Into the Past: My Road Trip to Scranton

October 07, 2026

Laid to Rest: Church Death and Burial Records

Image: rawpixel Records of our ancestors' deaths can be found in a wide range of places. Beyond death certificates or registers, clues to an ancestor's death can be found in cemetery maps, meeting minutes, even church bulletins. I've found death information in some unusual places and have learned more about ancestors in the process. I wrote about some of my finds in the article, "Laid to Rest: Church and Burial Records," for the June 2025 issue of Stirpes , the Journal of the Texas State Genealogical Society. They've given me permission to share the article. I hope it gives you some new ideas of where you might find your ancestor's elusive death information. Until next time...

I am participating in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a writing challenge encouraging genealogy researchers to write about their ancestors. The challenge is hosted by genealogist, blogger and podcaster Amy Johnson Crow.

Here's my post for Amy's Week Eighteen prompt: Road Trip

By Nancy Gilbride Casey

Part preparation, part dumb luck, part generosity of others, part serendipity. These things equal success on a genealogy road trip, in my recent experience. Scranton and Wayne County, Pennsylvania were my road trip destinations in March 2019—the places my Gilbride ancestors first called home in the United States.

Facebook was the perfect medium to share my discoveries while on the road in Pennsylvania, and I reported back each night to my family and friends in a series of posts I'll share here. They create a neat road trip timeline, while capturing the thrill of the find, somber closure, and other emotions which may only come by actually walking where our ancestors trod.