Tennessee Vital Records: Difference between revisions

Four cities collected death information and maintained these records on the city level.These records are available at the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Deaths Tennessee State Library and Archives]. The Family History Library collection also includes these records.

[[Image:Hatfield death cert.jpg|thumb|right]]  

Tennessee State Board of Health. Deaths (Enumerator Record Series), 1908–1912 {{FHL|121490|item|disp=FHL film 338140}}.These records are arranged by enumerator record number. An index to these early death records is found at the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/vital/death2.htm Tennessee State Library and Archives ] listing 98,000 deaths or at {{RecordSearch|1681020|Tennessee Deaths and Burials, 1874-1955}}. An index to the deaths is also found in the filmed record collection. Copies of certificates can be orderd from the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Deaths State Library and Archives] or accessed in the Family History Library collection.  

<br>'''1914 to Present''' [[Image:Hatfield Joseph Jr death certificate.JPG|thumb|left]]  

Tennessee began registration of deaths after 1914. Originally, deaths were reported by the local undertaker. If a family buried their dead without the use of an undertaker, often the death was not recorded in state records. Some deaths were unreported as late as 1936. Also check vital records on the county level. Occasionally deaths recorded at the county level were not returned to the state. Certificates more than 50 years old are housed at the [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/mailstat.htm#Deaths Tennessee State Library and Archives].

The Family History Library&nbsp;collection includes&nbsp;death certificates 1914-1950 {{FHL|126512|item|disp=FHL film 1299605 (first of 527 films}} and 1951-1958 {{FHL|1282029|item|disp=FHL film 2372443 (first of 229 films)}}. If you cannot access the free online indexes described in the following paragraph, you may use the yearly indexes included in this film collection. Some years are indexed by [[Soundex|soundex]].Convert the surname to its soundex equivalent; search the index first by surname, then by given name. Note the certificate number. Then, locate the appropriate film for the death year and certificate number.  

Indexed images for Tennessee Death Certificates are available online at no cost at {{RecordSearch|1417505|Tennessee Deaths 1914-1955}}.  Another copy of these records is available for free to Tennessee residents at [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2376 Tennessee, Death Records, 1908–1951] at Ancestry ($).  The Tennesse State Library and Archives has a free online [http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/vital/tndeath.htm statewide index to deaths 1914-1933]. The Shelby County Clerk website has an online statewide [http://register.shelby.tn.us/ death index 1949-2009]. This index includes certificate numbers. Note the certificate number on this index, then locate the appropriate FHL or TSLA (pre-1961)film for the death year and certificate number. If the record you find is after 1960, you will need to contact the [http://health.state.tn.us/vr/index.htm Tennesse Department of Health] for copies.  

You may also want to search both {{RecordSearch|1681020|Tennessee Death Records Index 1874-1955}} and {{RecordSearch|1417505|Tennessee Deaths 1914-1955}}. These are independent indexes and so the information may vary between databases. Always search for variant name spellings if you do not find your expected record. And, remember that women will be probably be found under their married surnames.  

|+ '''Information in Tennessee Death Records'''  

*Meier, Oveda. ''Tennessee Ancestors: The Brave and the Dead, Probate and Death Records of Early Middle Tennessee, 1780–1805''. Salt Lake City, Utah: O. Meier, 1990. (Family History Library {{FHL|594741|item|disp=FHL film 1697372; book 976.8 P2m}}. This source contains abstracts of probate, Bible, and court records, county histories, and military death records for Davidson and Sumner counties. It includes a surname index.