Online Chicago & Cook County, Illinois Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Guide for Finding Indexes for Death Certificates, Obituaries & Other Records

Cook County and Chicago Death Records Indexes

Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988 at Ancestry (requires subscription fee) 2.7 million entries
Cook County Death Index, 1871-1998 at FamilySearch (free with registration; 1910-1915 is missing for Cook County outside of Chicago)

Indexes to Deaths in the City of Chicago During the Years 1871 to 1933 : Showing Name, Address and Date of Death digitized microfilm from FamilySearch; you must be at a Family History Center or FamilySearch affiliate library to view these records.

Currently Offline: Historical Cook County Vital Records - Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates from the Cook County Clerk

Obituaries and Death Notices in Chicago Newspapers

Sam Fink's Chicago Death Notices Index, 1856-1889; and Marriage Notices Index, 1833-1871 (at Ancestry/requires payment) extracted from 10 Chicago newspapers
Vital Records Index from Chicago Newspapers, 1833-1851 index includes deaths, marriages and other items (index is free to search/copies of the newspaper articles can be ordered for a fee from the Chicago Genealogical Society)

Chicago Sun-Times Obituaries Index, 1988-1995 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Chicago Tribune Obituary Index, 1988-1997 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Chicago Jewish Obituary Database, Dec. 1994-Sept. 1998 from Jewishgen.org
Polish Genealogical Society of America's Chicago Death Notices Index, 1890-1971 from Chicago's Polish language newspaper, Dziennik Chicagoski
Index to the Obituaries and Death Notices Appearing in the Dziennik Chicagoski, 1890-1929 Chicago Polish-language newspaper; from FamilySearch
Archdiocese of Chicago: Obituaries of Catholic Priests - Recent

Obituaries and Death Notices in Cook County Newspapers (outside of Chicago)

Barrington Courier-Review Deaths, 1890-2006 (also has births and marriages; some entries may be missing)
Blue Island Sun Standard Obituaries Index, 1919-1969 has name and year of death for each entry
Glenview Public Library Obituary Index
- Also: Glenview Public Library Obituary Index
Indian Prairie Public Library Obituary Index, 1972-2018 (with gaps) PDF file; for Burr Ridge, Darien and Willowbrook, Illinois
Maywood Herald Obituary Card Index, 1885-2002 from FamilySearch
Melrose Park Local Death Notices and Obituaries Index
Oak Lawn - Obituaries from Local Oak Lawn Newspapers, 1985-present
Park Ridge Public Library Obituaries Index
Skokie Obituary Index, 1960-present
Wilmette Public Library Genealogy and Local History Collection includes obituaries and death notices for various years, and other items
Southern Cook County Obituaries, ca. 1970-1990 from FamilySearch; compiled by the South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society

Chicago and Cook County Probate Records and Indexes

Illinois Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999 (at Ancestry/requires payment) coverage varies by county; includes indexed and digitized probate records for Cook County and Chicago, c.1877-c.1931
Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Probate Search circa 1980s-present

Cook County Cemeteries with Burial Indexes

Chicago Cemeteries...
- Catholic Cemeteries in the Chicago Area (includes Cook and Lake Counties):
  - Archdiocese of Chicago Cemetery Records, 1864-1989 from FamilySearch; requires free registration
  - Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago Database from the Archdiocese of Chicago; requires free registration
- Jewish Burials: JGSI Jewish Chicago Database - includes some Jewish Cemeteries in the Chicago Area from the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois
- Graceland Cemetery Burial Search in Chicago
- Wunders Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois - Burials Index (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription) Wunders is a German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Cook County Cemetery at Dunning Database (Chicago) database of 7800 Cook County potters field (poor and indigent) burials
Cook County Cemeteries (outside of Chicago)...
- Barrington Area Cemeteries with transcriptions; also has Barrington Courier-Review newspaper indexes for births, deaths, and marriages 1890-2006
- Calumet City, Illinois Burial Permits Index Ca. 1925-1941
- Bethania Cemetery Burial Records Search in Justice, Illinois
- Northfield Oakwood Cemetery Burials in Northbrook, Illinois
- Pioneer Cemeteries of Palatine Township includes burial lists for some of the cemeteries
- Wilmette Vital Records Indexes includes a Wilmette Death Certificate Index, 1913-Oct. 1953; and an index for St. Joseph's Cemetery burials
- Cook County Cemeteries, Compiled by Gertrude W. Lundberg assorted burial listings for church cemeteries in towns outside of Chicago; large PDF file
Military Burials...
- The Roll of Honor, Containing the Names of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of All the Wars of Our Country Who Are Buried in the Cemeteries of Cook County scanned searchable book by Eli Robert Lewis, from 1922
- Register of Confederate soldiers who died in Camp Douglas, 1862-65 and lie buried in Oakwoods Cemetery, Chicago, Ills., 1892 scanned book from the Internet Archive

Chicago and Cook County Medical Examiner and Coroner Indexes and Records

Cook County Medical Examiner Virtual Cemetery Includes names of indigent cremations and the burial locations of indigents buried by the Cook County medical examiner's office (since 2012). Also has information about unidentified and unclaimed persons.
- Cook County Medical Examiner: How To Obtain Death Records/ Reports no online index
Cook County Coroner's Inquest Record Index, Dec. 1872-Nov. 1911 volumes for October 1879 to July 1880, and May 1888 to October 1888 are missing
Cook County, Illinois Coroners' Inquest Records, Dec. 1872-Nov. 1911 digitized microfilm from FamilySearch; you must be at a Family History Center or FamilySearch affiliate library to view these records
Cook County Coroners Death Certificates, 1879-1904 digitized microfilm from FamilySearch; you must be at a Family History Center or FamilySearch affiliate library to view these records

Chicago and Cook County Miscellaneous Death Indexes

Homicide in Chicago Database, 1870-1930 11,000 entries with more details than the database listed next
Chicago Police Department Homicide Record Index, 1870-1930
Chicago Fallen Police Officer Roll Call

Illinois Full State Death Indexes

Illinois Death Index, 1916-1950
Illinois Death Index, 1951-1971
Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 from FamilySearch
Illinois Death Index Before 1916 (partial) includes a Cook County death index for 1871-1915

Obtaining Copies of Cook County and Illinois Vital Records

Illinois, Cook County Deaths, Digitized Microfilm from FamilySearch You might be able to obtain some Cook County death certificates online from FamilySearch. However, these records can only be accessed online at a Family History Center, a FamilySearch affiliate library or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. You might try using the vital records or death indexes listed at the top of this page to find the person's date of death. Or try the Illinois full state death indexes listed just above.

Cook County Clerk - Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates (fees and restrictions apply)
Where to Write for Vital Records - Illinois (fees and restrictions apply)

Also See...

Illinois Genealogy Databases at Ancestry (requires payment) includes census records, WWI draft cards, vital records, historical newspapers and city directories
Online Illinois Naturalization Records and Indexes
Chicago Genealogy Records and Sources on the Internet

Return To...

Online Illinois Death Indexes and Records

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