Ohio Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
Ohio has recorded deaths from December 20, 1908, to the present.

Record History
Morticians or medical professionals filed death certificates with county probate clerks or health departments. The information was then forwarded to the Ohio Department of Health. State registration began in Ohio on December 20, 1908.

Beginning in 1908, Ohio law required statewide registration of all deaths. The state-level records cover more than 90 percent of those who died in Ohio after 1917.

Why This Record Was Created
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.

Record Reliability
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.

Record Description
The certificates are arranged sequentially by number. Before being arranged numerically, they were arranged by year and month and then by county within each month and by registration district for heavily populated counties. The records are not always in strict date order for a district or county.

Record Content
Death entries include the following genealogical information:


 * Death and burial dates
 * Birth date (frequently included)
 * City, county, and state of death
 * Name and location of the cemetery
 * Country or state and sometimes town and county of birth for the deceased (frequently included)
 * Country or state and sometimes town and county of birth for the parents (frequently included)
 * Name of the deceased, spouse’s married name, and parents’ names (frequently includes maiden surname of the mother)
 * Informant (often a son or daughter or other family member)
 * Age (frequently listed in years, months, and days)
 * Sex
 * Residence or address (frequently included how long at that residence or length of time in the United States if foreign born)
 * Marital status (single, married, widowed, or divorced at the time of death)
 * Occupation

How To Use The Record
Death certificates are the best source of death information. The certificates usually contain clues for further research, including the birth date and birthplace of the individual, the spouse’s name, the parents’ names, the residence, and the name of an informant (this may be a son or daughter of the deceased).

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Related Websites
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Related Wiki Articles
Ohio Vital Records

Sources of This Collection
"Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database, FamilySearch; (http://familysearch.org), from Ohio Department of Heath. Digital images of originals housed in the Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio. FHL microfilm, 1207 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

How To Cite Your Sources
An example of citing these records is: Ohio Department of Health. Certificate of death. From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org), April 23, 2010. Edson C. Smith, d. 12 Feb 1919, Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio, image number 1107.

Instructions for citing this source can be found at: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections