Ohio, County Death Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Ohio

What is in the Collection?
This collection is an index and images of death records from county courthouses. In some instances we did not have rights to publish images of records included in the index. Most of the records in this collection are death registers created before statewide death certificates in 1908. Death certificates issued by the state are published in the collection called Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Death entries include the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death including city, county, and state
 * Residence of deceased
 * Gender and age of deceased in years, months, and days
 * Date and place of birth
 * Marital status, race, and occupation of deceased
 * Spouse's name, if married
 * Father's name and birthplace
 * Mother's maiden name and birthplace
 * Cause of death
 * Name of informant
 * How long at current residence or length of time in United States
 * Occupation
 * Burial information

Collection Content
Counties in Ohio generally began creating death records in 1867, when Ohio passed a law requiring the recording of deaths. Physicians and undertakers in cities and townships recorded death records and sent them to the county probate court. On 20 December 1908, the state took over the responsibility of recording deaths. You can find records of deaths that occurred from 1867 through 1908 in the probate court of each county. Most counties, also maintain copies of death certificates from 1908 to the present.

Pre-1908 county death records were entered into register books with multiple entries to a page. These records were replaced in 1908 by certificates that were created in counties and sent to the State Department of Health. Copies in the counties are bound books containing forms that are printed front and back and contain two certificates to a page. The information is handwritten or typed.

Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

The information recorded about the death is usually reliable, including the cause of death, the name of the attending physician or medical professional, the name and address of the funeral home, and the date and place of burial. The accuracy of other information depends on the reliability of the informant, often a family member.

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The location or date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Record type, Year Range, and Volume number or letter

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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.

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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 Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * 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.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can't Find Who 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.
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Citing this Collection
A citation is a note where you found information. Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Using citations allows others to find the same records. Collection Citation:

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