Death certificates in Tennessee were first kept on a statewide basis from
1907-1912. The form used at that time did not provide any significant
genealogical data. In 1912, the death registration law in Tennessee expired,
and in 1913, no registration was done. Beginning in 1914, the state authorized
the use of a new form which provides information about the deceased's
birthplace, birthdate, & parents, among other data.
The purpose of the abstract is not to fully copy the death record, but to
provide the basic information registered for each death. The original copies
of the death certificates are on file in Nashville, and microfilm copies are
available at the Tennessee State Library & Archives. A duplicate set of
microfilm is housed at the Cleveland Public Library-History Branch.
A copy of the death certificate may be obtained by sending $3.00 and a
stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
Cleveland Public Library-History Branch
833 North Ocoee Street
Cleveland, TN. 37311
Please reference the county in which the death occurred, year of death, and
the certificate number.
Key To Using Death Record Abstracts
1. Children under 2 years of age have not been included in these abstracts.
2. Death certificates are listed here in the same order as they appear on the
microfilm copy. They are in rough chronological order.
3. The abstracted information is in the following order:
Last & first name of the deceased
Age of deceased in years
Birthplace of deceased (city, county, or state)
Father's name & place of birth
Mother's name & place of birth
Year of death
Certificate number (use this number when ordering a copy)
4. Where information is missing from an abstract it was missing on the
certificate
5. Spellings have generally been left as they appear on the certificate, even
in cases where we suspected the clerk or doctor made a spelling error.
6. Some certificates were illegible, and that has been indicated with question
marks.
7. The certificates are generally completed by the physician or undertaker.
The name of the "informant" who gave the information may be found on the
original certificate.
8. In a work of this type, errors are inevitable. The Cleveland Library has
made a wonderful effort to provide an accurate and thorough transcription, and
apologizes for any errors or omissions.
Info furnished by: Connie Baumann