Lewis County Death Records Lookup
Death records in Lewis County are on file with local town clerks and the New York State Department of Health from 1880 onward. Lewis County was formed from Oneida County in 1805 and named for Morgan Lewis, the governor of New York at the time. The county seat is Lowville, a small village in the Tug Hill Plateau region of northern New York. This area gets some of the heaviest snowfall in the state. Despite its rural character, Lewis County follows the same death record system as every other county in New York. This page covers where to find death records here and how to get certified copies.
Lewis County Death Records Overview
Lewis County Clerk
The Lewis County Clerk is at the Lewis County Courthouse, 7660 North State Street, Lowville, NY 13367. The clerk holds court records, land records, and other county documents. Death certificates are not kept at the county clerk office. You need to go to the town clerk where the death took place or to the New York State Department of Health.
The New York State Department of Health vital records page explains how to get death certificates for Lewis County deaths.
The NYS DOH page above shows the ordering process for death certificates from Lewis County and all other non-NYC New York counties.
Lewis County has a number of small towns spread across the Tug Hill Plateau. Towns include Croghan, Denmark, Diana, Greig, Harrisburg, Lewis, Leyden, Lowville, Lyonsdale, Martinsburg, Montague, New Bremen, Osceola, Pinckney, Turin, and Watson. Each town clerk has death records from 1880. Many of these offices keep limited hours, so call before you make the trip.
How to Get Lewis County Death Records
Death certificates cost about $10 per certified copy from a local town clerk. You need valid photo ID. Eligible people include the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the deceased. Others need a documented legal right, a medical need, or a New York State Court Order.
The state DOH has Lewis County death records from 1881. Mail orders cost $30. Send a completed form, photo ID copy, and payment to the Vital Records Certification Unit, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602. Online and phone orders cost $45 plus a processing fee through VitalChek. The state is behind on processing, so local clerks are usually faster.
In-person requests at the town clerk are typically processed the same day. Mail requests take longer. For the town clerk, send a check or money order with your application and a copy of your ID. If you do not know which town the death happened in, call the county clerk office for help figuring it out.
Lewis County Death Records and Surrogate's Court
The Lewis County Surrogate's Court is at the Lewis County Courthouse in Lowville. The court handles wills, probate, estate administration, guardianships, and adoptions. Probate records go back to 1805 when Lewis County was formed.
Probate petitions include the date of death, names of heirs, their relationship to the deceased, and where they live. These make probate records useful for death record research. The WebSurrogate system lets you search Lewis County estate proceedings online for free.
FamilySearch and Ancestry have digitized many older Lewis County probate records. Estate indexes and estate papers from the 1800s and early 1900s are available online and on microfilm. Small estates under $50,000 can use simplified proceedings with a $1 filing fee.
Genealogy Death Records in Lewis County
Death records over 50 years old are available for genealogy research through the NYS DOH genealogy program. Fees start at $22 for a one to three year search. Direct descendants can get copies without the 50 year wait. Processing takes eight months or longer.
The New York State Archives has microfiche death indexes from 1880 to 1943 for Lewis County. You can search these free at the Cultural Education Center in Albany. The Lewis County Historical Society in Lowville maintains genealogy collections, cemetery records, and local newspaper files that may include death notices and obituaries.
Lewis County has a strong French-Canadian heritage from early settlers who came south from Quebec. Church records from Catholic parishes in the area, especially in Croghan and Lowville, can include death entries from before the 1880 state system. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has research guides that can help you navigate Lewis County records.
The FamilySearch wiki for Lewis County lists record dates, available collections, and research tips. Census mortality schedules from 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 list people who died in the year before each census and can fill gaps for researchers looking at that period.
Lewis County Death Record Access Rules
Death records in Lewis County are restricted for 50 years after the date of death. Only the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the person who died can get a certified copy during that time. Others need a documented legal claim or a court order. After 50 years, the records are public and open to everyone.
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in Lewis County. The records from 1880 forward are in good shape. For death data before 1880, check church records from local Catholic parishes in Croghan and Lowville. The Lewis County Historical Society can help point you to local resources. Cemetery records have been transcribed by volunteers and are on NYGenWeb and other genealogy sites. These can give you death dates, ages, and family connections that the official records may not have.
Nearby Counties
Lewis County sits between the Adirondack Mountains and the Tug Hill Plateau. Check these neighboring counties for additional death record sources: