Alabama, Deaths, 1908-1974

What is in This Collection?

This collection consists of death certificates from the state of Alabama for the years 1908 to 1974. Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates. The information pertaining to death is reliable; including cause of death, name of the attending physician or medical professional, name and address of the funeral home used, and the exact date and place of burial. Other information is dependent upon the reliability of the informant.

The trend of keeping state-wide death records throughout the United States expanded in the early 20th century after Congress passed a resolution in 1901 asking each state to gather information about births and deaths on a statewide basis. Because Congress did not fund it, it took several more years before it happened in every state. Death certificates were usually filled out by a mortician or medical professional. They filled in the information concerning the death and then obtained personal information on the deceased from an informant, usually a relative. Then, they sent the information to the county, who sent a copy to the state.

The state of Alabama has recorded deaths from 1 January 1908. Be aware that although recording of deaths was mandatory, the state did not achieve 90 percent compliance of death registration until 1925.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Records

Index

Collection Content

Sample Image

• 

  1945 Death Certificate

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see Alabama, Deaths - Inventory