Arizona Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Collection Time Period
The certificates cover deaths from 1870-1951.

How to Use the Records
Arizona death certificates are the best source for death information after 1887. Death records can provide information leading to additional genealogical records.

Record Description
Each death certificate was created on a pre-printed form.

Record Content



 * Key genealogical facts found in all death certificates are:
 * Dates of death and burial
 * Frequently, birth date of the deceased
 * City, county, and state of death
 * Name and location of the cemetery where the deceased is 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 the birth for the parents
 * Name of the deceased, married name of the spouse, names of parents, often with maiden name 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

Record History
Statewide registration of vital statistics began in 1909 and the state achieved 90 percent compliance 1926. Some earlier records for 1887 to 1909 consist of deaths recorded by the individual counties where the death occurred. The counties that participated sent copies to the Arizona Department of Health Services, and the records are available at both places. The Office of Vital Records is responsible for maintaining and issuing certified copies of vital records, including death certificates for deaths that occurred in Arizona. The Office of Vital Records officially began recording birth and death events in July, 1909. However, it maintains a sampling of death records, from 1877, from other sources.

Why This Collection Was Created?
Death certificates were created to record deaths in Arizona in compliance with state law.

Record Reliability
Information pertaining to death is reliable; including death, name of the attending physician or attending medical professional, name and address of the funeral home used, and the exact date and place of burial. Other information is dependent upon the reliability of the informant.

Related Web Sites
|Arizona Genealogy Birth and Death Certificates

Related Wiki Articles
Arizona Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
It is recommended that you cite the sources of information as you search genealogical records. Citing sources will allow you to avoid duplicate searches later and share your sources with other researchers. A citation with specific details about the source document should allow yourself or others to easily find the source document at a later time. You should cite all sources searched, whether new information is found, to avoid duplicating searches without findings.

Suggested Format:

A suggested format for citations created to document information found in FamilySearch Record Search is: Collection title, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: date accessed or downloaded), items of interest.

Items of Interest Include: 


 * Name of the person mentioned in the document
 * File, folder or jacket number
 * Locality
 * Record type
 * Page number
 * Line number
 * Date of entry
 * Digital identification number
 * Film number

You are Invited to Add Source Citations for a Record in This Collection: Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines listed above.


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of information for This Collection
"Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951," database, FamilySearch; from Arizona Department of Health Services. "Death certificates (Arizona), ca. 1870-1951." Arizona Department of Library, Archives and Public Records. FHL microfilm, 101 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.