Search the Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916–1950

      When you search this database, keep in mind that the index may contain spelling errors, incorrect data about the death and erroneous entries.  It is suggested that you check alternative spellings of names if you do not find an entry for the name you are looking for.  Entering only the first few letters of a surname may be a more effective method of searching the database.

      The Pre–1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index is an ongoing project coordinated by the Illinois State Archives and supported by the Illinois Secretary of State’s Department of Information Technology. Volunteers from around the world are currently entering data into this death index from their home computers through the Illinois State Archives Web site. 
 

Search the Database of Illinois Death Index Pre–1916

      For most Illinois Counties, deaths were not officially recorded until 1877, at which time deaths were recorded by, and under the jurisdiction of, the county clerk of each county. 

      Beginning in 1916, county clerks and the Department of Public Health jointly maintained death records.  The Illinois Regional Archives Depository system   contains death records for many counties in Illinois.  To determine which records they have, you should search the IRAD local governmental records database  for the term death to get a listing of all death records held by IRAD. 

      If  IRAD does not have death records for the county you are interested in, you should then contact the county clerk's office in the county where the death occurred.
 

The Illinois Regional Archives Depository IRAD Local Governmental Records Database Illinois County Courthouse Addresses

      The original certificates remain in the custody of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Researchers who are unable to visit the Illinois State Archives Reference Room should direct requests for death certificates after 1915 to the Illinois Department of Public Health or to the county clerk’s office of the county where the death occurred. In compliance with current legislation, the Illinois Department of Public Health and county clerks shall furnish for genealogical purposes certified or uncertified photocopies of death records not less than 20 years old at a specified fee (410 Illinois Compiled Statutes 535/25).

      NOTE:  The Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) system, a program of the Illinois State Archives, does not have copies of death records (1916–1950) maintained by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Vital Records. Please do not send requests for copies of death records found in the Illinois Statewide Death Index (1916–1950) to our regional depositories. 

      When making requests from IRAD, you should provide the following information:

  ~ Name of the deceased.
  ~ Approximate date of death.
  ~ The county in which the death occurred
  ~ If known, the township location and certificate number.

  ~ County and city in which death took place. 
  ~ Certificate number. 
  ~ Address where death took place. 
  ~ Sometimes the voting ward of that address. 
  ~ Full name, sex, marital status, birth date. 
  ~ Age at death. 
  ~ Occupation, employer. 
  ~ City and state of birthplace. 
  ~ Father's name and birthplace. 
  ~ Mother's maiden name and birthplace. 
  ~ Name of the informant providing the above information. 
  ~ The filing date, and the name of the registrar. 

      Also included on the certificate are (again, if all information is completed):

  ~ Date of death. 
  ~ Indication if an inquest was held. 
  ~ The duration of the causal condition.
  ~ The type of secondary contributory cause. 
  ~ The coroner's signature and address.
  ~ The date of the coroner's signature. 
  ~ The length of residence if at an institution.
  ~ The place where the contributory disease was contracted, if not at the place of death. 
  ~ The burial place and date. 
  ~ The undertaker's name and address. 

ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES FEES      The Illinois State Archives is required by law to receive, from all out-of-state or non-Illinois residents, a $10 fee, prepaid and nonrefundable, along with all research requests before those requests may be honored. That fee will entitle the requester to up to 2 unofficial, non-certified copies of the records requested if those records exist. Research services are provided at no charge to Illinois residents. Illinois Resident Research Policy Non-Illinois Resident Research Fee Policy      The research services of the IRAD system are provided at no charge. Therefore, when requesting information by mail a self-addressed stamped envelope is not necessary. However, there may be a photocopy fee for which you will be billed. Unless an expenditure limit is set in advance by the researcher, authorization to produce photocopies will be requested for billings that exceed $5.00.    IRAD Research Policy

      Researchers wishing an unofficial and uncertified copy of a death certificate may visit the Illinois State Archives Reference Room. To locate a death certificate in the Archives Reference Room, the following information from the database will be needed: decedent’s name; date of death; names of county and, if provided, township where the death took place; and death certificate number.
 
