Where are the Death Certificates?

St. Louis Genealogical Society has a very active presence on Facebook, both a News and Events page and a wonderful group just shy of 4,300 members. No politics, no precocious baby or animal videos, no endless goofy jokes—OK, maybe a few occasionally, but only about genealogy! We know that many people avoid social media, but our Facebook group provides a safe space for people to ask and answer genealogy questions, announce meetings and other special events, and spread the joy of genealogy. Sometimes inquiries are posted in the group that need a bit more time and space to answer, and this week brought up one that is so important, we thought we'd devote a post to it. So, for all of you asking about online death certificates, please read on . . .

If your ancestors died in Missouri, you are definitely in luck because Missouri death certificates from 1910 to 1974 are online at the Missouri Secretary of State's website as part of the Missouri Digital Heritage program. The state did not begin requiring those certificates until 1910, so earlier dates may only be available if the county in which your ancestor lived kept registers. You can search the site for earlier dates, but your results will depend on where your people lived and what records might have been kept. To search the Missouri Digital Heritage death certificates, go to  https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/Archives/ArchivesMvc/DeathCertificates, and follow the simple directions. The certificates are PDF files and may be downloaded and/or printed at no charge.

In Illinois, there is a statewide death index, but to obtain the actual certificates, you can order copies online, go to Springfield to the Illinois State Archives, or contact the county clerk's office in the county in which your ancestor died. The statewide index is hosted on the Illinois Secretary of State's website and consists of deaths between 1916 through 1972. The index can be searched by name and either by county or statewide. Prior to 1916, death records are at the county level, and not every county kept them. You can begin your search of the newer records at  https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/idphdeathindex.html.

What about the remaining states? There is good news and bad news, depending on where your ancestors passed away. Some states are extremely generous about posting their vital records online, and others have very strict privacy laws that extend to death records. Both Ancestry and FamilySearch have the actual records online for most of the states that are willing to share; some state archives also have begun to post the actual images.

How do you find death records online?

One of the areas of the FamilySearch website that is most valuable to all researchers is the Research Wiki, and that's the best place to start. Go to https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States_Death_Records where you will find a map of the United States and, to the left of the map, a list of all fifty states. Each state name is a link that will take you to specific information on what is available and where it is.

The links reveal sections (see the example to the right) containing birth, marriage, and death information. If you click on the "Death" link, you will get specifics on where to start, what you can look for next, and other resources you can try if you can't locate a record for each state you have an interest in.

Also on that page, you will find out more about the Social Security Death Index, as well as death records in general.

Now that you know about the FamilySearch Research Wiki, why not make it a regular part of your research? It contains hundreds of pages on a wide assortment of topics, resources listed by country, state, and county, and so much more!

Additional Links:

StLGS Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/76633518155

StLGS News and Events Page:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/76633518155/user/100067467840501