Missouri State Archives release 1962 death certificates | Families

Approximately 49,000 death certificates from 1962 are now available online in the Missouri State Archives.

Each January the Archives releases the records, which it receives from the Department of Health and Senior Services, as they become available to the public following a 50-year period.

The 1962 death certificates include those of former Missouri Governor James T. Blair, Jr. and his wife, Emilie, who died of unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning; Irma S. Rombauer, author of one of the all-time bestselling cookbooks, The Joy of Cooking; and the victims of Continental Airlines Flight 11 that crashed in Putnam County.

In a news release from Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, whose office oversees the Archives, said:

“The indexing of Missouri death certificates is one of the most worthwhile and popular projects coordinated by the Archives.  Through this project, we are able to provide Missourians unprecedented access to public records revealing detailed information about their families and communities. I’m thankful to all the volunteers that helped with this project, and everything else we do in the Archives, to help make our state’s past accessible to Missourians. I have used the system myself to search for relatives, and encourage all Missourians to do the same and see what they can uncover.”

Historians, genealogists and others can find free, immediate access to more than 2.36 million death certificates from 1910 to 1962 by visiting the Missouri State Archives at www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/.