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Online Chicago & Cook County, Illinois Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Guide for Finding Death Certificates, Obituaries & Other Records

Illinois Full State Death Indexes

Illinois Death Index 1916-1950
Illinois Death Index Before 1916 (partial) includes a Cook County death index for 1871-1915

Obituaries & Death Notices in Chicago & Cook County Newspapers

Chicago & Illinois Newspapers Obituaries Archive (you can obtain copies of individual obituaries online for a fee) includes...
- Chicago Sun-Times (1986-Current)
- Chicago Tribune (1985-Current)
- several local papers for other Cook County cities (various years)

Chicago Tribune Obituaries, and Birth & Marriage Announcements 1850-1985 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
also includes the Chicago Defender, 1921-1975

Chicago Sun-Times Obituaries (recent)
Chicago Sun-Times Obituaries Index 1988-1995 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Chicago Tribune Obituaries (recent)
Chicago Tribune Obituary Index 1988-1997 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Chicago Tribune 1870-1877 at Footnote includes searchable digitized newspaper images - searches are free, requires payment to view the images (includes coverage of the Chicago fire of 1871)
Vital Records Index from Chicago Newspapers 1833-1848 & 1849-1871 ongoing project
Chicago Jewish Obituary Database 1994-1998 from Jewishgen.org
Polish Genealogical Society of America's Chicago Death Notices for 1890-1971 from Chicago's Polish language newspaper
Archdiocese of Chicago: Obituaries of Catholic Priests - Recent

Cook County: Barrington Courier-Review Deaths 1890-2004 (also has births & marriages)
Cook County: Lemont Public Library Obituary Database
Cook County: Morton Grove Obituaries Index mid 1970s-present
Cook County: Oak Lawn - Obituaries from Local Oak Lawn Newspapers 1985-present
Cook County: Skokie Obituary Index 1963-present
Cook County: Western Springs Newspaper Obituary Index 2003-present
Cook County: Wilmette Newspaper Index (includes obituaries & death notices 1923-1928 and 1977-2007)

Chicago & Cook County Death Indexes

Homicide in Chicago Database 1870-1930 11,000 entries with more details than the database listed next
Chicago Police Department Homicide Record Index 1870-1930
Cook County Coroner's Inquest Record Index 1872-1911
Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Probate Case Search 1980s-present
Cook County: Wilmette Vital Records Indexes includes a Wilmette Death Certificate Index 1913-Oct. 1953
Also Available (offline): Cook County Death Records Index 1871-1916 on Microfiche (see online version listed above); and Indexes to Deaths in the City of Chicago 1871-1933 on Microfilm (believed to be for burial permits) - these can be ordered for viewing at many local LDS Family History Centers

General Death Indexes that include Cook County & Illinois

Social Security Death Index (circa 1962 to present)
Obituary Daily Times (country wide obituary index - mostly recent)

Cook County Cemeteries - Information

Cook County Cemeteries list of cemeteries in Cook County, many with contact info
Catholic Cemeteries - Archdiocese of Chicago information on obtaining burial information (no online index)
Barrington Area Cemeteries with transcriptions
Bohemian National Cemetery Database 1888-1892 (in Chicago; database is temporarily offline)
Wunders Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois - Burials Index (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription) Wunders is a German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery

Ordering Chicago and Illinois Vital Records

Order Illinois Birth or Death Certificates Online from Vitalchek 1916-present (fees and restrictions apply)

Also See...

Illinois Genealogy Databases at Ancestry (requires payment) includes census records, WWI draft cards, vital records, plus historical newspapers & city directories
Online Illinois Naturalization Records & Indexes

Helpful Book...

Finding Your Chicago Ancestors: A Beginners Guide to Family History in the City and Cook County by Grace Dumelle (Paperback) - click on the title for ordering information from Amazon.com

Online Illinois Death Indexes & Records

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Death Records Main Page | Genealogy Resources | Social Security Death Index

© 2004-2008 Joe Beine
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