Ohio, County Death Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Ohio

What is in the Collection?
This collection is an index and images of death records from county courthouses. In some instances we did not have rights to publish images of records included in the index. Most of the records in this collection are death registers created before statewide death certificates in 1908. Death certificates issued by the state are published in the collection called Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Death entries include the following information:

Death entries include the following information:
 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death including city, county and state
 * Residence of deceased; sometimes, a former residence
 * Gender and age of deceased in years, months, and days
 * Date and place of birth
 * Marital status, race and occupation of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Father's name and birthplace
 * Mother's maiden name and birthplace
 * Cause of death
 * Name of informant, often a son, daughter or other family member
 * How long at current residence or length of time in United States
 * Occupation
 * Burial information== What Can These Records Tell Me? ==


 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death including city, county and state
 * Residence of deceased; sometimes, a former residence
 * Gender and age of deceased in years, months, and days
 * Date and place of birth
 * Marital status, race and occupation of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Father's name and birthplace
 * Mother's maiden name and birthplace
 * Cause of death
 * Name of informant, often a son, daughter or other family member
 * How long at current residence or length of time in United States
 * Occupation
 * Burial information

Collection Content
Counties in Ohio generally began creating death records in 1867, when Ohio passed a law requiring the recording of deaths. Physicians and undertakers in cities and townships recorded death records and sent them to the county probate court. On 20 December 1908, the state took over the responsibility of recording deaths. You can find records of deaths that occurred from 1867 through 1908 in the probate court of each county. Most counties, also maintain copies of death certificates from 1908 to the present.

Pre-1908 county death records were entered into register books with multiple entries to a page. These records were replaced in 1908 by certificates that were created in counties and sent to the State Department of Health. Copies in the counties are bound books containing forms that are printed front and back and contain two certificates to a page. The information is handwritten or typed.

Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

The information recorded about the death is usually reliable, including the cause of death, the name of the attending physician or medical professional, the name and address of the funeral home, and the date and place of burial. The accuracy of other information depends on the reliability of the informant, often a family member.

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 * Name of the person
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Citing this Collection
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