\u00a0One of the difficulties in locating death records in Iowa is that they did not exist prior to 1880.*\u00a0This means that roughly fifty years worth of ancestors passed away in our state without leaving behind that vital (if you\u2019ll pardon the pun) piece of genealogical evidence.<\/p>\n
So how could you prove that your ancestor died in 1872?<\/p>\n
Cemeteries can be a good alternate source of information.\u00a0 Gravestone surveys might provide the full name of the deceased, and perhaps the year, at least, of death (and sometimes birth).\u00a0 But Cemetery records, besides providing documentation, might offer more information than a weather-worn stone—at the very least, the exact date of burial, which could lead to a greatly narrowed date of death, or perhaps even an obituary.<\/p>\n
And if your ancestor was lucky enough to have been buried in a certain cemetery in Davenport, Iowa, \u00a0\u00a0you might even find more than that.<\/p>\n
Oakdale Cemetery was established in 1856, and immediately began taking the burden off the overcrowded City Cemetery.\u00a0 Noted burials there include Bix Beiderbecke,<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0artist Paul N. Norton, Phebe Sudlow<\/a>, George L. Davenport **, \u00a0Alice French<\/a>, and orphans from the Iowa Soldier\u2019s Orphans\u2019 Home<\/a> .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In addition, two hundred and sixty-two of the 280 pioneer families of Scott County are buried there.<\/p>\n \u00a0For many Scott County residents, including 262 of the 280 original pioneer families, Oakdale was the place<\/em> to take one\u2019s eternal rest.<\/p>\n \u00a0Likewise, for many genealogists, Oakdale is the place<\/em> to find information on those eternally resting Scott County residents who passed prior to 1880.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Oakdale\u2019s interment records cover the basics—the date and place of burial and the name of the funeral home—but offer more:\u00a0 the full date of death, the place of death, and even date of birth (if known).\u00a0 And as if that wasn\u2019t enough, they also provide a bonus:\u00a0 the cause<\/em> of death, information which is rarely included in early obituaries.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t<\/em> find the names of the deceased\u2019s parents in these records, as you would with death records, but otherwise Oakdale can provide both genealogical documentation and a whole lot of information.<\/p>\n Our Center has Oakdale\u2019s interment records, and accompanying indexes, from 1860 to 1960 on microfilm.\u00a0 Both the running indexes*** and the records are clean, clear, and readable<\/em>—it\u2019s almost a joy to search for a name or interment number.<\/p>\n So if your Iowan ancestor died too early to leave behind a death record, cemetery records can be a good alternative resource.\u00a0 And if your ancestors passed away in Scott County, come visit our Center or drop us a line<\/a>—we\u2019ll be glad to search our cemetery collections for them.<\/p>\n Maybe they\u2019re waiting for you in Oakdale!<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n *Although marriages were documented from the beginning of each county, Iowa first began compiling both birth and death records in 1880. Compliance wasn\u2019t enforced until later, however, so these early records might not\u00a0 include every event.<\/p>\n ** George L\u2019oste Davenport was the first born son of Col. George Davenport<\/a> and one of the men who helped greatly in the development of our city.<\/p>\n ***Running indexes were added to as each record was filed.\u00a0 They are therefore arranged alphabetically by the first letter of the surname, but are chronological within those groups.\u00a0 In other words, if you look under the \u201cB\u201ds in Oakdale\u2019s running index, you might find a Mr. Broom listed before a Mr. Balloon, if Mr. Broom was buried first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0One of the difficulties in locating death records in Iowa is that they did not exist prior to 1880.*\u00a0This means that roughly fifty years worth of ancestors passed away in our state without leaving behind that vital (if you\u2019ll pardon … Continue reading