> Even though OK started collecting death certificates in 1917, there was no > penalty for not filing one until 1935. That is why compliance was so > sketchy until after 1935. Same thing with birth certificates. > > Gene Also, At least during the 1st decades of the 20th century, not everyone in OK had funeral home funerals, died in a hospital or even had a Dr. in attendance at death, or notified the authorities of the death--esp. in rural areas. A personal example: my maternal GGF died at home in rural Choctaw Co. in 1911. They were too poor to call a Dr. and his son made small head and footstones of concrete. He was buried in a nearby Indian cemetery down in the woods that's now in someone's pasture. His wife, too, died at home in 1917, during very bad weather. Again, no money for a Dr., not even for a marker this time, and weather was too bad for much of a service--certainly no obituaries for either of them. Lisa Stark --------------------------------------------- This message was sent using BrightNet MailMan. http://www.Brightok.net/mailman/