Ohio, Summit County, Coroner Inquests, Hospital and Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of the following records:


 * Edwin Shaw Hospital admittance cards (1915-1947)
 * Edwin Shaw Hospital employment cards (1915-1940)
 * Edwin Shaw Hospital and Briar Hill Cemetery burial permits (1915-1947)
 * Coroner's inquest books (1882-1922)

The hospital was was originally named Springfield Lake Sanatorium. It was renamed Edwin Shaw Sanatorium in Auguast 1934 in honor of one of the long term Trustees of the hospital.

The Briar Hill Cemetery is located on the Edwin Shaw Hospital grounds and was established for the Tuberculosis patients. However, not all patients that passed away at the Hospital are buried at the cemetery. The cemetery does not have headstones. There are numbers on concrete at each grave. A list of the patients buried at Briar Hill Cemetery is available at the office of the Summit County Executive in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

This collection is being published as images become available.

Record Content
The following information is generally found in these records:


 * Dates of death and burial
 * Frequently, birth date of the deceased
 * City, county, and state of death
 * Name and location of the cemetery where buried
 * Frequently, the country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the deceased
 * Frequently, the country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the parents
 * Name of the deceased
 * Married name of spouse
 * Names of parents, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Name of the informant, who is often a child or other family member
 * Age of the deceased usually in years, months, and days
 * Sex of the deceased
 * Residence or address of the deceased, often including length of residence at that place or in the United States, if foreign-born
 * Whether the deceased was single, married, widowed, or divorced at the time of death
 * Occupation of the deceased

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


 * The place where the death occurred
 * The name of the person at the time of death
 * The approximate death date

Compare the information in the death record to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.

When you have located your ancestor’s death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find or verify their birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents (if the deceased is a child) to locate church and land records.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment records or military records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral and cemetery records, which often include the names and residences of other family members.
 * Compile the entries for every person who has the same surname; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the deceased who may have died or been buried in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:


 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Keep in mind:


 * The information in these records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another record.

Record History
The county began recording vital events in accordance with state law.

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.

Related Websites

 * Geauga County Vital Records
 * Summit county on Wikipedia.com

Related Wiki Articles

 * Summit County, Ohio
 * Ohio Vital Records

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.

Examples of Source Citations for a Coroner's Record Found in This Collection

 * “Ohio Summit County, Coroner's, Hospital and Cemetery Records,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 7 March 2012), Citation for This Collection

The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Ohio. Summit County, Coroner's, Hospital and Cemetery Records. Summit County Records Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. FHL digital images. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Information about creating source citations for FamilySearch Historical Collections is found in the wiki article Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.