Death is a daily part of a genealogist's life. We squeal with delight when a death certificate we've ordered for an ancestor arrives in our mailbox, and can't wait to share our excitement with family members. We get goose bumps if an ancestor had a particularly unusual demise, which might in turn have created more records such as newspaper accounts and coroner's inquests. Telling a genealogy buddy that you've just "killed off Cousin Sam's mother" is part of normal conversation.

But you won't need Dr. Quincy or the CSI team to help you find these three basic records of death for your ancestors: death certificates, funeral home records and obituaries. Here's how to start digging them up and using them.

Officially dead: death certificates