Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Texas

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes Texas Death records from 1890 to 1976.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The Texas, Deaths (New Index, New Images), 1890-1976 collection is available only to those using a FamilySearch Account. Microfilms of these records are available for viewing at a Family History Center. Please see Using the FamilySearch Catalog to find a microfilm and see Ordering Microfilm or Microfiche

Texas has recorded deaths from 1903 to the present, plus about 250 registrations from 1890-1939 and nearly 2,000 delayed registrations of death from 1890s-1990, as reported from obituaries and probate records.

The collection consists of images of Texas statewide death certificates--including delayed certificates, foreign deaths, and probate obituaries--from the Texas Department of State Health Services in Austin. The delayed records are grouped with regular death certificates and, although frequently located in the final few volumes of a given year, can sometimes be found interspersed throughout a volume set.

For the years 1903-1909, two small pre-printed “report of death” forms are on one page. From 1911 on, each death was recorded on a one-page pre-printed “standard death certificate” form. The year 1910 has a mixture of reports of death and standard death certificates.

Death Certificates 1903-1909 are arranged by County and Year, then are listed alphabetically by the first letter of the surname only. After the certificates were arranged in this manner, they were numbered in a single sequence running through that arrangement (Certificates 1-61,752 in 141 volumes).

Certificates for 1910 are generally arranged by Surname and then Given Name(s). The certificates were then numbered.

Certificates beginning with 1911 were arranged by year, month, then county. The arrangement below that appears to vary: Bexar county certificates appear to be generally in reverse alphabetical order by surname; some other counties appear to be in proper alphabetical order, while others appear to be in random order.

Beginning with 1911 and continuing at least through 1976, the certificates were bound in volumes by year and numbered with a repeating sequence of numbers for each year.

Standard forms for death certificates and report of death were filled out by a county clerk, mortician or medical professional, who talked to the informant. The certificates were filed with county clerks or local registrars, who forwarded the information to the Texas Department of Health, now known as the Texas Department of State Health Services.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Facts usually contained in death records:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Age in years, months and days
 * Gender, race and marital status of deceased
 * Name of hospital or institution in which died
 * Cause of death
 * Residence of deceased
 * Date and place of birth
 * Names of parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Birthplace of parents
 * Name of informant, usually a relative
 * Date and place of burial
 * Name of mortuary or undertaker

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date of death.
 * The place where the death occurred.
 * The names of family members and their relationships.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type" ⇒Select the appropriate "Year Range" ⇒Select the appropriate "Item of Interest" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image. Again you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s death record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Make a photocopy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or military records.
 * The name of the cemetery may be 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.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Check for an index. Local historical and genealogical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image citation: