United States, Panama Canal Zone, Index to the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains a partial index to the mortuary's registers of military personnel, canal employees and canal zone civilians processed through the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary. Acquired from the National Archives "Access to Archival Databases" (AAD). The records are from Record Group 185 Records of the Panama Canal. See also ARC Identifier 570981. Additional information about this collection may be found on the National Archives website.

The following seven years are not included in this collection: 1912, 1917, 1918, 1955, 1960, 1965, and 1980. Gorgas Hospital, located in the Panama Canal Zone, was run by the U.S. Army, but is now under Panamanian control.

Record Content
Facts found in this collection may include:


 * Full name
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Date and place of death
 * Burial place
 * Estimated birth year

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Ancestor’s name
 * Other identifying information about your ancestor, such as birth date or death date and place.

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible ancestors. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine which individual is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Next, click on your ancestor's name. This will take you to a descriptive page with a link to the image.

To search this collection, it would be helpful to know the following information: To begin your search, it is helpful to know the name and some other identifying information such as the birth place or birth date. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the age and the estimated birth year to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the date and place of death to find the family in census records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * If you are unable to find your ancestor search for nicknames and various spellings of names.
 * Not each record contains the same data. For example, some records may be missing the place of death, age, or date of place.

Related Websites
NARA Series Description To reach the series description, click on the above link, then type "Gorgas" into the search bar, then look for the record title "Index to the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary Registers," Record Group 185, and click on the "Search" icon.

Related Wiki Articles
Panama Canal Zone

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.