The NY DOH Redeems Itself

      The dreaded and dreadful New York State Dept. of Health has finally done something useful, this link is to a death index for New York State excluding New York City, which covers the years 1957 to 1963.  It contains name, age, death date and a residence code. It took me forever to track down the key to the residence code, (they just can't stop being annoying can they?), but I'd do anything for my dear readers, so after a frustrating search, here it is  the secret code

     Also!  There is talk of a partnership with Ancestry that would see the vital records index in it's entirety, birth, marriage and death indexes, posted to their site.  I don't need to tell you how fantastic that would be for New York researchers.  I'm sure I'll still wait a year to get the actual certificate, but this would at least cut out the half hour drive it takes me to get to the Rochester Library.  In New York these are the guidelines for the release of certificates:

• Birth certificates - if on file for at least 75 years and the person whose name is on the birth certificate is known to be deceased.
• Death certificates - if on file for at least 50 years.
• Marriage certificates - if on file for at least 50 years and both spouses are known to be deceased.

     These requirements are waived for direct descendants, but you will have to jump through hoops to prove your relationship and that the person, or persons in the case of a marriage, are deceased.