Petersburg Death Index

The Petersburg death index covers death records for the City of Petersburg, Virginia, an independent city with a long history and significant Civil War records. Certified death certificates are available through the Virginia Department of Health Office of Vital Records, and Petersburg maintained its own local death records during the 1897 to 1911 gap period.

Virginia Department of Health: Petersburg Death Certificates

Certified death certificates for the City of Petersburg come from the Virginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. The office is at 8701 Park Central Drive, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23227. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218-1000. Phone: (804) 662-6200. Online orders go through VitalChek.

Each certified copy costs $12. Under Virginia Code Title 32.1, Chapter 7, records less than 25 years old are restricted to immediate family: spouse, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent. Photo ID is required. Records 25 years and older are public. Petersburg is surrounded by Dinwiddie County and Prince George County but is a completely separate independent city from both. Deaths in Petersburg are city records, not county records.

The Crater Health District serves Petersburg and the surrounding area. Local health district offices may assist with referrals and general health information, but certified death certificate copies must be obtained from the state Office of Vital Records in Richmond. Petersburg is about 25 miles south of Richmond, making the trip to the state office in Richmond practical for Petersburg-area residents who prefer in-person service.

Petersburg Circuit Court and Probate Records

The Petersburg Circuit Court handles probate cases, wills, estate administration, land records, and marriage licenses for the City of Petersburg. It does not issue death certificates. Petersburg's Circuit Court has records going back to the mid-19th century. The clerk's office maintains original wills, deed books, and fiduciary records from Petersburg's long history. These records are important for both recent estate work and deep genealogical research.

You can search court case records for free through the Online Case Information System (OCIS). For older records, the clerk's office can provide copies. Land records at the clerk's office track property transfers after a death. Deed entries often name the deceased and identify heirs, confirming death dates and family relationships. Marriage licenses are issued through the clerk, not the health department.

Petersburg has significant Civil War history as the site of the 9-month Siege of Petersburg from 1864 to 1865. Military records and pension files at the National Archives in Washington document deaths connected to that campaign. The Petersburg National Battlefield park maintains records related to the siege and associated deaths. For researchers tracing ancestors who died during the Civil War in the Petersburg area, military records are an essential complement to civilian vital records.

The Appomattox River runs through Petersburg, and the city borders both Dinwiddie County and Prince George County. Pre-city records and records for deaths in the surrounding area would be in those county collections. Dinwiddie County formed in 1752 and has records from that period. For very old research in the greater Petersburg area, both county courthouses and the Library of Virginia are important sources.

Petersburg Death Index: Historical Records and Gap Period

Petersburg maintained local death records during the 1897 to 1911 gap period, when Virginia had no statewide death registration. These local Petersburg death records from the gap years are available at the Library of Virginia. Petersburg was a major city during that period, and its local records provide more complete gap-era coverage than most Virginia localities. If you're researching a death in Petersburg between 1897 and June 1912, these records may be your best official source.

Virginia's statewide death registration ran from 1853 to 1896. Deaths from that period in Petersburg are indexed in the Death Index of Virginia, 1853-1896, sponsored by the Virginia Genealogical Society. These registers are on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Virginia residents can access them for free through Ancestry for Virginians at lva.virginia.gov.

FamilySearch at familysearch.org has free Virginia death and genealogical databases. Petersburg records, particularly from the Civil War and Reconstruction era, are well-documented. The Petersburg Area Library at 137 South Sycamore Street has a local history collection that includes city directories, newspaper archives, and local history materials. The siege of 1864-1865 generated an enormous amount of documentation that is now spread across several repositories including the National Archives, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia.

African American death records from Petersburg are particularly well-documented given the city's history. Petersburg had a substantial free Black population before the Civil War, and after emancipation, many freedmen's bureau records documented deaths and family relationships. The Freedmen's Bureau records for Virginia are available through FamilySearch and cover the period from 1865 to 1872. These are valuable for anyone tracing African American families in the Petersburg area.

Nearby Virginia Cities

These independent cities are near Petersburg in the central Virginia region.