Online Massachusetts Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Online Massachusetts Death Indexes

Massachusetts Death Records Index 1970-2003 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Massachusetts Death Index 1841-1910 gives year of death only (copies of death records may be ordered by mail for a fee; also indexes marriages and births)
Massachusetts Death Records 1906-1915 from FamilySearch Labs (free) these are currently being tested so there may be errors, missing data or occasional downtime; will eventually cover 1841-1915; includes scanned images of the death registers and certificates

Massachusetts Obituaries Archive - Recent (you can obtain copies of individual obituaries online for a fee) includes...
- Boston Globe (1980-Current)
- Boston Herald (1997-Current)
- Cambridge Chronicle (1/19/2006-Current)
- Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, MA) (12/8/1998-Current)
- Lowell Sun (9/14/2001-Current)
- Lynn Daily Item (9/23/2005-Current)
- Springfield Republican (6/16/1988-Current)
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette (1/16/1989-Current)
- And more Massachusetts newspapers

Massachusetts Town Death Records Prior to 1850 90,000 entries (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Massachusetts Vital Records 1600-1849 Online (volunteer transcription project - not yet complete - presently has some records for Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket and Worcester Counties)

Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts - Jewish Burials Search has 55,000 entries

Barnstable County: Gravestone Records from the 15 Towns of Cape Cod 1683-1860 (ongoing project)
Barnstable County: Barnstable Patriot Newspaper Archive 1830-1930 covering Cape Cod and the Islands
Berkshire County: Assorted Vital Records (most are pre-1850)
Bristol County: Walter-Blake Graveyard Burials in Taunton, Massachusetts
Hampshire County: Burials in North and West Cemeteries in Amherst, Massachusetts
Middlesex County...
Nantucket County: Nantucket Grave Markers Database Search "not comprehensive"
Plymouth County: Town of Middleborough Vital Records Index 1649-1945 (downloadable PDF files) also has cemetery listings and other records
Plymouth County: Plymouth Colony Archive Project includes wills and probate inventories, 1600s
Suffolk County & Boston...
- Boston, Massachusetts Obituaries Archive Search includes the Boston Globe 1980-present & the Boston Herald 1997-present (you can obtain copies of the obituaries online for a fee)
- Boston Globe Birth & Marriage Announcements and Death Notices 1872-1922 at Ancestry.com (requires payment)
- Boston Globe & Herald Obituary Database 1971-1974 & 1983-2002 indexes full length obituaries only, no death notices
- Boston Jewish Advocate Obituary Database 1905-2007 (from JewishGen/Ancestry; requires free registration)
- City of Boston Historic Burying Grounds Initiative includes transcriptions of historic gravestones 1630-1841
- Suffolk County: Boston Vital Records 1630-1699 at Ancestry.com (requires payment)
Worcester County: Worcester Evening Post, Deaths Index 1897-1898 ongoing project; includes some from 1899

Also Helpful...

Ordering Massachusetts Vital Records

Order Massachusetts Birth, Marriage or Death Certificates Online from Vitalchek from 1911 to 90 days ago; genealogy requests must be submitted in written form (fee required)

Boston Death Records & Index on Microfilm (offline finding aids)...

These items are available from the Family History Library - microfilm rolls can be ordered for viewing at local LDS Family History Centers for a small fee

Online Massachusetts Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Records Guide