Genealogy/

How to Find your Ancestor’s Death Certificates

 

Introduction: How to find your ancestor’s death certificates

When researching your family history, you may want to find your ancestor’s death certificates. This can provide you with valuable information, such as the cause of death, the date of death, and the location of death. You can obtain a copy of a death certificate from the state where your ancestor died. The process for obtaining a copy of a death certificate varies from state to state, so be sure to check with the appropriate agency.

For many people, getting access to a vital record may seem like a daunting task at first glance. But don’t worry — this article walks you through those steps as well!

What information is included on a death certificate

When someone dies, their death certificate is created to officially document them passing away in records. A death certificate usually includes the person’s name, date of death, and place of death. It might also include the person’s age, occupation, names of parents or spouse, and cause of death. Death certificates can be used to obtain death benefits, prove inheritance rights, and more. If you’re looking for a death certificate for an ancestor, there are a few ways to go about finding it.

What are death indexes

Death indexes are lists of all the people who have died in a specific year.The obituary section in a newspaper is a type of a death index. Death Indexes keep track of how many people have died, how old the person was when they died, what their name was, where they died, and when they died. This information is helpful for people who need to find out information about an ancestor who has passed away.

For example, if you needed to know how old your grandfather was when he died, you could look it up in a death index.

 

Why you might want to find your ancestor’s death certificate

If you want to learn more about your ancestor, it might be helpful to find their death certificate. This information can help you learn more about your ancestor’s life and how they passed away. For example, if you were interested in learning about your ancestor’s health or how they died, you could look at their death certificate to see what illnesses they had or what cemetery they are buried at. If you have a family history of cancer and your ancestor died from cancer, you might want to know more about their death so that you can try to figure out if there is a genetic link. Or if your ancestor was in the military, you might want to find their death certificate so that you can learn more about what happened to them in battle.

How far back in time can I find United States death certificates

United States death certificates go back over 100 years. This means that you can find the majority of certificates from 1918 to present day. If you wanted to find a certificate from before 1918, you would need to look at state records or church records. Places like the District of Columbia have death certificates that go back to 1874.

Death certificates are filed in alphabetical order by the name of the deceased, so it takes a lot of time to look through all of them at repositories to find the one you’re looking for. But it’s worth it, because it’s a record of someone’s life. Luckily, there are many death certificates in online databases or state record websites now.

How to order a death certificate

You can order a death certificate from the Vital Statistics office in the state where the person died. Usually, this is the county clerk or registrar’s office. You will need to provide some information about the person who died to receive the record, for instance the person’s full name, date of birth, and date of death. If you do not know the exact date of death you can give an estimate. You may also need to provide proof of your identity, if the record is more recent.

The person who wants the death certificate can find this office by looking up “vital statistics” and the name of the area online or in the local government section of your phone book–if you still use those. You can also order it by going to a website, like vitalchek.com, or sometimes by calling the office and requesting that they send a request form in the mail to mail back to them.

You can also go to the National Archives, contact them by phone, or search their website to get access to your ancestor’s death certificate. Many of these death certificates are on Ancestry.com (courtesy of the National Archives), as well.

 

Places to Find Information on your Ancestor’s Death

There are several places to find information about an ancestor’s death. One place to look is in the census records. The census records will list an ancestor’s age at the time of their death. You can also find information on an ancestor’s death in the family Bible. Another place to find information on an ancestor’s death is at the county courthouse. If your ancestor was a soldier, you can find information about their death on the internet. If an ancestor died during the Civil War, you can look for information about their death on the website ancestry.com. The website Fold3 also has a collection of Civil War and Enlistment records for other wars that might include information about an ancestor’s death. The National Archives website also has death records.

Finally, if you are lucky, you may find information about your ancestor’s death in a local history book or family genealogy book. These books can be looked up by family surname and location. For example, the book ‘Tidewater Virginia Families: Generations Beyond Adding the Families of’ by Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis has information on the families from that area with the surnames of Bell, Binford, Bonner, Butler, Campbell, Cheadle, Chiles, Clements, Cotton, Dejarnette(att), Dumas, etc.

Tips for finding your ancestor’s death certificate

If you’re looking for your ancestor’s death certificate, there are a few things you can do to help make the process easier. First, try to find out when and where they died. This information can be found in census records, obituaries, or other family records. Then try looking in the place where they died for anymore vital information.

You can also search for the person’s name on genealogy websites or archives. These online databases and archives may also give you a digital copy of an ancestor’s death certificate.

Sometimes just contacting family members, especially elders, will give you access to death certificates or other vital records. If not, you may still get clues to help with your search.

