You probably know where Aunt Ruth and Uncle Eric live, even though you may not see or talk with them very often. If they were to pass on, you would probably go see them off and you would know where to find them if you wished to visit their grave. However, when it comes to relatives that were born and died long before you came along, you may not be sure how to find out more about them. Death and cemetery records can be most helpful in this case - if you know where to find them.
What can be tricky with older relatives in your family tree is that those that are still living are not really sure if they know the details that you need. They may remember things about their parents and grandparents, but beyond that, they may not know what to tell you. When you get that far back in your tree, you are going to have to find things on your own for the most part. You can look in person, or you can go online. Each can be equally helpful depending on where your family has been.
When you are pretty sure your family has been in the same area for a very long time (which is very rare) you can take a walk through some of the cemeteries near you. Go where you know some family members are buried and see if you can find any more there. You may be surprised to find people buried there that you have not yet added to your tree. Take a notebook or a reliable digital camera just in case.
When nothing comes up nearby, you are going to have to assume that these people are buried where you can not physically get to them, at least not without a lot of travel. You don¡¦t have to drive around the country to find what you need - thank goodness - if you know where to look online. Searches through genealogy sites like Genealogy.com and Ancestry.com, just to name a few, are going to net you information on cemeteries and the stones contained within in many cases.
You can use other sources to find where your relatives were buried if you don¡¦t have the time or inclination to conduct a longer search through each genealogy site of which you can think. You can save a lot of time if you can find a site that will find these old records for you within a matter of minutes. Decide what works for you, but know the help is out there if you need it.