From 1852 to 1907, a physician attendant at a death was required to submit a death certificate to the county Register of Deeds. In 1897, the requirement to file a certificate was extended to all deaths, whether a physician was present or not. Legislation passed that year made it illegal for any sexton, undertaker, or other person to bury anyone without obtaining from the local health officer or clerk a burial permit which, in turn, was to be issued only if a death certificate had been submitted for recording.
Information from the death certificate was entered by the Register of Deeds in two identical volumes. One volume was retained by the county, the other was forwarded to the Wisconsin Secretary of State.
In October 1907, the registration of deaths and other vital records was centralized in the State Bureau of Vital Statistics. At that time, the registrations of deaths on file with the Secretary of State were transferred to that new office. This record is a microfilm copy of those volumes, now held by the Department of Health and Social Service's Bureau of Health Statistics.
A more detailed history of legislation relating to vital records, along with listings of local government holdings of such records as of 1941, may be found in Historical Records Survey. Wisconsin. Guide to Public Vital Statistics Records in Wisconsin, Madison, 1941.
