GENEALOGY RESOURCES 
City Directories: Vital Records—Deaths

Not all old city directories had Vital Records sections; but, if you have been unable to find a death record online for one or more of your ancestors, try looking in a directory where they resided.

Even if there are no pages like the one shown above—pages specifically given over to death records—the death date of your ancestor might be listed in the main body of names and addresses in the directory published the year following his death. For example, if your relative died in 1921, he would be listed among the living residents in the 1921 directory; but, in the 1922 or, possibly, 1923 directory, his date of death could appear next to his name.

RESEARCH TIP: Directory companies collected address information from residents and published issues at different yearly intervals. Look at the top of the page shown above. You are reading a list of deaths which begins on June 1, 1905, and ends on May 31, 1906. Be careful reading such inclusive lists, and make sure that you understand which months go with each year.