Karen, At this point, I'd contact the Local Branch of the State Archives for Milwaukee at the Golda Meir library at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. They have all of these types of records for Milwaukee County. Since you have the date of death, they should be able to find something for you. Contact: Timothy Ericson, Golda Meir Library, UW-Milwaukee, P.O. Box 604, Milwaukee, WI 53201 (414) 229-6980 archives@gml.lib.uwm.edu I found them to be helpful when I was helping someone out. Otherwise, I know that the central library in Milwaukee (on Wisconsin Avenue) has microfilm records. I don't know if they will search them for you, but you can always give it a try. Good luck! Kathy Evanson -----Original Message----- From: Karen Schrade [mailto:kschrade@concentric.net] Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2003 1:32 PM To: GERMANS-WI-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GERMANS-WI] finding vital records {SNIP} Hi all, Why wouldn't Madison have a death certificate. He died on July 28, 1916 in Milwaukee.{SNIP}