Cook County Coroner's Death Certificates, 1879-1904
. (Copies of inquest records can be obtained from IRAD at NEIU.)About these records
If a death was violent or was likely to have occurred from other than natural causes, a coroner's jury was called to investigate and a coroner's death certificate was created. Excellent information about coroner's inquests is available on the Cook County Coroner's Inquest Record Index, 1872–1911 pages (scroll down).
Although some of these certificates seem to be interfiled with the "regular" Chicago death certificates after 1904, the ones for 1879-1904 are generally "missing" on those films. At one time, they may have been filed at the end of each alphabetical section for a month/year (that is where the certificate numbers would place them and where the "missing" notes are found), but if they were, then at some point they were pulled out and filed separately.
The coroner's death certificates are different from the coroner's inquest records available through IRAD.
Indexing
These records are indexed
in the Illinois Statewide Death Index
Format
27 microfilm reels
Arrangement
Alphabetically by first letter of surname within months but the arrangement of months on the films is not always predictable and it sometimes takes some effort to find the right section of the film
FHL Catalog
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Information generally found on the certificates
name
age, race, sex
nativity
occupation
marital status
date body was found
ward where found
place of death
date of death
jurors' verdict
Cook County death certificate number
cemetery name (may or may not be given)
Search tips
(1) A quick way of determining if an individual is likely to have had a coroner's death certificate instead of a "regular" death certificate is to search the Cook County Coroner's Inquest Record Index,
1872–1911 at the Illinois State Archives website.
(2) Although the certificate number from the Cook County Death Index, 1871-1916 is likely to appear on the coroner's certificate, it is not necessary to have it in order to locate a certificate on these films.