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From the
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Using The Illinois State Death Certificate Index
Death certificates are an excellent
genealogical source and those with Illinois connections have even
easier access to some of these records. This wonderful online database
contains an index to deaths in Illinois from 1916 until 1950. (www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/idphdeathindex.html).
The Illinois Statewide Death Index is hosted at the Illinois State
Archives website. While Illinois counties frequently have records
before 1916, this index only includes those records that were created
after state-mandated registration of deaths began in 1916. Even though
it covers only thirty-four years, the index is an excellent finding
aid.
Certificates for Illinois deaths from 1916-47 can be ordered (at no
charge) from the Illinois State Archives through the website (which
also includes a regular mailing address for those who do not wish to
submit requests online). Requests are limited to two certificates at a
time and online requests are not given priority to mail or telephone
requests. The Illinois State Archives currently has certificates from
1916 through 1947. Certificates after that time can either be ordered
through the Illinois Department of Vital Records or the Recorder's
Office in the county in which the event took place.
This wonderful database went online in mid-May. I had used the
microfiche edition of the index many times over the past ten years.
However, the online index allows searching techniques that are
impractical (if not impossible) with the microfiche index and allows
for data manipulation not possible with microfiche. So I went to
searching.
Before You Search
While it may be tempting to go directly to a database and look only for
the search box -- ignoring those other things called words that are
also on the page -- this can be a big mistake. It is important to read
the sections that explain more about the index and the original records
from which it was created. The index is only a finding aid. And like
any finding aid, it might not be perfect and the site might explain
known limitations of the index. Those who type names into boxes without
reading and learning more about the actual database they are searching
may make incorrect assumptions about the site and the data it contains.
It Is A String-Based Search
The site will return as "hits" any name that starts with the letters
entered in the search box. A search for the last name "Neil" and the
first name "Sam" brought the following results:
NEILER SAMUEL
NEILL SAMANTHA
NEILL SAMUEL
NEILSBERG SAMUEL
NEILSON SAMUEL
This is an effective way to perform multiple searches simultaneously.
It is necessary to enter at least two characters in the last name box.
The string-based search affords the researcher some flexibility when
looking for oddball variant spellings. It may be necessary, however, to
conduct multiple searches to effectively search for the desired entry.
While searching for my Trautvetter family, I could enter "Tr" in the
last name box. I may get too many hits. On a more practical level, I
can choose to perform these separate searches:
Traut
Trout
Trant
Trot
If I were to choose the county from the drop down list then the results
of all surnames beginning with "tr" may not be so onerous.
Additionally for this last name, I also searched:
Fraut
Frout
Frant
Frot
(Capital "T" and a capital "F" are sometimes misread.)
Spellings Can Be Incorrect
This index is like any other . . . there are spelling variants and
errors. Like other indexes, this one was created by humans from hand-
written records. Some original certificates are difficult to read. Few
early certificates were typed and few of those who completed the
certificates by hand used block printing (which is usually easier to
read). The script rendition of the name may be easily interpreted in
several different (and reasonable) ways. Handwriting problems are
compounded by spelling variants based upon phonics, and in some cases,
the inability of the deceased's family to speak English. Consider all
reasonable variants.
O, MC, DE
To space or not to space? That is the question. How one answers the
question will determine how many results are located.
I was looking for members of the Demare/Desmarais family who lived in
the Chicago, Illinois, area. Two variants of this name in Illinois are
Demar(e) and DeMar(e). Searching for DeMar (no space) and De Mar (with
a space between the "e" and the "M") requires two separate searches and
resulted in different matches. Searches for Oneill, O Neill (with the
space), and O'Neill (with the apostrophe) also brought about different
results. Readers with Mc or Mac surnames may also wish to consider
possible data entry variations:
McSurname
Mc Surname (with a space)
MacSurname
Mac Surname (with a space)
Why Can't They Leave Out Cook County?
I have nothing against Cook County or Chicago. I know a lot of great
people who live there, but it does present an occasional problem. While
I like being able to search one county at a time, there is one search
option I would like: to be able to search all counties except Cook.
There are cases where I know Cook County is not an option but the vast
majority of my results are for deaths in Cook County.
Copy/Paste Results To Another Program
The data from the results page can be copied and pasted into other
Windows applications and used in more sophisticated ways. I copied the
data into an Excel spreadsheet and used the sorting and searching
features of that program to perform additional analyses not possible
with the website. Other database programs will allow for more
sophisticated types of analysis. This technique was particularly
helpful in "removing" the Cook County entries from some searches.
This approach was also helpful to integrate all my Demar (and variants)
into one spreadsheet and then sort all the results in a variety of ways
based upon my specific needs. Sorting all the results by first name
instead of by last name was especially helpful in this case (since I
was looking for a specific first name). One could also sort the results
by county or any other field. The results, when given directly from the
site, are sorted by surname and then by first name. In some cases this
is sufficient for the researcher's needs. In other cases, it is not. In
a future column, we'll discuss copying and pasting results in more
detail.
What Do These Certificates Contain?
Typically these records include:
--- Name of deceased
--- Date and place of death
--- Place of residence of deceased
--- Age
--- Date and place of birth
--- Parents' names (mother's maiden) and places of birth
--- Informant
--- Date and place of burial
--- Case of death
--- Undertaker
Just because the certificate has the space for a piece of information
does not mean the information will be on the certificate. Unknown is a
VERY popular word on some of these records! Information on the
deceased's date and place of birth and parents may be incorrect as
well. The chance of this type of error is increased if the informant
was not really acquainted with the deceased. Information on places of
birth, names of parents, and places of birth should be cross-
referenced with other sources and used as a clue to additional records.
A death certificate is usually not a primary source for information on
the birth and the names of parents.
Next week: Michael
gets some certificates and discusses what he did and did not find.
Michael John Neill, is the Course I Coordinator at the
Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held annually in
Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the faculty of Carl Sandburg
College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for the
FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois State
Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a
wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to
several genealogical publications, including Ancestry and
Genealogical Computing. You can e-mail him at: mailto:mneill@asc.csc.cc.il.us
or visit his website at: www.rootdig.com/,
but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research.
Copyright 2002, MyFamily.com.
Used by the author on his website with permission.