Civil registration of deaths in Oregon did not begin until 1903. Registrations of death by the city of Portland began in 1881. A listing of early death records in the city can be found on the Oregon State Archives website.

A state-wide index of deaths for Oregon is available on Ancestry's website. This site is a subscription service, and is not available for free.

Microfilm copies of the Oregon Death Index can be found in a number of repositories, including:

Deaths reported in early Oregon Newspapers

Deaths from the Oregon Death Index