Q - I know my g g g-grandmother died in Jasper Co. about 1872. Why doesn't the courthouse have a record of her death?
In Iowa, death records were "officially required" to be recorded at the county level, starting on July 1st, 1880. However compliance was poor for many reasons. Most people were born and died at home, generally with no or little professional assistance. The doctors were over-worked, or kept poor records; the death may have been unattended; or it may have been inconvenient or difficult for the parents, other family members or neighbors to visit the county courthouse and record the death. It was not until 1921, that the state enacted stricter legislation requiring all deaths be recorded, and the county records be sent to the state registrar in Des Moines. There were penalties were for those who did not comply.
Q - My g g-grandfather died in 1892, will the county death record, give his mother's name? What other kind of information will I find in a death record?
From 1880 to 1904 information requested for a death included deceased's name, sex, color, age (years, months, days), occupation, marital status, nationality, place of birth, place of death, cause of death, and place of burial. In 1904, the requested information was expanded to include the names of the deceased's father and mother, including the mother's maiden name, and the parents place of birth (state or county). In addition, a physician was required to certify the cause of death.
From mid-1904 to mid-1906 births and deaths were not required by law to be recorded at the county level. Therefore, only a few births and deaths for these years are available in county records.
Q - Who was responsible for reporting a death?
"Undertakers and coroners are required on or before the 5th day of each month to return to the state registrar certificates of death that have come under their professional or official notice for the month preceding. Clerks of district court report, on forms prescribed by the registrar, all marriages and divorces recorded in their respective offices, and the city. Births are reported by attending physicians, midwives and the people in general, to the clerk of court of the county wherein they occurred." ( Iowa Official Register, 1920/1921)
Q - If my ancestor died before mid-1880 or their death isn't in the county records, where else can I look?
Be sure to check more than indexes to county death records before you assume the death was not reported. Never forget that it is very common to find misspellings in older records of all types. It's also possible that your ancestor may not have spelled his/her name the same as it is spelled now. Be very creative with spellings if you search on-line databases! Church records, newspapers, cemetery records, census mortality schedules, published county histories, funeral home records, fraternal organization records, estate, probate & pension records are all alternative sources to check. Obituaries of family members often give death dates and other information for more than just the recent decedent. Make sure you are looking in the right county or state for the record! Deaths were registered and recorded in the county where the person died. This may be different from the county (or state) of residence. Great-grandmother may have been visiting her daughter who lived out-of-state when she died.
Sources for death record timelines: State Historical Society of Iowa website and Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Statistics, Department of Vital Statistics website. Originally compiled by Sharyl Farrell, County Coordinator for IAGenWeb counties of Allamakee, Clayton and Winnebago Counties. Used with her permission