Conclusion

In conclusion, death certificates can provide a wealth of information about your ancestors. They can help you determine the cause of death, learn about burial arrangements, and find out more about the relatives who were left behind. You can order death certificates from the National Archives, from local vital records offices, vitalchek.com, or online databases.

Genealogy/

11 Places to Look for African American & American Indian Genealogical Research

Trace African American and American Indian Genealogy

Researching Genealogy can be a very frustrating thing, especially for American Indian & African American genealogy. One of the major issues with doing our genealogy is where to look. We know of the basic genealogy websites that people use like ancestry.com or familysearch.org, but where to look after you have exhausted those websites for information?

May contain affiliate links. See Disclaimer.

Here are some places to look:

  1. Obituaries – One of the best places to look for information on your ancestors are the obituaries for them or other family members. these documents usually will give some detail about an ancestor’s life, death, and even list family members. They will pretty much tell you information that would spend a million hours on a genealogy website looking for. Obituaries are the motherlode of information on an ancestor.
  2. Military Records – For male ancestors find military records is like hitting the jackpot! They will sometimes list vital information on the males in your family tree including their family members, appearance, and even personal traits like being deaf or blind. You can use a female ancestor’s brother to find out the names of her parents or use her father’s records to find grandparents.
  3. Living Relatives or Elders – The elders always have the tea on the family. If you want to know anything about the family members that have passed you will need to contact elders before even starting your research. You will find that if you bypass them it will make your search harder and more time-consuming. Sit down with them and record their knowledge before they are gone. They are living books and the ones comfortable enough to talk enjoy speaking about their ancestry.
  4. Google.com – You can Google anything these days, including ancestors. Just type their full name in parentheses and search away. Include other details like their state and spouse’s name to narrow the search down. You can even search for more clarity on other documents that you have found like military records or the area that they lived.
  5. Cemetery or Funeral HomeRecords – Just like the obituary, cemeteries and funeral homes hold information about the people they serviced in their final moments. They might information on adjoining plots that belong to family members.
  6. Findagrave.com – Findagrave.com has a search engine containing the world’s largest collection of gravesites. It may even give family history, information on the ancestor’s life, and has helped many break brick walls in genealogy.
  7. Tax Records – The further you go back, especially for free ancestors, tax records are vital to your search in places that census records do not cover. Many times finding a tax record will solidify that an ancestor was a free person of color. It will show that they were landowners and you may see other family members beside them on their records.
  8. FreeAfricanAmericans.com – This is by far the best website to get information on free ancestors of African American & American Indian ancestry. The title says ‘African American’ but many of the people enrolled in tribes on the southeast coast dealing with the Eastern Woodland tribes can trace their ancestry to people documented on this website. The website is an updated version of Paul Heineggs two-volume set of books. This website is invaluable to those of us with free ancestors. We don’t know how long the website will be up, so it’s good to buy the books too. You can purchase Volume 1 & Volume 2 here. He also wrote Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware from the Colonial Period to 1810.
  9. Church Records and Family Bible – Back in the day, many families recorded births, marriages, and even deaths in the family bible. Ask your elders if they know of a family bible. You can also call or visit the family church to see if they have records available. Some churches on the east coast have books written on churches that have information about the congregation. Look for all in the area of the ancestors you are trying to locate. Even seemingly “white” church had free and enslaved members or attendees of color in some cases–especially in Virginia.
  10. State Archives – Check for records at your state archives. Sometimes they have records available online or by phone (If you call and order items). Most likely you will have to plan a trip to the archives to look for records. Be prepared to pay for copies of records. Or if you are smart like me, take pictures of the documents with your phone, if they allow it.
  11. Indian Rolls – For those with suspicion or knowledge of ancestry in the 5 Civilized Tribes (Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole), the best place to look for information would be various Indian Rolls for the tribe that you believe your family is associated with. There are some available online with a quick google search, or you can find volumes of the Rolls at some local libraries or genealogy centers.

For more information on How to Trace American Indian & African American Genealogy, check out Adena Academy for classes.

Lifestyle/

How to Hack your Reality for Success!

hack reality

We all want shortcuts to life, especially a shortcut to success.

We have all heard of the Law of Attraction by now. It has been featured in popular books, on Oprah’s OWN Network, and on thousands of youtube channels. The Law of Attraction is as old as time itself and many people still don’t know how to utilize it in their daily life.

hack reality

What is the Law of Attraction?

The Law of Attraction is a universal law that deals with thought, energy, and intention. It comes from the occult text of Hermetics. It basically tells you that you create the life you live and everything that happens to you–good or bad. This is not blaming victims for crimes done to them or tragedies, it is speaking of where we are in life. For example, if you have a job that you hate or you don’t have enough money to live the life that you dream, then you created that situation from the decisions that you made or your fears holding you back.

