<p>As reported in an earlier thread about ancestry, etc., I have been working on my family tree for quite some time. I’d like to know more about some of my relatives than their dates of birth, death, marriage, etc. Sadly, my mother is not very forthcoming with some information … the story is just too long. My uncle was killed in a private plane crash in the early 80’s and I have researched and found the report from the NTSB that tells what caused the crash and how many fatalities (three of the four occupants) there were. It also gives the make and model of the plane and the report number. Supposedly, a cousin who would be my age, was also killed in the crash but, when researching death records, I cannot find hers. I easily found his. I contacted the librarian at the newspaper in the city where I was born and raised, and she said she can do the research but it would be costly. I’m just wondering how I can get more information about this crash and whether or not my cousin was really killed, too. I’d also like to read the obituary. I am prepared to join one of those ancestry sites, but am not sure which, if any, offer obituary and birth records within the past 30 or so years. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Splashmom, I don’t know the answers to your questions, but I did notice recently that our public library now offers ancestry.com. So maybe you could use it for free? Another source of information is legacy.com. You can search for obituaries or for social security death records. I’m not sure how far back their database goes.</p>
<p>Do you know the state your cousin lived in? Do your know the cousin’s parents? The obit may have appeared in the newspaper where cousin’s parents lived. Try to get an estimate as to how much the librarian thinks it would cost to get the info you were interested in before deciding if it’s worth it or not to you.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, NYMomof2, I just got off the phone with my public library and they offer ancestry.com. I’m going over there tomorrow! I’m at that library all the time and didn’t realize they offered that.</p>
<p>Great! I also checked legacy.com, and they have social security death records going back to the 1920’s. You can search by name in a 10-year period. This should be definitive in terms of whether your cousin actually died or not.</p>
<p>
Thanks, HIMom. My cousin’s state of residency is the same state where the plane crash took place. The uncle that was killed in the crash was her father. I don’t remember her mother’s name because they had divorced long ago and I hardly knew them. I’ve e-mailed an aunt to ask her some questions. She has always been very open with information so I am hopeful between her and ancestry.com, I’ll find some answers. If not, I will employ the newspaper librarian.</p>
<p>If you know the date of the plane crash, you know, within a week, when the obit would have been published (if it was) in the local newspaper. Most big-city libraries keep the local newspapers on microfilm. It shouldn’t take more than an hour to review the microfilm of the obits for that week. That’s the kind of research I was doing when I was in 7th grade (for a local writer); it’s just not that hard to do. Here are the steps I’d go through: 1) call local library and verify microfilm for the right month in the archives, 2) place Craigslist ad for competent researcher at $20/hour (in the city where the library is), 3) pay for two hours of microfilm reading.</p>
<p>(You might also get lucky if you call the newspaper and ask them to check their morgue–which is what newspapers call their clipping archive. A plane crash would have been big news.)</p>
<p>Check local genealogical groups (local to where the funeral was) and see what they have – quite a number of them have indexed obituaries. </p>
<p>A group called Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness has people in many areas who offer to do local lookups/cemetery vists/… for those who live far away. A lovely woman who lives near the major cemeteries in Queens took a photograph for me of my grandparent’s grave marker. I sent her $20 as a thank-you, but it was really a gift beyond measure.</p>
<p>It also occurs to me: many newspapers sell back copies of their papers for a particular date. Have you called and asked the local paper for the dates in question?</p>
<p>In addition to the above ideas, I have had very good luck contacting the appropriate funeral home and getting records. I always offer reimbursement, but all the ones I used even did it for free.</p>
<p>Also, there is a free site (usgenweb?) where one can go to exact county and see posts. There are often local genealogists that are willing to look up info. Again, I always offered payment, but no one wanted anything. I did send postage and copy money. Genealogists are very helpful and kind people. I try to return those favors by paying it forward for others.</p>
<p>Okay…Usually this doesn’t work, but SOMETIMES it does. It’s so easy to do that it should be step one. </p>
<p>Go to [Google</a> News Archive Search](<a href=“http://news.google.com/archivesearch]Google”>http://news.google.com/archivesearch)</p>
<p>Go to advanced search. Narrow to a time period around the plane crash. Enter data. See if you get a hit. </p>
<p>Not all newspapers are in google news, but many are. </p>
<p>Other ideas: </p>
<p>If that doesn’t work, go the microfilm way, as someone else suggested. Usually you can get an interlibrary loan of micorfilm/fiche. (I just finished looking through a few weeks of the Sand Diego paper back in the fifties, which was sent to the 42nd St. library in NYC for me to use. )</p>
<p>If a major city was involved, you may be able to find a data base on line at the library for free.</p>
<p>I have frequently used obituaries in my genealogical research, but I have never paid for the obits (except for postage). I have used the “random acts of genealogical kindness” web site that arabrab mentioned. It’s fantastic! Really, try that first. Not every town or community is covered, but many are.</p>
<p>Local historical or genealogy socieites are also useful; you can find these via rootsweb or genweb or even just Google. Sryrstress is right - genealogy poeple are so helpful and friendly. I always offer to pay for their help, although most seem aghast at the idea.</p>
<p>I was going to suggest the local library but it looks like you did that already! :)</p>
<p>Splashmom, what state are you talking about? Some states will allow you to access marriage records, which would give you the mother’s maiden name. </p>
<p>In my state (Minnesota) we have a fabulous state history center where they have the microfiche from all the towns in the state. I have spent countless hours pouring over these.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions! I am excited about heading to the library tomorrow for more research. I did as Kajon suggested and looked online at the divorce records and found the maiden name for my cousin’s mother. At one time, I was spending several hours a day on my family tree; however, once I hit some walls, I decided to take a break. I’m getting the itch again. :)</p>