Tonawanda Death Records

Death records in Tonawanda are kept by the local town clerk and go back to 1887. Tonawanda sits in Erie County in western New York, just north of Buffalo. There is both a Town of Tonawanda and a separate City of Tonawanda, and each has its own clerk that handles death records. If you need a death certificate for someone who died in this area, knowing which one to contact is the first step. The town clerk office is in Kenmore while the city clerk is on Niagara Street in Tonawanda proper.

Town of Tonawanda Clerk

The Town of Tonawanda Town Clerk is the main source for death records in this area. The office is at 2919 Delaware Avenue, Room 14, Kenmore, NY 14217. You can call them at (716) 877-8800. They are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The current town clerk is Marguerite Greco. This office has all the original vital records for town residents going back to 1887. That includes death certificates, birth certificates, and marriage licenses.

A certified copy of a death certificate costs $10. You can pay with cash, check, money order, or a debit or credit card. Card payments come with a $1.75 processing fee on top. The town clerk accepts requests four ways: in person, by mail, by email at mgreco@tonawanda.ny.us, or by fax at 716-877-0578. Mail orders usually take 7 to 10 days to process once they get your request.

To get a death certificate, you need to be the owner of the record, a parent of the person, or someone with power of attorney. You will need to show a valid photo ID. The office can also help with other things like passport applications and dog licenses, but death records and other vital records are the main reason most people visit.

The state health department page shown above explains how to order death certificates by mail for $30 per copy if the local clerk route does not work for you.

City of Tonawanda Death Records

This is where it gets a bit tricky. There is a separate City of Tonawanda with its own clerk. The City of Tonawanda City Clerk is James Kossow. That office is at 200 Niagara Street, Tonawanda, NY 14150. The phone number is (716) 695-8318. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. If the death took place within city limits, you need to contact this office instead of the town clerk.

The city clerk keeps death records, maintains personnel files, and handles FOIL requests. You can also email them at cityclerk@tonawandacity.com. The same eligibility rules apply here as with the town. You must prove your relationship to the person who died. Bring a photo ID and any documents that show your connection.

Many people mix up the town and the city. The town covers a bigger area that includes the Village of Kenmore. The city is smaller and separate. If you are not sure where the death took place, try calling both offices. They can check their records and point you in the right direction.

Erie County Death Records Resources

The Erie County Clerk is at 92 Franklin Street in Buffalo. You can reach them at (716) 858-8785. It is worth noting that the Erie County Clerk does not issue birth or death certificates for the Town of Tonawanda. Those records stay with the local town clerk. But the county clerk can help with other public records like property filings and court documents.

Erie County also has a Southtowns Outreach Center at S-4949 Hamburg Turnpike in Hamburg. That location is open Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM, and Saturdays 9 AM to 1 PM. While they handle many county clerk services, vital records like death certificates still go through the town or city clerk where the death happened.

For older death records and genealogy research, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library has a strong collection. The Grosvenor Room at the Central Library, One Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203, has microfiche indexes and other genealogy tools. You can call them at (716) 858-8900. They hold one of the state's copies of the NYS Department of Health vital records indexes on microfiche.

Kenmore Village and Hospital Records

Kenmore is a village inside the Town of Tonawanda. There is a Kenmore Village Clerk at 2919 Delaware Avenue, Room 17, Kenmore, NY 14217. You can call them at (716) 873-5700. One thing that trips people up: Kenmore Mercy Hospital is in the Town of Tonawanda, not the Village of Kenmore. So if someone died at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, the death record is with the Town of Tonawanda clerk at (716) 877-8800.

Hospital records matter because in New York, the death record is filed in the city or town where the death physically took place. Not where the person lived. So even if someone was a resident of Kenmore village, if they died at a hospital in the town, the record belongs to the town clerk.

How to Get Tonawanda Death Records

You have four options for getting a death certificate from Tonawanda. Here is a quick look at each one:

• In person at the Town Clerk's Office during business hours
• By mail with a printed request form sent to 2919 Delaware Avenue, Room 14, Kenmore, NY 14217
• By email to mgreco@tonawanda.ny.us
• By fax to 716-877-0578

For mail orders, include a check or money order for $10 made out to the Town of Tonawanda. Also include a copy of your photo ID and a self-addressed stamped envelope. The office will mail the certified copy back to you. Most mail orders arrive within 7 to 10 days.

You can also go through the New York State Department of Health for death records. The state charges $30 by mail or $45 online through VitalChek. The state has Tonawanda death records from 1881 on. But they are dealing with long delays right now, so the local clerk is usually faster.

Tonawanda Death Records for Genealogy

If you are doing family history research, you have a few routes to explore. Death records over 50 years old can be requested as uncertified genealogy copies from the NYS Department of Health. The fee starts at $22 for a search of one to three years. The cost goes up as the search window gets wider. A 10-year search runs $42, and it keeps climbing from there.

The New York State Death Index covers deaths from 1880 to 1956 and is free to search. It will not give you the actual certificate, but it tells you the name, date, and county of death. That is enough to know where to send your request. The New York State Archives in Albany has microfiche indexes you can search in person at no charge.

The WebSurrogate system lets you search Surrogate's Court records for free. When someone dies, their estate may go through Surrogate's Court. Those records include wills, probate filings, and estate inventories. While these are not death certificates, they can fill in details about a deceased person that are not on the death record itself.

New York State Death Records Options

The NYS Department of Health keeps death records for all of New York except the five NYC boroughs. Their office is at P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. You can call the Vital Records Call Center at (855) 322-1022. Online orders go through VitalChek and cost $45 plus a processing fee.

To order by mail, you need to fill out an application and send it with your ID and a $30 check or money order payable to NYS Department of Health. Do not send cash. They take personal checks, postal money orders, and certified checks. If you are applying from another country, include a copy of your U.S. passport along with your other ID.

The state warns that processing times are very long right now. Many people wait months. For Tonawanda death records, going through the local clerk is almost always faster. The town clerk can often process requests in the same week if you go in person.

Nearby Cities

These other cities in the area also have death records pages you may find helpful: