Union Death Records

Death records in the Town of Union are maintained by the Town Clerk on East Main Street in Endwell. Union is in Broome County in the Southern Tier region of New York, near the city of Binghamton. The town clerk serves as the Registrar of Vital Statistics and issues certified copies of death certificates for deaths that took place within town limits. The Broome County Clerk in Binghamton also handles county-level records. This guide covers both offices and explains how to get the death records you need.

Union Death Records at Town Clerk

The Town of Union Clerk is at 3111 E. Main Street, Endwell, NY 13760. Call (607) 786-2900 and select option 8 to reach the clerk's office. The fax number is (607) 786-2913. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Marriage license appointments are Tuesday through Thursday only, 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

The town clerk is the Registrar of Vital Statistics for Union. This means the clerk's office is where death records are filed and where you go to get certified copies. The office has application forms for death records, birth records, and marriage records available on the town website. Look under the Clerk's Office Forms and Documents section for the "Application to Town Clerk for Copy of Death Record."

The clerk also handles dog licenses, conservation licenses, handicap parking permits, FOIL requests, and E-ZPass On-The-Go tags ($25.00). But death records and other vital records are the core function. The office accepts credit card payments in person through Forte. Credit card fees are 2.45% or $1.75, whichever is greater. The minimum credit card fee is $1.75. E-checks have a flat $1.75 fee.

The Town of Union website shown above has downloadable forms for requesting death certificates and other vital records from the clerk's office.

Broome County Clerk

The Broome County Clerk is at the Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building, 3rd Floor, P.O. Box 2062, Binghamton, NY 13902. Call (607) 778-2256 or email clerkinfo@co.broome.ny.us. In Broome County, birth, marriage, and death records are kept by the clerk of the municipality where the event happened. So for a death in Union, you go to the Union town clerk. The county clerk can help direct you to the right office if you are not sure.

The Broome County Clerk page shown above explains how vital records are maintained at the local level in Broome County towns including Union.

The county clerk handles other public records that can be useful when dealing with a death. Property records, court filings, and naturalization records are at the county level. For estate matters, Broome County Surrogate's Court handles wills and probate after someone dies.

How to Order Union Death Records

The fastest way is to visit the town clerk in person at 3111 E. Main Street in Endwell. Bring your photo ID and be ready to fill out the application form. You can also download the form from the town website and mail it in. Include payment and a copy of your ID with any mail request.

The eligibility rules follow New York State Public Health Law. You need to be the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the deceased. Others can get a copy with a documented legal right or claim, a medical need, or a court order. Attorneys submit requests on firm letterhead.

You can also order through the New York State Department of Health. Mail orders cost $30 per copy. Online orders through VitalChek run $45 plus a processing fee. Send mail orders to P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. The state has records from 1881 on but is very slow right now. The local town clerk is faster.

Historical Death Records in Union

Broome County began recording vital events at the local level in town clerk ledgers. Town clerks were required to record marriages and send copies to the NYS Department of Health starting in 1880. Some county clerks also hold marriage records from about 1908 to 1935. For death records specifically, the town clerk is the main source.

The Broome County Public Library has a Local History and Genealogy Center on the 2nd floor at 185 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 13901. Call (607) 778-3572. The Broome County Historical Society is in the same building and can be reached at (607) 778-3578. Both are good stops for genealogy research tied to death records in Union and the broader county.

Historical records available through the Family History Center include births, marriages, and deaths from 1847 to 1850 at the Broome County Clerk (images), vital statistics from 1847 to 1850, 1865, and 1875, the New York Birth Index outside NYC from 1881 to 1942, and the New York State Death Index from 1880 to 1956 with both index and images. These tools are free to use and can help you track down the exact year and filing location for a death record before you send in a paid request.

The New York State Archives in Albany has microfiche death indexes from 1880 to 1943 you can search for free in person. For genealogy copies from the state, fees start at $22 for a one to three year search. Death records must be on file 50 years. The WebSurrogate system provides free online access to Surrogate's Court records for estate cases.

Nearby Cities

Other cities in the area with death records pages: