Finding Notices for Recent Deaths (2010s-2020s)

[cfbandit]

Hi all, does anyone have any tips for finding information on folks who died recently (2010s-2020s) in England?

In the US, I would look for an obituary in newspapers and Legacy, social media posts, etc.

I've tried the same strategies in the England, and I keep getting stuck and not finding any information. So I was wondering if the process in England is socially a little different?

Here's my current England process:
1. Check Ancestry, FindmyPast, Geneanet, and FamilySearch for any online records and/or family postings.
2. Check the local newspaper and regional newspaper websites for obituaries, memories, or public notices.
3. Check British Newspaper Archive, Deceased Online, and Legacy for any online postings.
4. Check Facebook, Instagram, and X for profiles, then check for posts mentioning the name of the deceased.

I've got four DNA connections, all from England, who are all stuck in this spot - a grandparent or great-grandparent passed away fairly recently and I'm missing a generation to finish the matchup between myself and the connection....and they're not answering messages so I can't ask directly.

 

[peter]

It's much less common to publish obituaries or death notices in the UK. If I really need to know whether someone has died I look them up in the GRO death index (which currently goes up to the end of 2022).

 

[canadianbeth]

Obituaries are also published less commonly here in Canada due to the high cost. Most families these days do not bother.

 

[CeeJay]

Another vote for the GRO death index.

 

[cfbandit]

Obituaries are also published less commonly here in Canada due to the high cost. Most families these days do not bother.

Agree, but at least the Canadians will post something to their Facebook or other social media account noting their mum died, or dad's celebration of life, etc. Those posts are incredibly important to cementing linkages when the DNA connections aren't answering direct messages and it is too soon to find public access records on them.

I've made cases linking grandkids and great-grandkids to those notices following their comments confirming relationships from social media. But it is very socially different depending on country, religious, and social groups, so plotting out a different SOP for finding them is important to understanding why a particular piece of information isn't being found. My cousins in Hong Kong, for example, often post notices on Douyin as a short form video, for example. No written post exists, but there are all the comments on the video that connect them via their stated relationship. No obituaries over there, either.

 

[cfbandit]

It's much less common to publish obituaries or death notices in the UK. If I really need to know whether someone has died I look them up in the GRO death index (which currently goes up to the end of 2022).

Yeah same! I do look in the GRO index but its those critical linkages that are needed from a notice or obit that often don't come there. Sometimes I can get them with probate notices. Every country is a little bit different so its nice to hear from the locals how they think about it. My English cousins seem to be very reticent to be on social media - or at least the public forms of it (they might have private accounts), so its not easy to track them there either to keep digging at the most recent relationships.

I just heard from a fellow in Australia trying to do the same thing, missing just one generation to clear up the English connection.

 

[webwiz]

Also the Probate Registry - but only if probate was obtained https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/