Elk County Death Records
Elk County death records from 1893 to 1906 are maintained by the Clerk of Orphans Court at the Elk County Courthouse in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. The county was created on April 18, 1843 from parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean counties. It takes its name from the Eastern elk that once roamed the region. The Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, and Clerk of Orphans Court functions are combined into one office. Marriage licenses go back to October 1885. Records from 1906 forward moved to the state Division of Vital Records.
Elk County Quick Facts
Elk County Register of Wills Death Records
The combined Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, and Clerk of Orphans Court office in Elk County handles a wide range of records. The Clerk of Orphans Court function covers births and deaths from 1893 through 1906 and marriages from 1885 to the present. The Register of Wills portion of the office focuses on filing documents when someone has passed away. This includes probate of wills, issuance of letters of administration, and management of estate proceedings.
The office is located at the Elk County Courthouse, 250 Main Street, P.O. Box 314, Ridgway, PA 15853. Phone: 814-776-5349. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The office is closed on weekends and holidays. New fee schedules went into effect December 1, 2025. Researchers should contact the office to confirm current fees before submitting requests. A full description of office services is available on the county website.
The office holds death records for most deaths between 1893 and 1906. The word "most" is important here: coverage is not complete for every year in every part of the county. Some deaths during this period may not have been recorded. This reflects the general challenge of early vital registration in rural Pennsylvania counties. Researchers who cannot find a record in the county index should check other sources such as church records, cemetery records, or probate files.
Note: Delayed birth records from 1941 to 1969 are also available through the Elk County office, useful for researchers needing documentation for individuals born in the county without a hospital birth record.
Elk County Death Records on FamilySearch
Death records from 1893 to 1907 for Elk County are available at FamilySearch Library on film 1288684. This microfilm collection is a digitized version of the original county death register. FamilySearch provides free access to this resource, making it possible to search Elk County death records without traveling to Ridgway or ordering paid copies. The online index at FamilySearch includes name, date, and basic information from each death record.
The Elk County Birth Index from 1852 to 1853 is available in the International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch. This represents the county's participation in Pennsylvania's brief early vital registration effort. Elk County existed in 1852, just nine years after its creation, and the records from that period capture births though not deaths in most cases. The 1852 to 1854 registration effort was the state's first attempt at systematic vital records, and surviving entries provide rare documentation from the pre-Civil War era.
Marriage licenses from October 1885 to the present are held by the Elk County office. For genealogy purposes, the combination of marriage records, death records, and probate files creates a reasonably complete picture of Elk County families across the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Researchers who exhaust these sources may also find useful information in local newspaper archives, which are available for some periods through the Elk County Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive.
State Death Certificates for Elk County
Deaths from 1906 onward are recorded by the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records, not the county. The PA State Archives Death Indices cover 1906 to 1975 and are searchable free of charge online. The index provides name, county, year, and certificate number. Original death certificates from 1906 to 1974 are held at the State Archives. Digital copies for 1906 to 1972 are available free for Pennsylvania residents on Ancestry.com.
Certified copies cost $20 each. Orders go through the PA Division of Vital Records online at mycertificates.health.pa.gov via VitalChek, by mail to PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103, or by phone at 724-656-3100 or 844-228-3516. Statewide registration began in 1906, with full compliance achieved by about 1915. Some Elk County deaths from 1906 to 1915 may be missing from the state index. Death certificates become public 50 years after death, so records through 1975 are now accessible to any researcher.
Nearby Counties
Elk County was formed from parts of Jefferson, Clearfield, and McKean counties. Searching those parent counties and other neighbors may help trace an ancestor who moved to or from Elk County.