Morticians or medical professionals filed death certificates with county probate clerks or health departments. The information was then forwarded to the Ohio Department of Health. State registration began in Ohio on December 20, 1908. Beginning in 1908, Ohio law required statewide registration of all deaths. The state-level records cover more than 90 percent of those who died in Ohio after 1917. Original data: Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. Death Certificates and index, December 20, 1908-December 31, 1953. State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio. Ohio Department of Health. Index to Annual Deaths, 1958-2002. Ohio Department of Health, State Vital Statistics Unit, Columbus, OH, USA.
