Kent County Obituary Records
Kent County obituary records and death certificates are available through the Kent County Health Department, the Maryland Division of Vital Records, and the Maryland State Archives. Located on Maryland's Eastern Shore along the Chesapeake Bay, Kent County is one of the smaller counties in the state with about 19,000 residents. Searching for death and obituary records in Kent County may require using more than one source, especially for older records that predate the modern vital records system. This page outlines each option and what each one holds.
Kent County Overview
Kent County Health Department
The Kent County Health Department in Chestertown handles death certificate requests for deaths that occurred in 2015 or later. The office is at 125 Lynchburg Street, Chestertown, MD 21620. You can reach staff by phone at 410-778-1350. For deaths before 2015, the Health Department does not hold the records. Those requests go to the Division of Vital Records in Baltimore or the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis depending on the time period. More detail on both of those options is in the sections below.
When visiting the Kent County Health Department to request a death certificate, you need to bring valid government-issued photo ID and documentation showing your eligibility. Under COMAR 10.03.01.08, access to certified death records is limited to qualifying individuals such as surviving relatives, authorized representatives, funeral directors, and those with a demonstrated legal need. The Health Department website at kentcountyhealth.org has current information on hours, fees, and required documents. Call ahead before your visit to confirm hours and availability.
| Address | 125 Lynchburg Street, Chestertown, MD 21620 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 410-778-1350 |
| Records Available | Deaths from 2015 to present |
| Website | kentcountyhealth.org |
Pre-2015 Kent County Death Records
For death records from before 2015, the Maryland Division of Vital Records in Baltimore is the main source. The Division is located at 6764B Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215, and the phone number is 410-764-3038. Their website at health.maryland.gov/vsa/ has the forms and instructions you need to order by mail or online. You can also use the VitalChek service at vitalchek.com, which is an authorized third-party ordering platform that adds a convenience fee for online requests with credit card payment and shipping options.
For even older death records in Kent County, going back to the 19th century, the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis holds the key collections. Circuit court death records from Kent County dating from 1865 to 1871 are cataloged as MSA C1049 at the Archives. These records are not available through the health department system. They belong to an earlier period when death registration was handled through the courts rather than a centralized health authority. The Archives catalog at vitalrec.msa.maryland.gov lets you search what is available before you make a trip to Annapolis. The Maryland State Archives are at 350 Rowe Blvd., Annapolis, MD 21401, phone 410-260-6400.
Note: For deaths before the vital records system began, newspaper notices and church records are often the only surviving source of obituary information.
Kent County Genealogical and Historical Obituary Sources
Researchers looking for Kent County obituary records from earlier periods have several strong resources to draw from. The Maryland State Archives at msa.maryland.gov holds compiled genealogical databases that include death data from Kent County newspapers. One significant collection is titled "Genealogical Data Taken from Newspapers, Obituaries and Marriages, Kent County, Maryland," which draws from historical local newspapers. This type of compiled source can fill gaps where no formal death certificate exists, especially for deaths before the late 19th century.
Another major historical source is the multi-county volume titled "According to the Church: Births Deaths Marriages for Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot and Caroline Counties." Church records from the Eastern Shore are among the most complete early vital data available anywhere in Maryland. Kent County was home to several long-standing congregations that kept careful registers. These records are held at the Maryland State Archives and in some cases at local historical organizations. If a death certificate is not available for a specific year, a church register entry may confirm the date of death and surviving family members.
The Maryland State Archives online portal at msa.maryland.gov is searchable and free to use. You can look for specific records by county, time period, and record type. Many collections have been digitized and can be viewed online. Others require a visit to the Archives reading room in Annapolis or a written request for paper copies. Staff can help you identify the right collection if you call or email before your visit.
Kent County Historical Society
The Kent County Historical Society, located in Chestertown, preserves local records and history that can be useful for obituary research. Their collections include materials that span the county's history and draw from local families, churches, newspapers, and civic organizations. The Historical Society focuses on preserving what might otherwise be lost, and their holdings often include items not duplicated anywhere else.
For researchers who have exhausted the state-level databases and need more specific local information, the Historical Society is a practical next step. Items like family papers, cemetery records, local newspaper clippings, and community histories can all contain obituary data. Many county historical societies on the Eastern Shore have made their collections easier to search in recent years, and the Kent County organization is no exception. Contact them directly to find out what they hold for a specific family name or time period before planning a visit. The Kent County government website at kentcounty.com has additional links to county resources and contacts.
Searching Kent County Obituaries Online
Online research for Kent County obituary records can save time before visiting an office in person. The Maryland State Archives provides a searchable death index at vitalrec.msa.maryland.gov that includes records from multiple counties and time periods. You can search by name and year to see whether a record exists in the Archives collection and what steps are needed to request it.
The Maryland Division of Vital Records online ordering system at health.maryland.gov/vsa/ allows eligible requesters to submit applications for death certificates without visiting Chestertown or Baltimore. You will need to upload identification documents and provide details about the deceased and your relationship to them. Orders submitted online typically take several weeks to process. For faster results, the in-person option at the Kent County Health Department is the better choice when the record falls within the 2015-to-present window.
Cities in Kent County
Kent County's main population center is Chestertown, the county seat. No cities in Kent County meet the population threshold for a dedicated records page on this site. All death record requests for residents throughout Kent County are handled through the health department and state-level offices described on this page.
Communities in Kent County include Chestertown, Rock Hall, Galena, Millington, and Betterton. All of these follow the same process for requesting death records through the Kent County Health Department for recent deaths and state agencies for older records.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Kent County on Maryland's Eastern Shore. If you are not certain which county holds the death record you need, check the address of the deceased at the time of death to confirm the right jurisdiction.