Death records can be treasure troves, especially if the deceased is someone about whom we have little information. Official death records vary widely in their details, but often provide names of parents, spouses, and/or other family members who may be informants; dates and places of birth; occupation; information on medical conditions and cause of death; and they may identify funeral directors and burial information. But what if you don't have an exact death date, or can't find a death record online? Of course, you can try to get a copy from the county, state, or other jurisdiction that registers deaths, but that can be time-consuming and probably requires payment of a fee. In the interim, it's a good idea to check alternative sources. A Google search for "death record alternatives" yielded a document listing 25 of them! The URL indicates that it is (or was) on the Sons of the American Revolution website, but I could not find it there. The document credits Ancestry.com for the list, but I could not find it on Ancestry either! Here is it, just in case it disappears someday: https://www.sar.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Twenty-Five-Additional-Death-Resources.pdf.

This post highlights the value of city directories as a source of death information. You will note that directories are listed third among the 25 alternatives. Over the years I have searched for ancestral relations in directories for cities and towns, large and small, in many states and even foreign countries. Some directories record the fact, and sometimes even the dates of deaths, of listed people. Spouses of deceased men are listed as "widow of...," and the deaths of widows themselves may be reported...even if they were never listed when their husbands were alive! Moreover, deaths reported in directories can lead to official death records. Many directories are accessible online, free or by subscription; for this post I used the large collection on HeritageQuest.

As noted in previous Vita Brevis posts (most recently "Italian Love Boat"), over the last few years I have been researching the descendants of Edward Costello (1866-1926[?]) and Mary Josephine Maloney (c. 1872-1943), Irish immigrants who settled in Boston. Perhaps Boston directories listed death information more than directories for other cities, but I was frequently amazed at how often I encountered such entries. To illustrate, here are the first Costello listings in the 1909 Boston directory (p. 458): A quick examination shows how extraordinary it is—seven of the 22 Costello entries are widows and two entries report death dates—Catharine Costello, widow of Michael W., died on April 6, 1908, and Charles D. Costello died on January 15, 1909. Searching earlier and later directories can yield a detailed timeline of individuals and some of their family members, including their addresses, occupations, and places of business. [One of the things that struck me while tracking people over time is how often they relocated, perhaps reflecting changes in family size and/or upward or downward mobility.] 

Reviewing these Costello entries from top to bottom, we immediately observe that Adeline L. Costello, widow of Charles D., lived at 81 Moreland St., Roxbury. Her recently-deceased husband died on 15 January 1909. Charles D., but not his wife Adeline, was listed at the same address in 1908. In 1907 Charles D. lived at 89 Winthrop St., Roxbury. Interestingly, no official death record was found for Charles, making this directory reference to his death all the more valuable. 

Annie G. Costello, widow of James, boarded at 125 Princeton St., East Boston. Neither Annie nor James appear in the 1906-1908 directories at that address, and Annie is not listed in 1910. The 1905 directory lists a James J. Costello who died 30 May 1904, and his official death record shows he was a 54-year-old real estate agent who died following surgery for stomach cancer. 

Bridget Costello, widow of Patrick, resided at 732 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, and earlier directories show that she lived there for many years. She was first listed as Patrick's widow in 1893. That enabled me to distinguish him from other Patricks who died around that time. According to his death record, Patrick was an Irish immigrant who died of consumption on 25 June 1892 at age 48. The 1900 census shows Bridget as head of household living with six of her seven children (one died), the youngest of whom was 13. Bridget's own death record indicated that she was born in Ireland and died on 14 August 1912 at age 65 of mitral regurgitation of the heart, and was buried in Mt. Benedict Cemetery. 

Bridget A. Costello, widow of Martin J., lived at 574 E. Third St., South Boston, and was listed the same way in 1910. She appeared in the 1907-1908 directories as Martin J.s's widow at 697 E. Sixth St., South Boston. The 1900 census enumerates Martin's family with six children (another one had died). His death record shows that he was an Irish immigrant who died at age 59 on 30 September 1906 of heart failure, but his death was not recorded in the directories. In any event,  55-year-old widow Bridget A. Costello of 574 E.. Third St., also an immigrant, died of valvular heart disease on 14 December 1910. 

Catharine Costello, widow of James H., was a grocer at 219 West Fourth St., South Boston, a listing that goes back at least to 1902 and continued through 1925. Her husband may have been the James H. Costello, teamster, whose death on 12 August 1899 was recorded in the 1899 directory; according to his death record, he was an Irish immigrant who died of tuberculosis at age 42. 

Catharine Castello, widow of Michael W., died on April 6, 1908. Her death certificate indicated that she was born in Ireland to William Meade and Ellen Cleary, immigrated to the USA, died at age 73 of myocarditis; and was buried in the oldest section of Dorchester Burying Ground. The 54-year-old Michael W. Costello, blacksmith from Ireland who died on 31 December 1889 of gastritis, was probably her husband. 

Another Catharine Costello, widow of Patrick, lived at 524 E. Eighth St. Tracking her backwards, she was found at different addresses in Dorchester during 1905-1908, but no reference to her husband's death was found in directories. There are a few death records for men named Patrick Costello in the 1890s and early 1900s, but they contained no information about which, if any was Catharine's husband. 

All in all, this small sample of Costello death references in the 1909 Boston directory demonstrates how valuable these publications can be in documenting ancestral relations and opening up their lives and deaths to further investigations. Some led directly to official death records that provided additional information, and one directory entry did not have a corresponding death record at all. 

Good luck finding city directories, and discovering your ancestors therein!