Missouri is expanding the functionality of its death certificate database.
Death certificates created after 1910 and more than 50 years old are published online and available from the Missouri State Archives. Until now, death certificates have been searchable by year of death, county, first name and last name. The archives are indexed by volunteers.
On Thursday, Mary Stansfield, the archives’ e-volunteer coordinator, asked previous archive volunteers to help expand the search fields starting with the 1963 records, then working through previous years. Additional fields include the first and last name of the deceased’s parents and spouse and the last four photos of his or her Social Security Number, if it was provided.
To assist with archiving, visit the Missouri Secretary of State’s site.
Death certificates from 1910 to 1963 are available now; the 1964 death certificates should be released in January. The records are frequently used by historians and genealogists.