31 Days of “Out of the Box” Genealogy Tips – Mortality Schedules

Are you familiar with the 1850-1880 mortality schedules? 

July  is completely focused on providing you with genealogy tips that are …..well,….”out of the box“.

Welcome to DAY 17 of the 31 Days of “Out of the Box” Genealogy Tips series! Need to start at the beginning of the series or catch up? Start here.

DAY 17 – Explore the Mortality Schedules

Having trouble finding an ancestor’s death date? Today’s tip is quick, but oh so important!

Mortality schedules can hold the clue to your ancestor’s death date and other information on your ancestor.

The mortality schedule is one of the non-population schedules created for specific census years. For the census years 1850-1880, mortality schedules recorded those individuals who died in the preceding 12 months. Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota created mortality schedules for 1885.

In the absence of a death record, a death date can be determined or at least narrowed down.  If the age of the individual is listed (as shown in the example), a birth year can be calculated as well. Additionally, you can find the place of death, marital state and cause of death. An ancestor’s occupation may also be listed.

That’s a lot of information you are missing our on if you skip these records.

Where to Find Mortality Schedules

These special schedules can be found on the major genealogy databases:

• Ancestry.com
• FindMyPast
• MyHeritage

Frugal Tip: Check your local library for access to Ancestry.com!

Now It’s Your Turn!

Explore mortality schedules for your ancestors!

Check out previous posts in the 31 Days of Out of the Box Genealogy Tips:

Week 1

• Day 1 – Volunteer!
• Day 2 – Genealogy Wikis
• Day 3 – Cemetery Research
• Day 4 – Newspaper Society Pages
• Day 5 – Vertical Files
• Day 6 – Religious Periodicals
• Day 7 – Unplug Your Genealogy

Week 2

• Day 8 – Cultural Periodicals
• Day 9 – Facebook Groups
• Day 10 – DNA Education
• Day 11 – Funeral Records
• Day 12 – Occupational Records
• Day 13 – School Records
• Day 14 – Civil War Veterans Homes

Week 3

• Day 15 – War of 1812 Pensions
• Day 16 – Twitter Chats

***Please note that this post contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you decide to purchase a product/service. This does not cost you extra. Be assured I only recommend products/services that I use and think you would like too. Read my disclosure policy and privacy policy.

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