Monica, A death certificate is usually issued in the county the death occurred. I visited the Fayette County Courthouse a couple of weeks ago and the County Clerk Office gave me this paper: **************************************************************** FAYETTE COUNTY VITAL AND LAND RECORDS INFORMATION Birth and death records: Our birth and death records begin in 1877, and are"few and far between" before 1916, when it became a law for the local register (then the township/municipality clerk to record the birth and death certificates occurring in their entity with the county clerk of their county and the State of Illinois Department of Health ( Vital Records division) in Springfield, Illinois. Marriage records: Fayette County's marriage records begin in 1821. From 1821 to 1878 these records only show the groom's name and bride's name, date of marriage and who performed the marriage. beginning in 1878 the marriage record will give more information. . . ages at time of marriage, birth places, names of parents, etc. The charge for each search of EACH of the above vital records in the county clerk's office is $5.00 and if the record is found, we will send you a certified copy of same. We do need an approximate date of the birth, death or marriage record requested. The search we make will cover a 20 year period. . . 10 years before the approximate date and 10 years after. We are not staffed to do genealogical research and especially around election time (in the spring and in the fall of each year), we do not have the time to do same. We get to the requests as soon as possible. Fayette County does have an excellent and active Genealogical Society and some of the members will do research of "Family trees". You may contact them at the following address: Fayette County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 177 Vandalia, IL 62471 Land Records: Fayette County's land records begin I 1821 and are indexed by Grantor (Seller) and Grantee (Buyer). We DO NOT HAVE a tract index. Again we will need an approximate date for a 20 year search. The charge for each search of land records is $5.00 and you will receive a copy of deed or land transaction as requested. Probate Records: Wills, estate records, etc. begin in 1834 and are located in the Office of the Circuit Clerk . . .the Address is: Marsha Wodtka Circuit Clerk- Fayette County 221 S. Seventh St. Vandalia, IL 62471 Census Records: Fayette county does NOT have Census Records. Thank you, Isabelle B. Brandt County Clerk and Recorder-Fayette County P.O. Box 401 Vandalia, IL 62471 **************************************************************** Hope this helps you. Good luck in your search, To obtain Fayette County Vital records especially vital records before 1916, write and mail check to: Isabelle B. Brandt County Clerk and Recorder-Fayette County P.O. Box 401 Vandalia, IL 62471 Penny Lewis@csuol.com Fayette County, IL Co-Coordinator Fayette County, IL Gen Web Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilfayett/ilfayette.htm The Family of Todd & Penny Lewis http://www.uftree.com/UFT/WebPages/PennyLewis/GENWEB3/index.htm Lilly Family of Sussex County, Virginia http://www.uftree.com/UFT/WebPages/PennyLewis/LILLYFA3/index.htm searching for: **************************************************************************** BAILEY, BARTIMUS, BARTHELEMES, BOEN, CRUM, ENGLAND, FINLEY, GRANFIELD, HOLT, (W)HARTON, LEWIS, LILLY, MELSON, METHAM, PATTERSON, RADCLIFF, SMITH, STOKES, WALKER, WISDOM **************************************************************************** ** ----- Original Message ----- From: <JMK9CATS2@aol.com> To: <ILFAYETT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 17, 2000 9:30 AM Subject: [ILFAYETT-L] Death Certificate Help, please > Hi, > I have a few questions for those of you familiar with obtaining a copy > of a death certificate in the Fayette area. I have 2 ancestors for whom I > would like to obtain death certificates. The first died 5 Jun 1905 while > visiting friends in Bangor, California. He actually lived in Fayette, > Illinois with his daughter's family, and was buried in the McInturff > Cemetery, which I believe is in Fayette County. There is an obituary in the > Vandalia papers. Would he have a death certificate? If so, would it be > issued in IL or CA? > The other ancestor died sometime between June of 1905 and the 1910 > census. In 1900 he was living in Fayette with his daughter and her family. > Did Fayette issue death certificates in this time period? Where would I > write to obtain a death certificate of his? What information would it > contain? > I appreciate any information and suggestions. > > Thanks, > Monica > >