Death

Butler County's official death records begin in 1867 and end in December of 1908, when the health departments took over the recording of all deaths in the State of Ohio. As with births, please keep in mind that many of these early deaths were never reported and are not on record.

In addition to these official records, the Archives has a list of deaths for the period of 1856 through 1857 that were compiled by the Butler County tax assessors.

If there is an estate record, it will usually contain either the exact date of death - or a very close approximation.

In addition to the official death records listed above, the Archives has the following reports of death, which were compiled by census takers:

June 1, 1849 through May 31, 1850
June 1, 1859 through May 31, 1860

Death records are on open shelves accessible to the researcher. Please ask a staff member or volunteer researcher to assist you in copying these records as the books are large, heavy, and the records often span two pages.

Ohio death records for the period of December 20, 1908 to December 31, 1953 are at the Ohio Historical Society (OHS).

Death records for 1954 to the present are at the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Ohio Department of health. They are also usually available from the health department for the jurisdiction where the death was reported.

You may write OHS for a form to order death records for 1908-1953 by mail. The address is: Ohio Historical Society, 1982 Velma Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2497.

Information about these records, and forms for ordering them, are both available on their web site: http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/archlib/index.html

The OHS telephone number is (614) 297-2510 and the fax number is (614) 297-2546. Microfilms of these death records are available for personal inspection at the OHS Archives Library. Visit their web site or telephone them for current operating hours.

Microfilm copies of both the index and the certificates (December 20, 1908-December 31 1944) are also available at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202. They are not listed in the catalogue. Ask for them at the Information Desk in the History/Genealogy Dept.