Online Massachusetts Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Online Massachusetts Death Records Indexes

Death Indexes and Vital Records Indexes at Ancestry (these require payment)...
- Massachusetts Death Records Index, 1970-2003
- Massachusetts Death Records Index, 1901-1980 gives year of death, but not the date
- Massachusetts Town Vital Records Collections, 1620-1988 includes various town birth, marriage, and death records; coverage varies by town
- Massachusetts Death Records, 1841-1915 includes digitized images of the death records

Massachusetts Death Records and Vital Records at FamilySearch (free with registration) includes...
- Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924 (includes scanned images of the death registers and certificates)
- Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1920 (includes births, marriages and deaths, 1916-1920, and state amendments to vital records, 1841-1920; not yet complete)
- Massachusetts Town Deaths Index, ca. 1640-1961; for 11 counties; coverage varies
- Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001; coverage varies by town; indexing is not yet complete
- Massachusetts Delayed and Corrected Vital Records, 1753-1900

Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924 from FamilySearch; includes scanned images of the death registers and certificates
Massachusetts Death Certificates, 1916 and 1917 from the Massachusetts Archives Digital Repository's Registers of Vital Records Series (currently available for the year 1916 and 1917; ongoing project)
Massachusetts Death Index 1841-1910 from the Massachusetts Archives; gives year of death only (plus volume and page number); copies of death records may be ordered by mail for a fee; also has indexes for marriages and births

Massachusetts Historic Probate Records Online

Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts - Jewish Burials Search has over 50,000 entries

