Online Massachusetts Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries

Online Massachusetts Death Indexes

Massachusetts Death Records Index 1970-2003 (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Massachusetts Death Index 1841-1910 gives year of death only (copies of death records may be ordered by mail for a fee; also indexes marriages and births)
Massachusetts Death Records 1906-1915 from FamilySearch Labs (free) these are currently being tested so there may be errors, missing data or occasional downtime; will eventually cover 1841-1915; includes scanned images of the death registers and certificates

Massachusetts Obituaries Archive - Recent (you can obtain copies of individual obituaries online for a fee) includes...
- Boston Globe (1980-Current)
- Boston Herald (1997-Current)
- Cambridge Chronicle (1/19/2006-Current)
- Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, MA) (12/8/1998-Current)
- Lowell Sun (9/14/2001-Current)
- Lynn Daily Item (9/23/2005-Current)
- Springfield Republican (6/16/1988-Current)
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette (1/16/1989-Current)
- And more Massachusetts newspapers

Massachusetts Town Death Records Prior to 1850 90,000 entries (requires payment - part of an Ancestry subscription)
Massachusetts Vital Records 1600-1849 Online (volunteer transcription project - not yet complete - presently has some records for Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket and Worcester Counties)

Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts - Jewish Burials Search has 55,000 entries

Barnstable County: Gravestone Records from the 15 Towns of Cape Cod 1683-1860 (ongoing project)
Barnstable County: Barnstable Patriot Newspaper Archive 1830-1930 covering Cape Cod and the Islands
Berkshire County: Assorted Vital Records (most are pre-1850)
Bristol County: Walter-Blake Graveyard Burials in Taunton, Massachusetts
Essex County: Spring Grove Cemetery Burials (Andover, MA)
Essex County: City of Peabody Archives - Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1855-1880 (death records go to 1879)
Franklin County News Archive 1870-Sept 1875 includes some obituaries
Hampshire County: Burials in North and West Cemeteries in Amherst, Massachusetts
Middlesex County...
Nantucket County: Nantucket Grave Markers Database Search "not comprehensive"
Plymouth County: Town of Middleborough Vital Records Index 1649-1945 (downloadable PDF files) also has cemetery listings and other records
Plymouth County: Plymouth Colony Archive Project includes wills and probate inventories, 1600s
Suffolk County & Boston...
- Boston, Massachusetts Obituaries Archive Search includes the Boston Globe 1980-present & the Boston Herald 1997-present (you can obtain copies of the obituaries online for a fee)
- Boston Globe Birth & Marriage Announcements and Death Notices 1872-1922 at Ancestry.com (requires payment)
- Boston Globe & Herald Obituary Database 1971-1974 & 1983-2002 indexes full length obituaries only, no death notices
- Boston Jewish Advocate Obituary Database 1905-2007 (from JewishGen/Ancestry; requires free registration)
- City of Boston Historic Burying Grounds Initiative includes transcriptions of historic gravestones 1630-1841
- Suffolk County: Boston Vital Records 1630-1699 at Ancestry.com (requires payment)
Worcester County: Worcester Evening Post, Deaths Index 1897-1898 ongoing project; includes some from 1899
Worcester County: Town of Rutland Death Records to the end of the year 1849 also includes birth and marriage records

Also Helpful...

Ordering Massachusetts Vital Records

Order Massachusetts Birth, Marriage or Death Certificates Online from Vitalchek from 1911 to 90 days ago; genealogy requests must be submitted in written form (fee required)

Boston Death Records & Index on Microfilm (offline finding aids)...

These items are available from the Family History Library - microfilm rolls can be ordered for viewing at local LDS Family History Centers for a small fee

Online Massachusetts Death Records & Indexes

A Genealogy Records Guide