Death Records

No death records were maintained by the county prior to 1867.

1867 Through 19 December 1908

County level death records were maintained by the Warren County Probate Court and can found found in Registers located in the Edna L. Bowyer Warren County Ohio Record Center & Archives. I believe that the Probate Court Registers were generated from information submitted by the various Township Assessors.

December 20, 1908 to Date

Starting December 20, 1908, official state level death certificate were required. These were issued by the Warren County Health Department with a copy sent to The Division of Vital Statistics of the Ohio Department of Health.

The Records from 20 Dec 1908 through 31 Dec 1952 were archived at the Ohio Historical Society. The Ohio Heath Department continues to hold the records from 1 Jan 1953 to the present.

Obtaining Copies of Death Certificates

As of 1 Jul 2003, the state and county health departments stopped providing uncertified copies of death certificates.

• Certified copies from 1 Jan 1953 to date can be ordered from the Ohio Department of Health for $15 [$25 for heirloom copies] using their on-line form
• Certified copies from 20 Dec 1908 to date can be obtained from the Warren County Health Department. I believe they charge $16.
• Uncertified copies are still available from the Ohio Historical Society for records from 20 Dec 1908 to 31 Dec 1952 using their on-line form. As of 31 Aug 2003 their website indicates the fee is $1. With the budget crises currently faced by the Society, I suspect that the price might change. If you visit the Society in Columbus, you can view [and print] a copy of the certificates yourself in their microfilm room. Unfortunately, the Ohio Historical Society Archives/Library hours were significantly reduced starting 1 August 2003.

Researching Death Records

• The Death Registers from 1867 to 1908 are available for public inspection at the Edna L. Bowyer Warren County Ohio Record Center & Archives. Copies are $0.20 each [after the 1st five]
• The Ohio Department of Health Search Policy indicates that they will search a ten year period for a given surname for $3.
• The Ohio Historical Society Research Policy indicates that they will search for one name in two of their indexes (which you specify) for $20.

  Publications

Transcriptions of Death Records have been completed by the Warren County Genealogical Society [WCGS] and Cardinal Research [CARD]. All of these publications can be purchased from the Warren County Genealogical Society. The Genealogical Society has also put the indexes to a number of these publications on line.

PUBLICATION	PUBLISHER	ON LINE INDEX
Deaths 1850 &1860 Mortality Indexes	CARD	1850 & 1860
Death Book #1, 1867-1881	CARD	Index
Death Book #2, 1881-1904	CARD	Index
Death Book #3, 1905-1908	CARD	Index
Warren County Assessors Records Book 1 - Deaths 1886-1907	WCGS	Index
Warren County Death Records, 1909 - 1915	WCGS	Index
Warren County Death Records, 1916 - 1920	WCGS	Index
Warren County Death Records, 1921 - 1925	WCGS	Index
Warren County Death Records, 1926-1930	WCGS	Index
Miami Valley, Ohio Deaths, 1930 - 1977, Gathered by Ina Dearth	WCGS
Oswald Funeral Home Records, Lebanon, Ohio Recorded by Chester Dunn, Vol 1. 1867-1890	WCGS
Oswald Funeral Home Records, Lebanon, Ohio Recorded by Chester Dunn, Vol 2. 1890-1907	WCGS

Other On-Line Indexes

• The Ohio Historical Society provides a searchable database of Ohio Death Certificates 1913 to 1937. You can request a copy for $1.
  
• Ancestry.com [paid site] subscribers can access the Ohio Deaths 1958 - 2000. This database, with over 3.1 million names, lists those who passed away between 1958 and 2000 in the state of Ohio. In addition to providing the name of the deceased the index also provides information such as place of residence, location at time of death, death date, age at time of death, birth date, race, educational level, and father's name. Note: Each entry may not provide ALL of this information. Also, deaths occuring in 1978 are currently missing from this index.
  
• Free access to the so called "Social Security Death Index" is on line at a number of place on the interenet to include Ancestery.com, Family Search, Family Tree Maker, New England Historical Genealogical Society, Rootsweb, and others.

Transcriptions

• "Joy and Sorrow; The Births and Deaths of Warren County during the past year [by township]" f rom the 20 Jun 1895 Western Star
• "Births and Deaths for the Past Year [by township]" f rom the 20 Jun 1901 Western Star

We would be happy to add your images or transcriptions of Death Certificates to the following list.
You can paste this FORM into an email to transcibe the data or email in your own format if you already have it typed up.

NOTICE: All documents and electronic images placed on the Warren County OHGenWeb site remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. These documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or their legal representative, and contact the listed Warren County OHGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent.

This page created 31 August 2003 and last updated 2 October, 2004
© 2003-2004  Arne H Trelvik  All rights reserved