 

Illinois Department of Public Health

      Additional Resources for searching for death records available at The Illinois State Archives include Mortality Schedules and Schedules of handicapped, dependent, and delinquent inhabitants

      These mortality schedules were compiled by assistant marshals of the federal government and submitted to the Secretary of the Interior to aid in the study of health statistics in each state. 

Mortality Schedules for Illinois (7th Federal Census)

      Census schedules were compiled by enumerators and submitted to the Secretary of the Interior to establish an account of the condition of the handicapped, dependent, and delinquent inhabitants of each state.

      Returns for each county include name of county and legal subdivisions (e.g., cities, wards, towns, townships, precincts, districts).  For each subdivision of the county the classes of inhabitants entered on the schedule include insane, idiotic, deaf-mute, blind, homeless children, prison inmates, paupers and indigent. 

Entries for the insane include name, residence, whether institutionalized as a paying patient, form of mental disease (e.g., melancholia, dementia, dipsomania), history of illness (i.e., duration of present attack, total number of attacks, age at which first attack occurred), method of restraint (e.g., locked in room, strait jacket), institutionalization record (i.e., name of hospital or asylum, duration of various commitments, date of discharge), and other ailments (i.e., epileptic, suicidal, or homicidal).    Entries for the idiotic include name, residence, degree of financial dependency (i.e., fully, partially self-supporting), age at which idiocy occurred, cause of idiocy (e.g., teething, paralysis, fits), training school record (i.e., name of school attended, duration of various stays, date of discharge), and other ailments (i.e., insane, blind, epileptic, paralyzed).    Entries for deaf-mutes include name, residence, degree of financial dependency (i.e., fully, partially self-supporting), age at which deafness occurred, cause of deafness (e.g., fever, not known, head disease), degree of condition (i.e., semi-mute, semi-deaf), institutionalization record (i.e., name of institution, duration of various stays, date of discharge), and other ailments (i.e., insane, idiotic, blind).   Entries for the blind include name, residence, degree of financial dependency (i.e., fully, partially self-supporting), age at which blindness occurred, form of blindness (e.g., cataract), cause of blindness (e.g., fever, old age, sunstroke), degree of blindness (i.e., totally, partially), institutionalization record (i.e., name of institution, duration of various stays, date of discharge), and other ailments (i.e., insane, idiotic, deaf-mute).    Entries for homeless children include name, residence, status of child (e.g., orphaned, abandoned, institutionalized by parents, legitimacy of child, separated from mother), previous condition of child (i.e., convicted of crime, respectable origin, rescued from criminal surroundings), and other ailments (i.e., blind, deaf-mute, idiotic).    Entries for prison inmates include name, home residence, place of imprisonment, type of prison confined in (i.e., federal, state, county, city), reason for imprisonment (e.g., awaiting trial, serving out term, held as witness), date of incarceration, nature of crime, type of sentence (i.e., amount of fine, number of days in jail, number of years in penitentiary), and type of hard labor served (e.g., shoe shop, contract labor, work inside or outside prison walls).    Entries for paupers or indigent persons in poorhouses or asylums or private homes include name, residence, means of support (i.e., cost to municipality, county, state, institution), condition of inmate (i.e., intemperate, able-bodied, epileptic, criminal), nature of disability (e.g., old age, dropsy, crippled), date of admission, relationships and numbers of relatives in same institution, and other ailments (i.e., blind, deaf-mute, insane, idiotic). Also included are questionnaires submitted to the chief executive officers of pauper or prison institutions concerning types and numbers of inmates and cost of support. Links to other resources in your search for Illinois Deaths Online Illinois Death Records and Indexes Illinois Death Records Using the Illinois State Death Certificate Index  Cook County Coroner's Inquest Record Index, 1872–1911 Chicago Police Dept. Homicide Record Index, 1870–1930 Social Security Death Index Chicago and Cook Co., Death Records and Indexes Death Records ~ Cyndi's Lists Medical Terms of the Late 18th Century Pape Mortuary Database Danville, IL Graveyards of Chicago, IL Pettett Funeral Home Burials Murphysboro, IL  Ancestors At Rest in Illinois Illinois Genealogy Lookup Volunteers  Missouri Death Certificates, 1910 – 1955  - online seach Please let me know if you find a broken link, or if you have a link to add.  This Page Updated: Wednesday, 12-Mar-2008 14:02:32 EDT