What's on a Death Certificate?

When requesting death certificates, researchers may be surprised by the “depth or dearth” of information recorded. Death certificates were not always required and were rare before the late 1800s. 


The article "What's on a Death Certificate" was written by Mary Harrell-Sesniak and published by the Hellenic Communication Service - Hellenic Historical and Genealogical Association.  (Posted 12 April 2009. Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 11 March 2009, Vol. 12, No. 3)


This article offers a historical overview of the types of information included on certificates and uses images to illustrate changes in the records over time.  Click here to read entire article.