Even though some cities began keeping death records by 1900 and Texas said to do it in 1903, many deaths were not reported. A deputy clerk in our local County Clerk's Office told me not to expect to find one until after World War II. That before then, it was sporadic. A cousin and I were in Kaufman County 15 or 20 years ago researching. On our way there, we discussed the problems with death certificates and the filing. While there, in a book totally unrelated to vital records, she found a folded letter from the state health department to the county clerk, dated 1934 (as I recall) concerning the failure of many doctors to file death certificates. The letter told the clerk to stay after physicians to see that they filed them. All four of my paternal great-grandparents died in Texas after 1903 - in 1907, 1912, 1916, and 1920. None had a death certificate. Of the 12 children in my grandparents' family, one had a death certificate on file at the time of birth, between 1905-1923. They did have probate birth certificates filed later. There is a state death records index available on microfilm. There are two early series, from 1903-1940 and 1941-1945. After these dates, the index is by year. Deaths after 1966 are available on Internet. One thing some people do not know is that cities of a certain size kept their own records apart from the county death records. They were sent for recording in the state just like the county records were. Check with the city for information. Denton has city birth and death records beginning in 1900. The problem with the birth records is that most have only the sex of the child, date of birth, father's name and maybe mother's name. Death records had a bit more information. Hope this helps you, Diana