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Box 4, Folder 9 Bowling Green, Kentucky - Death Records, U-V, Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Bowling Green, Kentucky – Death Records, 1877-1913

Death certificates were not required by state statute in Kentucky until 1911. Prior to that, some municipalities did collect information related to deaths. In Bowling Green a “Return of a Death” certificate was completed to attest to the death of an individual. Completed returns were filed with the City Clerk in order to obtain a permit for burial within the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The returns consist of two parts: 1) a Physician’s Certificate Preparatory to Burial, which states the deceased’s name, sex, race, age, marital status, date of death, cause of death, and duration of last illness; and …