Fear Blocks Positive Things from Happening

Fear is one of the major reasons that many of us do not live the life that we deserve. When we think negatively about what we don’t want to happen we create that reality. The old folks used to say, “If it ain’t one thing, it’s another.” Meaning that once we finish dealing with a bad or stressful situation that another occurs, but the fact that we have this thought pattern is the reason why it continues to happen.

The Universe Responds your Thoughts–Good or Bad

Whatever kind of thought that you put out into the universe it will manifest. If you think negative thoughts about things not being possible or you can only do limited things, the universe will receive that ping and respond to it. The universe is only energy waves manifested. The energy that you put back will come back to you. Like the elders say, “You reap what you sow.” The seeds that you plant are the seeds that will grow.

Woman with Positive Thoughts

How do we Hack the Universe in our Favor?

Now that you know that you control and create everything in your life, I bet you are wondering how you can hack the system to get what you want?

Believe.

Belief is the single most important thing that will help you hack your life for the better.

If you believe, you can achieve.

Old Saying

The Laws of Attraction teaches us that we not only need to believe, but we have to be organized, as well. If it is not organized it will be chaos. Chaos can produce beautiful things at times, but for the best result, we need to have a clear picture of what we want.

Here are some things that you can do to create an organized vision of what you want the universe to give you:

  1. Create a Vision Board – I first heard of vision boards years ago on the Oprah show. (Yes, I’m that old! LOL) It is basically a corkboard with cut-outs of things that you want to happen, like winning the lottery, going on vacation, getting a new car, getting married to the person of your dreams, or finding the cure for cancer. It’s whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be major either. You can wish for a new outfit. Vision Boards are like the genie in the bottle that grants your wishes.
  2. Surround yourself with items that remind you of what you want to attract – Here’s a cool story: My mother used to always dream of having a BMW, but she thought that she would never be able to afford it while raising two children. She bought a mini model of her dream car and sat it on her desk at work. A few years later, she bought the same exact car down to the color of the seats! She envisioned herself driving it and worked until she was able to get it.
  3. Meditation – You don’t have to do anything physical to hack your reality for what you want. Meditation is a great way to visualize what you want to attract. Take time out in the mornings or at night to think of what you want to manifest. Try to have only positive thoughts. You don’t have to sit Indian-style with yoga pants and a messy bun. You can take a few minutes laying in bed before you go to sleep to meditate on things that you want to happen.
  4. DayDream – Thinking about the things that you want to manifest throughout the day is a simple way to use the Law of Attraction.
  5. Scripting – Write it down! You can write a wish list or a story about you achieving your goals. If you want a new job, write yourself having the job title that you desire. You can write a pay raise in their too. Wink, wink.
  6. Take action – Stuff doesn’t just fall out of the sky, chile. You have to push to get the ball rolling. Vision, plus action is necessary! Just like how my mother had the car model and worked towards a goal that she thought was impossible, we all must do it.

Final Thoughts

Success can be had by hacking your reality. It is not a thing of science fiction. You can read or watch the biography of any famous or successful person and see the same formula. The person wanted to be a famous singer. They visualized it by singing in front of dolls or stuffed animals. The person worked on their craft and found the right people to help them in their respective industries. Then they achieved their goal.

The universe responds to those that ask.

Tasha Xi

We are energy in a physical form. The ancients knew, and now we must relearn the old ways to bring balance to our lives and the wellbeing of the planet.

History/

History of the Mingos

Hidden History of the Mingos

May contain affiliate links. See Disclaimer.

The history of the Mingos exposes the true history of prehistoric melanated america.

The Mingo are both a tribe (nation), and a nickname for people of indigenous Iroquois heritage–and later for indigenous people in general. They were called “aborigines” by the invading Europeans.

Mingo Indian Man

..because his nation had heard that the English came from the under world to take their world from them.

Mannahead Indian prisoner to Capt. John Smith

The Mingo tribe originated in the north eastern woodland area, New York & Pennsylvania state mainly. Thomas Jefferson’s “Notes” is the oldest document that mentions the Mingos (Mohicans). Jefferson speaks of the war between the Mingos and Massawemacs (Algonquins/Lenape/Powhatan) in Virginia when Capt. John Smith arrived. Smith had taken a prisoner of war from the Mannaheads (Powhatan), who told him that they attacked the English “..because his nation had heard that the English came from the underworld to take their world from them.”

We now know that was true.

Rebels on the War Path

The Mingo was a Confederacy that included: the Mingo, Seneca, Mohawk, Onendagee, Cayuga, and Oneida tribes. They waged war on the southern tribes and spoke the Iroquois language. Roosevelt later referred to the Mingos as “mongrel (mixed race or light skinned melanated person) banditti like the renegade Cherokees.” In which they both came from the same ethnic group.

