Family Tutor: Birth/Death Records, Death Register

1.	Name of the deceased
2.	Place of death
3.	Date of death
4.	Place and date of birth
5.	Parent's information
6.	Date of burial and cemetery
7.	Registrar

Death Register Entry
Manchester, New Hampshire, 1922

Death Registers

Before the advent of modern birth certificates, town and county clerks who were required to record deaths did so in a register.

Birth registers began appearing in courthouses in the mid-1850's.

Registers like this one included more detailed information about the deceased than earlier records.

The type and amount of information recorded in death registers varied from place to place. At a minimum a death register entry will give the name of the deceased, date and place of death, cause of death, and the name of the person making the record.

Over time, the quantity and quality of information recorded in death registers incrased to the point that they became extremely valuable to family researchers.

Keep in mind that death records are only as accurate as the knowledge of the person providing the information! Many informants did not know the deceased well enough to give accurate details.

Overall, only a few states required death registration before it was mandated by the federal government in the early 1900's. In most places where death registers were compiled, the town or county clerk was responsible for making the entries.

Deaths also were recorded by churches. See the religious records section of Family Tutor for more information about death registers.

The LDS Family History Library's extensive collection of death registers can be used at the Main Library and its local Family History Centers. The genealogy collections of private, local, state, and university libraries throughout the country also may include death registers from selected areas.