Reprint from Collections & Connections
Spring 1998, Vol. 2, No. 2

Kentucky Death Records, 1911-1942, represents a significant addition to the Kentucky Library's genealogical and historical collections. A major gift from the Southern Kentucky Genealogical society and a donation from the Edmonson County Historical Society made possible the purchase of over 300 reels of microfilm from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Fortunately, the Kentucky Library already has an index to this valuable research tool.

Vital records are important research tools and document significant life events such as births, marriages, divorces, immigration, sickness and death. Vital records serve as important legal documents. In a mobile society, an individual must occasionally prove his identity, age, citizenship or marital status. It is important to both the individual and government that these records be properly maintained in an official repository and be made available upon demand. The importance of this service increases as a society becomes more complex. Vital records are also used to compile statistical information that is helpful to government and other public and private entities.

During the nineteenth century, England and other European countries began national registration systems for recording vital records, primarily to compile medical statistics related to epidemics. The United States did not implement the practice until much later. The majority of states did not require registration until the first quarter of the twentieth century.

As early as 1852 Kentucky began keeping birth and death records. This registration system only lasted a decade, but some births and deaths were also sporadically recorded from 1874 to 1879 and from 1892 to 1910. A few larger cities maintained separate birth and death records, but these too are incomplete. Kentucky's modern birth and death registration was enacted statewide on January 1, 1911 and generally was adhered to by 1920.

Modern death certificates (those dating from 1911 to the present) have not been standardized in the United States, but they basically contain the same type of information: deceased's name, sex, race, date of death, age at the time of death, place of death, date of birth, marital status, name of spouse, occupation, residence, father's name, mother's name, cause of death, and place of burial. Kentucky's death certificates also include birthplace of the decedent's parents. The accuracy of this information depends to a great extent on the person providing the information, generally the closest relative and the attending physician or coroner.

Having this microfilm collection means that Kentucky Library patrons can make a copy of a death certificate for fifteen cents on site. In the past patrons had to send a request to the Office of Vital Statistics, pay a seven-dollar fee, and then wait several weeks for a reply. Genealogy and local history patrons will benefit tremendously from the savings in time and money coupled with the immediate information access.

~ Jonathon Jeffery

Ray and Elizabeth Cossey were recently presented a framed print of The Kentucky Building by the Dean Michael Binder on behalf of the faculty and staff of the University Libraries and The Kentucky Museum in appreciation for their long history of service and support for our programs. Ray, retired from the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Army Reserves, has worked as a lobby clerk at The Kentucky Building for 18 years, and Elizabeth is a former humanities reference librarian, with 16 years of service to WKU. The Cosseys have consistently, humbly and quietly continued to show their generosity to us throughout the years, and we are pleased to count them as two of our most special friends.