Sometimes, you will find a death record that shows your ancestor died in a different place from where he was living all his life.
Common reasons are:
- He was in a hospital receiving care.
- He was institutionalized in a mental hospital. This sometimes happened to elderly people who suffered from dementia.
- He was in jail.
- He was there on business.
- He may have been living with relatives.
- He may have been visiting relatives.
If you read the death record, it should say whether the person was an official resident of the place where he died, or merely visiting. Even an extended stay in a hospital or prison would count as a visit, not residence. Sometimes the informants of the death record can help, for example if they were hospital employees or jail wardens. Death records sometimes have addresses that you can look up in contemporary address books or by typing in the address in a search engine.
Jan Striening, image of a death informant. Credits: Collection Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Geheugen van Nederland (Public Domain)
About Yvette Hoitink
I have found two death records for several of my ancestors. This happened especially if the hospital where he/she was nursed was located in a different municipality than where he/she lived..
Great addition, thank you. The death record in the place of residence is usually a copy of the death record in the place of death.
When he’s young he can be serving in the militairy.
Good addition, thank you!