Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates - FamilySearch Historical Records/Known Issues

Known Issues
Question #1: I get an error message "Image Not Available Online" for some searches. How do I view the image? Answer #1: Images for Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates in Historical Records are available to registered user only. Please register by clicking the Sign In link in the upper right corner of the screen and completing the registration form. You must respond to the confirmation email to complete the registration.

Question #2: When I search for an image, the wrong image comes up. How do I find the correct image? Answer #2: Some images are incorrectly linked, and they may be several records off. Certificates may be located by matching the certificate number, found in the record details, to the actual certificate on the images. This is done by scrolling through the images until the correct certificate number is located. For additional information, see "Tips for locating mismatched records." If you determine that images are missing, please report the problem so that it can be investigated and corrected. These records are available on microfilm can also be viewed at the Family History Library or some FamilySearch Centers. Call ahead to check if the film is available at your local center.

Question #3: Some records come from images that have a header “Municipal Hospital – Admissions and Discharges.” Were all of these persons discharged (released for the hospital) because they died? Answer #3: Not all of the death records whose images refer to the “Municipal Hospital – Admissions and Discharges” died. The collection contains a Hospital Admissions/Discharge register (Film 976944, 972953 Item 3) that gives the dates that living people were released from the hospital. The date of discharge (alive) has been erroneously indexed as a death date. Probably 75% of the names in that particular register are names of people who did NOT die at that time, and yet they are indexed as having died on the date they were released from the hospital. Other information not appearing on the original record is added by indexers. You will need to visually check both the image and the indexed record to see what information is valid. You cannot assume that the person has died from this indexed record.

Question #4: Some images are cropped. How can I see the information that is cut-off? Answer #4: When a record image is cropped, check the next image. If you do not find the whole image, please copy and paste the information found in the record details into an e-mail and send to support@familysearch.org, requesting that one of our support volunteers try to locate the missing image for you.

If you encounter additional problems with this collection, feel free to report them at [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the following information:


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Return to the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates - FamilySearch Historical Records Learn More page. Return to the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915 collection at FamilySearch.org.