The mortality index covered only the year preceding the census. ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom Walters <Tom.Walters@grc.nasa.gov> To: <PASUSQUE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 11:37 AM Subject: Re: Information on Death Cert > At 10:00 PM 06/09/2000 -0700, you wrote: > > >______________________________X-Message: #1 > >Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 12:16:34 -0700 > >From: "Carol C. Jacobs" <cc11ab@epix.net> > > > > > >Can anyone tell me when deaths started being recorded? I am trying to > >find out who the parents of two people might be. They both died in the > >mid and late 1800's. How do I go about requesting these if they do > >exist? Thanks for any advice on this subject. > >Carol > > I believe Pennsylvania started keeping death certificates from 1906 > on. Some individual county archives have them for a few years earlier > (including Susquehanna, I think), but it only amounts to about 10 years or > so. I have seen a "Mortality Index" for 1850 - 1880, but it only includes > a limited amount of information, and is not totally inclusive for those > years. The IGI (online) purports to have death information, but I have > been able to find precious little of it. > > About the best source that I have found for the period that you mentioned > is grave markers and tombstones. > > Perhaps, someone else can elaborate. > > Tom Walters > > >