2020, I wrote a short blog post asking if anyone had or knew where the records were on several Black-owned funeral homes in Des Moines, Iowa around 1920.
Years ago, I found some valuable funeral home records at the Iowa Historical Society in Des Moines. If people are looking for Iowa records, start there.
How do you fine obituary and death notices from a funeral home is no longer in existence the name Brinson’s funeral home 719 south parramore ave Orlando, Florida 32805
Anson, Ancestry and Genealogy Bank are good places to start to look for am obit or death notice, plus all the local papers where the person died or had a funeral.
There are still two Brinson funeral homes in Orlando you should call and see if the records for the 719 S. Parramore Ave. location were transferred to one of them:
1. Brinson at 431 North Kirkman Road in Orlando 407-578-9003
2. Brinson at 726 Tampa Ave. in Orlando 407-425-7561
Good Luck! Terry
In the Tampa Bay area of Florida, some of the old funeral home records went to the University of South Florida, Tampa, Special Collections.