Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976 - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in This Collection?
This collection includes Texas Death records from 1890 to 1976. 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 These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these 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

Coverage Table
For a table with the number of records by county in this collection see Texas Death Coverage Table.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The name of a parent
 * Date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page:
 * 1) Select Record Type
 * 2) Select Year Range
 * 3) Select Item of Interest to view the images.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record, if you can, to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

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

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Texas.
 * Texas Guided Research
 * Texas Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

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.