State Vital Records
Death Certificate Overview
A death certificate is an official vital record kept by a government entity, documenting the death of an individual. In the United States the term “death certificate” usually refers to a certified replica of the original document, though it can also refer to the original document kept by the issuing state or county government. Outside of the United States the term “death certificate” is used to refer to the original death record.
State Death Certificate Links
Obtaining Death Certificates
The easiest way to order a death certificate is to order it online. All states contract with a third party provider to manage their online delivery of death certificates. Online ordering is not only the fastest and easiest way to get a death certificates, but for some states it is the only way to obtain a death certificate using a credit card. Click here to order a death certificate online.
Information on Death Certificates
Death certificates contain all the important information that pertains to the death of an individual. The Death certificate usually contains: Early Death Certificate in the United States
19th Century Death Certificate in the United States
Modern Death Certificate (Post – 1910) In the United States
Uses for Death Certificates
Death Certificates are needed to prove that the deceased has actually died in the following situations:
Genealogy Uses for Death Certificates
Death certificates are some of the most important documents for genealogy research. Death certificates are primary sources of information about the end of someone’s life. Usually a death certificate is created within a few days of the death and the information found on the death certificate is given by a witness of the death. Due to the timeliness of the creation of the death certificate and the testimony of a directly involved witness, a death certificate is a very reliable source of information about the death.
History of Death CertificatesDue to the strong ties of the American Colonies to Britain, early American settlers applied British laws and customs to recording of death certificates. Before the 19th Century, churches maintained records of burials for their congregants in the American Colonies and all European countries. Because of this historical context most early American death certificates or death information is only found in church records. Eventually, some American Colonies required churches to report death events and information to civil authorities. As a result death information is reported by both civil and church recorded in some locations. Eventually, some colonies, primarily those in New England, passed laws to requiring local governments to record and maintain death certificates. Massachusetts was the most advanced in colony in regards to death registration. In the 19th Century many British and European countries began maintaining death certificates on a national level but the United States was much slower in creating government mandates for death certificate regulation and has never adopted a national registry. Most states did not initiate death certificate registration until after 1900, and passage of death certificate registration laws was not uniform. This accounts for the difference in state death certificate starting dates and information collected on death certificates. Fourteen states and five cities initiated death certificate registration before 1880:
Early death certificates can be a great treasure trove of information but the ability to find them is sometimes difficult. Even if the locality had death certificate registration laws in place, the laws were not always enforced in a uniform manner. Many death certificates were not registered and the exact extend of compliance is difficult to determine. There were real reasons for the difficulty in compliance such as the struggle in traveling long distances over sometimes rough terrain to file a death certificate.
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| Last Updated on Monday, 31 August 2009 19:23 |