BISMARCK – Family researchers in North Dakota and beyond are now able to also access the state’s death index online, thanks to the worldwide reach of the Internet. Prior to its online launch earlier this month, the state’s death index was only available at the State Archives and Historical Research Library (SAHRL) at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck.
The index supplies the individual’s full name, date of birth (if known), date of death, county of residence and county of death. It supplements the publication, North Dakota Necrology, 1920-1926, and the obituary and death notices found in the newspaper abstract file in the SAHRL at the North Dakota Heritage Center.
The time period covered in the death index is January 1, 1881 through October 31, 2005, with monthly updates. The website is maintained by the North Dakota Department of Health’s Division of Vital Statistics. Many early deaths were not recorded, and there are very few deaths listed in the index prior to 1900.
The death index website’s address is https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/doh/certificates/deathCertSearch.htm . The website is the result of an 18-month project by a committee composed of staff from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, the North Dakota State Genealogical Society (NDSGS) and the North Dakota Department of Health’s Division of Vital Statistics.
The website was made possible by funding and support provided by the NDSGS, which received an initial grant of $1000 from the North Dakota Community Foundation. The NDSGS was then able to raise more than $2000 in matching funds/donations from other genealogical societies and genealogists from North Dakota and other states. Additional information about the NDSGS is available by visiting their website at www.rootsweb.com/~ndsgs/index.html.
For more information about the State Historical Society of North Dakota, visit its website at www.nd.gov/hist or call the North Dakota Heritage Center at (701) 328-2666.
It depends on the time period. What time period are you interested in?