This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: degrer012 Surnames: DeGrendel Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.michigan.counties.wayne/5529.4.1.1.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I found him in the Mt. Olivet cemetery in Detroit by searching their online database. The last name was spelled wrong in their database but I searched using only a few letters of the last name and found him and many other family members. When I called the cemetery, they were extremely helpful and nice. Off-hand the cemetery did not have a birthdate for him but later emailed me all the information they had. They had a death date and his age at the time of death up to the year, month and day. Using some good old subtraction skills I figured out his birthdate and confirmed that he IS the same Charles DeGrendel that I have received information about from Belgium. That birthdate has just allowed me to trace my ancestry back to the 1730s!!!!! Thanks for your help! -RJ PS - I would NOT recommend dealing with vital records in Detroit. They are unorganized and LAZY! They never answer the phone and their voice mailboxes divert you to other numbers. When you call the other number, their voice mailbox is full. After 3 days of calling, a woman finally answered and could not have made me feel more unwelcome. She told me I need to contact Lansing. From this experience, I would not trust Detroit to do a search properly. I still am interested in a death certificate for my great-great grandfather so I filled out a form and mailed a check right to Lansing. I'll let you know how efficient Lansing is. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.