Update on Illinois Death Records!

In a highly anticipated announcement, the Illinois State Archives has now made available to family historians a searchable database of Illinois Death Certificates from 1951 to 1971.

Go to https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/idphdeathindex5171.html

Though not yet fully completed, this new index adds to other very valuable state vital records indexes already available including:

Illinois Statewide Death Index Pre-1916 – An Ongoing Project of the Illinois State Archives

Illinois Statewide Death Index 1916 – 1950 – An index created by the Illinois Dept. of Health

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1900 – An Ongoing Project of the Illinois State Archives and the Illinois State Genealogical Society

In the 1951 – 1971 index, you will find information on Name, Sex/Race, Age at Death, Certificate Number, Date of Death, City and County where the certificate was filed, and the Date Certificate was filed.

Remember ALL of these are just indexes to the records. They are NOT the actual records. You may use this information to obtain a copy of the actual record from the County Clerk in the County where the Certificate was filed. The death certificates typically contain MUCH more information than is shown in the index.

Death certificates from 1916 to 1947 can also be ordered for $10 from the Illinois State Genealogical Society at this link: https://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=122.  For members of the society, the rate is only $6.

If you are interested in Pope County, Illinois, a copy of my hardbound book Pope County, Illinois Death Records, 1877 – 1915, With Annotations, has information from all 2,297 pre-1916 Illinois death certificates. It can be purchased by clicking on the Services tab at the top of the screen or mailing a check for $65 to Backstory Bloodhound, LLC, P.O. Box 133, Metropolis, IL 62960.

Backstory Bloodhound, LLC makes every effort to stay up-to-date on access to new records in the region. Check out the Backstory Blog regularly for updates.