A question about death certificates

[debwallsmith]

Is it possible to request a death certificate if you are NOT a descendant? I have 2 Camp Lawton/Millen POWs with reported causes of death but I would like to confirm them before publishing my article.

 

[BCS1973]

I would think so. Did they die in camp or was it later? I've had no problem getting them for non relatives from the cities where they died.

 

[Library Lady]

Anyone can get a plain paper (not certified) copy of a death certificate in Georgia. However, to get a copy from the state, the death had to occur no earlier than 1919.

Order a Birth or Death Certificate

Order certificates from the Georgia Office of Vital Records for births and deaths that occurred in Georgia from January 1919 to the present or certified copies for legal purposes.

georgia.gov

It's not clear to me whether the county (Jenkins) health department would have earlier records, but here's where to ask.

Jenkins County (Health Department)

dph.georgia.gov

 

[lupaglupa]

Is it possible to request a death certificate if you are NOT a descendant? I have 2 Camp Lawton/Millen POWs with reported causes of death but I would like to confirm them before publishing my article.

This varies by state. Some places have them online. In New York you almost always have to be a descendant. I would check the Family Search wiki for the locality/state where your individuals died and see what the local rules are.

 

[debwallsmith]

This varies by state. Some places have them online. In New York you almost always have to be a descendant. I would check the Family Search wiki for the locality/state where your individuals died and see what the local rules are.

Thanks. One died in New York, the other in Pennsylvania. I will hit Family Search. I also have Ancestry All Access that I can try.

 

[John Winn]

Good advice has been provided.

I will add, though, that in some states issuance of death certificates was hit and miss in the first few years after such were legally required. They are issued by the county where the death occurred and things could be very different in, say, a rural county versus an urban county. I know from personal experience that in Georgia it was some time before all the counties were complying (Georgia has a lot of counties).

Good luck !

 

[BCS1973]

Thanks. One died in New York, the other in Pennsylvania. I will hit Family Search. I also have Ancestry All Access that I can try.

For the one in PA it depends on when he died. If it was after 1906, then the state would have it and there is a decent chance you can find it on ancestry. If it is before that then it is in the locality, city, or county where he died. I've had good luck getting death cert's out of Philly and no one has ever questioned linage for historic records, they just don't take a personal check.

 

[BCS1973]

(Georgia has a lot of counties).

Ain't that the truth, it's like over 150 IIRC and not a single one of them is named Hazzard.

 

[gary]

Sure. I have and it helped me locate a house that was involved in a legal case, Davis v. Jacoby.

 

[Fairfield]

A lot depends on the date of death and the place in NY. Currently I am trying to obtain a certificate from NY for my father and have been presented with a plethora of hoops to jump through. However, Historical Vital Records of New York City (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/) is in the process of digitizing birth, marriage and death certificates before 1949; so far they've done nearly 3/4 of municipal vital records 1908-1949. I've read that an intention may be to cover all of Manhattan from 1867. You might check the death index for New York state (https://www.newyorkdeathindex.com/) but it isn't complete. This site also gives relationship restrictions.

Another online place to check is Reclaim the Records.