Iroquois Woman

The Europeans try not to take responsibility for the “annihilation” of many indigenous tribes, saying that it was “the work of the Indians,” instead, but they do say that the Dutch supplied them with guns to kill each other. After the destructions of many towns in the north, the Mingos migrated west to the Black Hills and as far south as Georgia. They were often called “Sennegars,” which was said to have been the frontiersman’s pronounciation of “Seneca”, but sounds oftly like “Sen-niggers”. The Sennegar trails led south through Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains where “Nigger Head” Rock is– a spiritual gateway for the Cherokee (Mingo). The Mingo were “Keepers of the Great Back Doorway” and were the fighting line keeping the English, Dutch, and French from the west. Little did they know that the Spanish were already there—stealing resources and enslaving the indigenous and Native Americans.

Mingo/Seneca Chief

There was a tribe of Eriee Indians referred to as the “Black Mingoes”, which were absorbed by the Seneca. The Ohio River was actually named the “Black Mingo River” originally. They had a powerful alliance with the Shawnee Confederacy. Mingoes were kicked out of the Iroquois Confederacy because of disloyalty, and that is how the Mingo Confederacy was born and their war with the Iroquois Confederacy began.

Iroquois Mohawk Re-enactor at Colonial Williamsburg

The Race that Proceeded Modern American Indians

..will confine my remarks to an historic race that preceded the tribe we call ‘American Indians.’

History of the Mingo Indians

The Author of the book ‘History of the Mingo Indians’ goes on to say,”..will confine my remarks to an historic race that preceded the tribe we call ‘American Indians.'” Who are the ‘American Indians’ and who are the race that proceeded them? He goes on to say that scientific anthropologists place humans in America as long ago as 200,000 years ago, and biblical scholars say 6-7 thousand years. But civilization existed in America before any recorded history of the Mediterranean or Asia Minor. Plato gave a description of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas), or the “Elysium fields”–which his character Homer spoke of. He described the race of people in america as equal to the Mediterraneans, which inspired Christopher Columbus to locate the place Plato wrote of. Plato heard from an Egyptian philosopher that Greece history was a child compared to the history of the Americas. The Egyptian went on to say that at the time of Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek civilization that a civilization in America existed, which was equally great in architecture, war, mathematics, art, and agriculture. Europe, Asia, and Africa were not superior to prehistoric America.

The early Americans were farmers and had hundreds of acres of produce planted throughout the land. In art, the indigenous Americans proficient in making pottery, cooking vessels, painting, and pictures representing everyday life on the walls. Architecture of the Americans was equal to the glory days of Rome & Greece–with beautiful deco and curtains of the finest fabric. The art of embalming was advance, as well. It is said that the Egyptians of the Nile had nothing on prehistoric America.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion of ‘The History of the Mingo Indians’, the author asks a question of whether all races came from the ‘Adam-Eve’ race, or if there was a predamite. He goes on to say that after all of his research he has come to the conclusion that, “My reading and study upon the origin of the human race has brought me to the belief that man is indigenous to America; that is, that the prehistoric man of the Western Hemisphere was created or brought to being in this country, and that in no wise conflicts with the biblical story of the creation; man could have gone from this country as well as in Asia to America and Go could have started the race here as well as in Asia.” The rich history of Ancient America has been hidden, and this jewel of a book has revealed much to be researched on. One must know that the current mainstream history of America is false, and lacks the true glory of the indigenous people of this continent.

An American Indian boy in traditional regalia dances in the dance circle at the 8th Annual Red Wing PowWow in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Credit: Irene Asdou

Sources:

Cobb, William Henry, Andrew Price, and Hu Maxwell. Monument to, and history of the Mingo Indians; facts and traditions about this tribe, their wars, chiefs, camps, villages and trails.Monument dedicated to their memory near the village of Mingo, in Tygarts River Valley of West Virginia. [Cumberland, Md., Printed by F. B. Jenvy, 1921] Web.. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/21009444. (Accessed August 08, 2017.) Buy here: https://amzn.to/3RhWRvU

Notes of Thomas Jefferson 1784 shows Mingos as numbering 60 in 1779 and living on the Scioto River in Ohio, also there the Shawnees. Jefferson lists the Mingos as separate from the Senecas, who he shows as numbering 650 in 1779 and living in the north. Bergh, Albert Ellery, Ed., THE WRITINGS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, Washington, DC, The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1907. Buy Here: https://amzn.to/3Xc4Azl  or here: https://amzn.to/4cgdalb

Fitting, J. E. 1978. Regional cultural development, 300 B.C. to A.D. 1000 in (ed.), Bruce G. Trigger. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15. Northeast. Buy Here: https://amzn.to/3Vi48Nl