Massachusetts Death Records Indexes, Obituaries and Cemeteries by County

Barnstable County...
- Barnstable County: Gravestone Records from the 15 Towns of Cape Cod, 1683-1860 (ongoing project)
- Barnstable County: Barnstable Patriot and Register Digital Newspaper Archive covering Cape Cod and the Islands; from the Sturgis Library
- Barnstable County: Falmouth Genealogical Society: Falmouth Enterprise Obituaries Index, 1960-2021 also has a cemetery transcription project
- Barnstable County: Burials in Cataumet and Pocasset Cemeteries (Bourne, Massachusetts)
- Barnstable County: List of Headstones in Old Town Burying Grounds (Sandwich, Massachusetts)
- Barnstable County: Cedarville Cemetery - List of Markers
Berkshire County Probate Guide and Index, 1761-1900
Berkshire County: Assorted Vital Records (most are pre-1850)
Boston: see the Suffolk County section below
Bristol County...
- Bristol County: Walter-Blake Graveyard Burials in Taunton, Massachusetts
- Bristol County: Fall River Herald News Obituary Index, 1949-2010 some years missing; Excel files
- Bristol County: Swansea Cemeteries
Dukes County History and Genealogy for the Town of Tisbury and the Island of Martha's Vineyard includes some cemetery burials, marriage indexes and death indexes
Dukes County: Oak Grove Cemetery Burials in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts (PDF)
Essex County...
- Essex, Massachusetts Probate Records Index, 1638-1840 (at Ancestry/requires payment)
- Essex County: City of Amesbury Cemeteries includes a database for burials at Union Cemetery and Mt. Prospect Cemetery
- Essex County: Spring Grove Cemetery Burials (Andover, MA)
- Essex County: City of Gloucester Vital Records Indexes (death index covers 1838-1883)
- Essex County: Hamilton Cemetery Burial Records Search
- Essex County: Old Burial Hill Gravestone Index in Marblehead, Massachusetts
- Essex County: Town of North Andover Old Burial Ground Database
Franklin County News Archive 1870-Sept 1875 includes some obituaries
Franklin County Probate Guide and Index 1812-1925
Hampden County: Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887 from FamilySearch
Hampden County: Longmeadow Cemetery Records
Hampshire County: Burials in North and West Cemeteries in Amherst, Massachusetts
Middlesex County...
- Middlesex County: Billerica Cemeteries some with online transcriptions
- Middlesex County: Mount Auburn Cemetery Burials Search (Cambridge, MA) look for the "Explore" tab when you get there
- Middlesex County: Chelmsford Newspapers Obituary Search and Cemetery Archive The Cemetery Archive is for Fairview, Forefathers, Heart Pond, Pine Ridge, and Riverside Cemeteries.
- Middlesex County: Gravemarker Data from the South (Main Street) Burying Ground and the Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Mass
- Middlesex County: Lincoln Public Library Obituary Database
- Middlesex County: Cemeteries of Littleton, Massachusetts
- Middlesex County: Lowell Vital Records Indexes (Birth, Marriage, Death) from Local Newspapers
- Middlesex County: Burials of St. Peter's Cemetery 1900-1913 (Lowell) also has Civil War Veterans Buried in Lowell Cemetery, and other items
- Middlesex County: Vital Records for the Town of Natick 1874-1913
- Middlesex County: City of Newton Genealogy Indexes includes Death Indexes, 1635-1925; PDF files
- Middlesex County: Newton Cemetery Burial Search (Newton Centre, Massachusetts)
- Middlesex County: Wakefield Death Record Search 1850-2014 from the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library (also has a link for pre-1850 deaths)
- Waltham...
  - Middlesex County: Deaths in Waltham from City Directories, 1912-1960
  - Vital Statistics Index from the Waltham News Tribune, 1995-2016
  - Middlesex County: City of Waltham Cemetery Records Search for Mount Feake and Grove Hill Cemeteries
- Middlesex County: Mount Auburn Catholic Cemetery (Sand Banks Cemetery) Burials and Veterans Graves Watertown, Massachusetts; Excel files; also has Arlington Street Burying Ground Burials (in the genealogy section)
- Middlesex County: Arlington Cemetery Burials (Watertown)
- Middlesex County Cemetery Projects
Nantucket County...
- Nantucket County: Nantucket Cemeteries Project from the Nantucket Historical Association
- Nantucket County: Lewis Funeral Home Records PDF scans from the Nantucket Historical Association
- Nantucket County: Prospect Hill Cemetery Interment Index, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Norfolk County...
- Norfolk County: Knollwood Memorial Park Burial Search (Canton, Massachusetts)
- Norfolk County: Village Cemetery and Brookdale Cemetery Burials in Dedham, Massachusetts
- Norfolk County: Pondville Cemetery Burials in Norfolk, Massachusetts
- Norfolk County: Sharon Memorial Park Burial Search Jewish Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts
- Norfolk County: Weymouth Town Vital Records to the Year 1850 includes births, marriages and deaths
Plymouth County...
- Plymouth County: Town of Middleborough Vital Records Index 1649-1945 (downloadable PDF files) also has a Middleborough Gazette newspaper index
- Plymouth County: Plymouth Colony Archive Project includes wills and probate inventories, 1600s
- Plymouth County: Cemetery Records from the Town of Carver
- Plymouth County: Town of Plymouth Cemetery Burial Record Search
Suffolk County and Boston...
- Boston Public Library Obituary Database indexes obituaries in the Boston Evening Transcript, Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald/Herald American from 1932-1941 and 1953-2010.
- Boston Catholic Cemetery Association's Online Burial Search for Mt. Calvary, New Calvary, Mt. Benedict, and St. Mary's Cemeteries
- Boston Jewish Advocate Obituary Database, 1905-2007 from JewishGen/Ancestry; requires free registration
- St. Michael Cemetery Burials (Boston)
- City of Boston Historic Burying Grounds Initiative includes transcriptions of historic gravestones, 1630-1841
- Suffolk County: Holyhood Cemetery Association Burial Search for Holyhood Cemetery in Chestnut Hill and St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury
Worcester County...
- Worcester City Death Certificates Search, 1976-present copies of the death certificates can be ordered for a fee; also has indexes for birth and marriage records
- Worcester County: Worcester Evening Post, Deaths Index, 1897-1898 includes some from 1899
- Worcester County: Town of Charlton Cemeteries
- Worcester County: Inscriptions from the West Street Cemetery in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (1798-1879) PDF
- Worcester County: Evergreen Cemetery Burials (Leominster, Massachusetts) Excel file
- Worcester County Memorial Park Cemetery Burials (Paxton, MA)
- Worcester County: Town of Rutland Death Records to the end of the year 1849 also includes birth and marriage records
- Worcester County: Southborough Rural Cemetery Burials, and Southborough Vital Records, 1727-1849

Also Helpful...

Finding Boston Passenger Lists and Records, 1820-1943
Massachusetts Genealogy Records at Ancestry (requires payment)
Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters Mortuary Records Index Irish fraternal life insurance society; FamilySearch has digitized copies of the records online at: Massachusetts, Forester Mortuary Records, 1880-1935
Massachusetts Vital Records, 1600-1849 Online (ongoing volunteer transcription project - has some records for Berkshire, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk and Worcester Counties)
Early Massachusetts Vital Records Prior to 1850 at Google Books

Ordering Massachusetts Vital Records

Where to Write for Vital Records - Massachusetts (fees and restrictions may apply)

Online Massachusetts Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Guide for Finding Death Records, Obituaries & Cemetery Burials