We had the same problem with my great-grandfather, John J. Futrell, who died of cancer in 1933. My father wrote to the state archives and inquired about parish records and was repeatedly told that there was no death certificate. He finally asked an older relative who was a teenager at the time, and he told the following story. John J. Futrell had some type of cancer and had spent several months in a hospital in Shreveport. When the doctors there decided that nothing more could be done, he was sent to one of his daughters' home near Downsville where he died a short time later. Since this was during the Depression and money was scarce, no doctor was called to verify the death and he was buried out of the home, meaning no funeral home was involved. It sounds terrible, but I guess they did what they had to. There's also no record of a death certificate for his wife, Mathilda Sanford Futrell, who had died in 1932 so I assume that she also died at home. This is possibly why you can't find a death certificate for your relative. Looking in the newspaper is a good idea. I wonder if the local library will do a search for a fee. If so, I would be interested. Does anyone know if that service is available? Julia Healey