Connecticut Death Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in the Collection?
The collection consists of indexes to deaths from the Connecticut Department of Health in Hartford for the years 1949 to 2001. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

Collection Content
The following is an example of the type of information that may be contained on the indexed records. The amount of information varies from record to record.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Valuable information includes the name of the deceased, date and place of death, and age. Other information can be used in identifying people in family relationships, such as parents or spouse. Please note that only the first four characters of the spouse's name are listed.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of the person at the time of death
 * Other identifying information such as the approximate death date and place

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy 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 the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the index to help locate the actual death certificate.
 * Use the estimated birth year to locate the actual birth certificate.
 * Use the spouse's name to locate a marriage record.
 * Use the date of death and location in searching for obituaries and cemetery records.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have lived in the same location.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for a different index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * If an occupation or industry is listed, look for alternate records relating to employment.
 * Search other collections in the location, such as church and military records.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Top of Page