Finding out if someone is alive or dead?

[Pollywoggle]

With the internet and modern technology etc does anyone know the easiest way to find out if somone is alive or dead in the UK?
Google will link me to all sorts of geneology sites that you can join, often pretending to be free but then you find out you have to pay which I'm trying to avoid

 

[simonblue]

With the internet and modern technology etc does anyone know the easiest way to find out if somone is alive or dead in the UK?
Google will link me to all sorts of geneology sites that you can join, often pretending to be free but then you find out you have to pay which I'm trying to avoid

Their a couple that let you have an 14 day trial,you have to put in your details,but if you cancel within the 14 day,you dont pay anything.

 

[thekilljoy]

There are free sites like

FreeBMD - Search

Start Your Family Tree - Search Genealogy Archives

Connect with your family across generations - all free

www.familysearch.org

where you search death records

 

[Buzzcrow]

I managed to contact the spirit of our window cleaner who died recently.
I used a Squeegee board.

 

[RugbyAl]

Easy to tell if the wife is dead. The sex is the same but the washing piles up.

 

[Pollywoggle]

I managed to contact the spirit of our window cleaner who died recently.
I used a Squeegee board.

I like it

 

[nvingo]

Just message their facebook account.
If there's no response, they're dead. Or they don't know you.
Sometimes facebook pages indicate if the person is no longer alive.

 

[swingaleg]

Not quite so easy ......

the online genealogy sites only have records up to about 2005/6 ...... so if they died after that it's very difficult to find out

of course there are no publicly searchable records of living people

you could do a search on the electoral register on 192.com (subscription needed) but unless the person you're interested in had an unusual name you'll probably just have a long list depending on how common the name is and you might be none the wiser unless you know their address

If you know their address you could get a copy of the land registry entry and see if they're still shown as the registered proprietor ....... if not they might have died or they might have just moved

The usual problem with these kind of enquiries is that lots of people have the same name ...... if you find something can you tell if it relates to the person you're interested in or just someone else with the same name?

 

[Pollywoggle]

Not quite so easy ......

the online genealogy sites only have records up to about 2005/6 ...... so if they died after that it's very difficult to find out

of course there are no publicly searchable records of living people

you could do a search on the electoral register on 192.com (subscription needed) but unless the person you're interested in had an unusual name you'll probably just have a long list depending on how common the name is and you might be none the wiser unless you know their address

If you know their address you could get a copy of the land registry entry and see if they're still shown as the registered proprietor ....... if not they might have died or they might have just moved

The usual problem with these kind of enquiries is that lots of people have the same name ...... if you find something can you tell if it relates to the person you're interested in or just someone else with the same name?

Yes I noticed the 2005 cutoff date, the person I am looking for is an unpleasant character from my childhood and I’m kind of hoping he is dead but he hasn’t appeared as dead before 2005 so I’m going to try 192.com

 

[pRot3us]

Have you tried poking them with a stick?

 

[aVdub]

Yes I noticed the 2005 cutoff date, the person I am looking for is an unpleasant character from my childhood and I’m kind of hoping he is dead but he hasn’t appeared as dead before 2005 so I’m going to try 192.com

Try social media and if no luck with the name, try those that may have been associated with them on social media.

There is also baiting on social media to try and draw out those that might know, or even the person themselves.

 

[Deleted member 161415]

the person I am looking for is an unpleasant character from my childhood and I’m kind of hoping he is dead

I feel your pain here, but, I don’t think spending your time in this way is really the best thing. (I’m assuming you don’t want to contact them just to check their mortality)

 

[Pollywoggle]

I feel your pain here, but, I don’t think spending your time in this way is really the best thing. (I’m assuming you don’t want to contact them just to check their mortality)

It’s complicated but will be useful to know for a lot of reasons

 

[swingaleg]

The probate records are easy to search ....... you have to do it one year at a time but you could search from 2005 onwards

Of course there will only be an entry if he has died and probate or administration of the estate was applied for and granted

same problem that I mentioned above ..... depending on how common the name is there's likely to be several deaths in any given name and the problem then is how do you know that any entry relates to the person you are interested in

hmcts

probatesearch.service.gov.uk

 

[Deleted member 898070]

The GRO (General Register Office) site has searchable death indexes up to 2019.

General Register Office - Online Ordering Service - Login

It is just an index, but it does show year of birth and the district where the death was registered.
You have to register and log in to search, but it's free to use.

 

[Pollywoggle]

The GRO (General Register Office) site has searchable death indexes up to 2019.

General Register Office - Online Ordering Service - Login

It is just an index, but it does show year of birth and the district where the death was registered.
You have to register and log in to search, but it's free to use.

That’s useful to know, thanks

 

[swingaleg]

The GRO (General Register Office) site has searchable death indexes up to 2019.

General Register Office - Online Ordering Service - Login

It is just an index, but it does show year of birth and the district where the death was registered.
You have to register and log in to search, but it's free to use.

thanks ......... that must be a fairly recent development as I don't think that was there when I was a regular user of the site up to 4 or 5 years ago

 

[Deleted member 898070]

thanks ......... that must be a fairly recent development as I don't think that was there when I was a regular user of the site up to 4 or 5 years ago

It is, and they are completely new indexes, so not the same as the old ones used by FreeBMD. So both can be used for cross-checking. There's a gap in Births between 1934 and 1984, and from 1957 to 1984 in Deaths.

Always keep in mind that age at death may not be accurate, as it depends on the knowledge of the informant.

The new GRO indexes include age at death before 1868 and mother's maiden name for births before 1912, which were previously lacking. Although the latter doesn't show up after 1984 unless you enter the correct name in the search box - so can be used for elimination purposes.

There's no plans to redo the marriage indexes, unfortunately.

 

[imightbewrong]

Have you tried poking them with a stick?

A wife phones the emergency services "My husband has accidentally shot himself - I think he's dead - what should I do?"

Operator: "Ok - calm down. First of all, make sure he's dead"

<phone operator hears footsteps, then two gunshots>

Wife: "Ok, done - what next?"

 

[Egg White]

you can maybe try this too? - I found some elder (and obviously deceased) distant family members..

Funeral Notices

Find local and national death notices, funeral notices, obituaries, in memoriams, acknowledgements and family announcements including birthdays, births, anniversaries and marriages at funeral-notices.co.uk

funeral-notices.co.uk