On Saturday, June 22, the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society (WPGS) announced that they have digitized 28,500 Allegheny County death records from 1893 to 2005. Before the records were digitized, those who wished to see a death record would have to put in a request and wait for the WPGS to make them a copy. Now, records are available online and free for the public to view.
Pamela Israel, the current president and archives chair for the WPGS spoke on the hard work that went into digitizing these records. “A team volunteered many hours for over a year scanning and checking these records in partnership with Allegheny County. We are delighted to offer this resource to the general public and to do so as WPGS celebrates its 50th year,” said Israel.
She also stated why access to these records is so important. “Genealogists know that finding an official death record often leads to priceless facts or at least clues in understanding an ancestor’s past. Sometimes a death record is that breakthrough record that helps people step back another generation in their research,” Israel added.
Those interested in looking at the digitized records can do so on the WPGS’s website at https://wpgs.org/research/death-burial-records/.