When you are engaged in a genealogical search, you come across information you never knew existed.  Although divorce wasn’t as common with previous generations as it is now, it definitely existed.  You can still find old divorce records if you search.  To complete a family tree properly, you want a complete history, the good and the bad, enabling you to reflect on the reality of your past.

Erratic Divorce Records from the Past
Before the beginning of the 1900s, few states kept accurate records of any vital statistics.  Births, deaths, marriages, and divorces were recorded by clergymen, local courts, judges, or in the family bible.  Once states began requiring the submission of certain forms at each of these lifetime events, records improved dramatically.

Unfortunately, with partial and incomplete vital records, it is even more important to have as much information as possible about the couple.  If you only know your great-grandfather’s name, your odds of finding a divorce record are much smaller than if you also know the name of the bride.  If you can provide the location where they got divorced or the year, you again increase the likelihood of a successful search.

This isn’t to say that you can’t find earlier records; it just means that the search may be more convoluted.  In a state where records were erratic, you still may be fortunate enough to find the one you need.  If you can’t, but you still know where and when a divorce took place, either from family history or the family bible, you can search local newspaper records to gain validation.

Using an Online Database to Search for Vital Records
There are few things as valuable to a genealogist as a good database.  Online you can search not only for old divorce records, but also for birth certificates, marriage licenses, and certificates of death.  A treasure trove of family documents are waiting for you.

With the difficulties associated with finding older documents from an age where they just weren’t kept, it can really pay off to use a search service.  Quickly find divorce records with a search service.  You need only one name and an approximate date.  The database will sort through all the likely options and present them to you.  You need only narrow your choices down to find the right documentation.

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Many people are aware of the value of a death certificate for settling life insurance and probate claims, but most aren’t aware that death certificates can be a critical link when building a genealogy chart.

How a Death Certificate is a Passport to a Birth Certificate

Often with older relatives, we are aware of when they passed, but not when they were born.  By acquiring the death certificate you can find that all important birth date, and that opens a world of information to you.

Finding out when someone was born means that you can then search for their birth certificate.  With that document you get names one more generation into the past.

Finding a Maiden Name

Usually you will find not only the couple’s names but also the much more elusive maiden name.  Maiden names are critical for finding maternal lines of families, after all, a family has two sides.

Social Security Death Index

The Social Security Death Index is the primary source of such documents in the United States.  This huge database is constantly being updated and has over 80 million records that date back to 1962 accurately.

Previous deaths are only listed here if they were reported after 1962 and entered into the appropriate database.  While this is unfortunate for those who wish to search older documents, it is still a good place to start for more recent documents.

Government Offices Switch to Online

Many local and state governments are transitioning their documents from files to the Internet as well.  Birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees and any legal document you can imagine are quickly being transferred to the Internet.  Each day new documents are available.  By joining a document search service you avail yourself of this new resource.

Take a little time to check out the benefits afforded by a document search service.  You have instant access to databases around the country, the database will make connections that you may not be aware of, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home, at any hour.

For a reasonable annual fee you can usually search a limitless number of documents, find death certificates, and make your genealogical search more efficient and fun.

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