This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: LDRudd Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.ethnic.afam.ms/1380.3.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Jettie84 I am sorry you have had difficulty finding death certificates in the State of Mississippi for your ancestors. I do searches for clients, black and white, and have found that many deaths after Nov 1912 were recorded but there are some that were not. In those early days, some folks did not comply with the new regulations and there are no certificates. Allow me to share with you some reasons your death certificates were not located when it is likely a death certificate does exist. Bad Handwriting/Poor Spelling - A certificate is not found due to poor handwriting, poor spelling. Example: The surname Coleman may show up as Goleman, Coldman,Cole, Colin, etc. You nor the person searching knows that your Martha Coleman is recorded as May Coldman, so, she is not found. When searching for a certificate, try looking for various spellings of the name and interpret your surname from various writing styles. Wrong Name - The name you know the individual by is not the name recorded on the death certificate. You know Aunt Martha by Martha Coleman but her full name is Martha Jane Coleman. She may be recorded as Jane Coleman or by her nickname Molly Coleman, etc. Did a surname or given name change due to marriage or whim? Did Aunt Martha remarry after her husband's death? Did she decide not to use her new husband's surname? Some women are recorded using their husband's name. Martha Coleman could be recorded as Mrs Robert/Bob Coleman. The family may know that Robert Lee Coleman was the name given at birth but his employer was his informant and he knew him as Earl Coleman and on his death certificate he is Earl Coleman. Try looking at various spellings, middlenames, nicknames, etc. Wrong Location - Are you sure your ancestors died in Mississippi? Just because they lived in Mississippi and are buried in Mississippi, it does not mean they died in Mississippi. If your relatives lived in counties bordering another state, river towns, or had relatives in neighboring states, they could have died in another state. Check the border state or the state where the children or other relatives lived for a certificate. Wrong Death Year - Memories dim, the tombstone has the wrong year, try expanding the years of death in your search. Human Error - For whatever reason, the certificate doesn't exist because a human made an error, or it does exist and it is misfiled because of human error. Don't give up, change your tactics, keep searching. 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.