Greetings list, I just had a question, if anyone is familiar with the County Clerk's office and how their response is through the mail to requests for death certificates? I recently looked up on the Illinois Death Index and found who I believed was my ggg-grandmother listed. Because the Illinois State Archives is so swamped with requests, I decided to go directly to St. Clair County with my request. Even though I gave them the exact information from the index, they state that it is not in their county. I suppose the index could be incorrect, though I know they lived in St. Clair Co., so I doubt that. Is the Illinois State Archives now the only place with the records that are posted online? I have printed out the page from the website and have returned it with another request, but I was hoping for a little input. Thanks. KellyGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

Yes, the ISA is the only one online with the Illinois deaths originally reported to the Illinois Dept of Health 1916 - c1950 There may be errors in the index - or any index where we rely on information typed into a database/web page/publication. Like you, I would also send the St. Clair County clerk's office a copy of the page and ask them to kindly double check for the certificate and mention you already paid the fee whenever;[ providing the database said the certificate was filed in St Clair. ] I would also ask that if the record is not found because the person did not die in St. Clair and the certificate is filed elsewhere, that they contact the Ill Dept of Health to get the record corrected. I would presume this would happen if the village was in a neighboring county and really filed there. Then, once confirmed, I would also contact the ISA so that they could correct the information online --they would need a copy of the certificate to do so. Diane