Harrison County Obituary Records

Harrison County obituary records are kept at several offices in Cadiz, the county seat. The health department holds modern death certificates, and the probate court has records going back to the 1800s. If you want to find an obituary from a Harrison County newspaper, online indexes can help you track it down. Local genealogy groups have also compiled obituary data, cemetery listings, and burial records from across the county. Between official sources and volunteer efforts, there is a strong set of tools for anyone trying to look up a Harrison County death record or obituary notice.

Harrison County Health Department

The Harrison County Health Department handles death certificates and birth records for the county. They keep death records from 1908 to the present. A certified copy costs $26.50. The office is at 538 N Main St, Cadiz, OH 43907. Phone is 740-942-2616 and fax is 740-942-9331. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4 pm.

When you request a death record from the Harrison County Health Department, you need to give the full name of the person who died and the date of death or at least the year. Staff will search their files and let you know if they find a match. Payment is due when you pick up the copy or when you send your request by mail. Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.24 sets the base fee for vital records statewide, but Harrison County adds a small local charge that brings the total to $26.50.

Harrison County Probate Court Records

The Harrison County Probate Court in Cadiz holds vital records that go back well over a century. Birth records span 1867 to 1908. Death and burial records are on file too. Marriage records date from 1813 to the present, and probate records also start in 1813. The court sits at the Harrison County Courthouse in Cadiz. Phone is 740-942-2616.

Before Ohio set up statewide death registration on December 20, 1908, all death records were kept by county probate courts. In Harrison County, these early records are line entries in old ledger books. They show the name of the deceased, the date of death, and sometimes the cause. These are not the same as a modern death certificate, but they serve a similar role for genealogy and legal research from that era. If you need a Harrison County death record from the 1800s, the probate court is the only source.

Note: Harrison County probate court records from the 1800s are not indexed online, so plan to visit or write to the court directly.

Find Harrison County Obituaries Online

The Ohio Obituary Index at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library is one of the best free tools for finding Harrison County obituaries. The index has over 3.7 million entries from Ohio newspapers, covering death notices and obituaries from the 1810s to the present. You can search by name and narrow results by date or county. When you find a match, the index tells you which library has the original newspaper so you can order a copy.

The Ohio Death Record Index at the Ohio History Connection covers death certificates from 1913 to 1944 and 1954 to 1970. It is free to search online. You need the person's name and year of death, plus either the county of death, exact date, or certificate number. If a match turns up, you can order a copy of the actual certificate. The Ohio History Connection Archives holds the original certificates from 1908 through 1970.

Harrison County genealogy resources also include compiled data on biographies, births, cemetery burials, deaths, marriages, and obituaries. These can be found through local genealogy societies and the Harrison County section of OHGenWeb. Volunteers have transcribed many cemetery records and newspaper obituaries that may not show up in the statewide indexes.

Harrison County Government Portal

The Harrison County government website has contact details and office information for local departments. Visit the Harrison County government site to find hours, addresses, and services for county offices.

Use this site to confirm office hours before you drive out to Cadiz. Staff can tell you what forms to bring and how to pay for copies.

Ohio State Death Record Sources

The Ohio Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics keeps death records from 1971 to the present. You can order certified copies online for $21.50 per record under Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.24. The bureau is at 4200 Surface Road, Columbus, OH 43228. Their phone number is 614-466-2531. Online orders take about three weeks to arrive.

Under Section 3705.23 of the Ohio Revised Code, any local registrar must provide certified copies of vital records when the person asking shows valid ID. Social Security numbers are blacked out on death certificates for the first five years after death unless you prove close family ties. Death records older than 50 years may be transferred to the Ohio History Connection for archival storage under Ohio Administrative Code Section 3701-5-11.

Nearby Counties

These counties sit next to Harrison County. Death records might be filed in a neighboring county if the person died near the border or at a hospital outside Harrison County.