While earlier ship passenger lists seldom are of value in determining where an immigrant was from, the arrival lists in the late 1890s and 1900s often given the immigrant's specific birthplace. The National Archives in Washington, D.C. has the most complete set of passenger lists and indexes, dating from 1820 to about 1950. There are many published immigrant indexes that give or can lead you to the exact places of origin. Check Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, a multi-volume series by P. William Filby, available in many public libraries. Vital records Marriage and death records may give place of birth.
Obituaries usually provide more details than a death certificate.
These were printed in the local newspaper where the death occurred or where the deceased resided for many years. You also may find information in the records of the funeral home and in the cemetery sexton's records. Many of our immigrant ancestors returned to the old country to visit relatives or find spouses. They may have obtained a passport, especially if they were men who might have been subject to conscription in the old country. The Family History Library now has passport applications dating from 1795 to 1891, with an index up through 1920.