Our collection of local history material on Wakefield and the surrounding area comprises more than 1,600 volumes, including many genealogical sources about local families. This collection is limited to use in the library and is not available for interlibrary loan. A photocopier and scanner are available, and we are happy to send copies to individuals who cannot visit the library in person. Materials are shelved in the Quiet Reading Room on the main floor, in our climate controlled archives room, or on microfilm. Please see a librarian for assistance, call 781-246-6334, or send us an email.

This online database includes basic death record information for people whose deaths were registered in Wakefield. Data is taken from published town annual reports. The database currently includes almost 31,600 deaths from January 1850 through December 2016. Death records for Wakefield up to the year 1850 can be found in Vital records of Wakefield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, compiled by Thomas W. Baldwin, which is available online in full text, keyword searchable, at the Internet Archive via the above link.

Information in published death records varies depending on the era. Nineteenth century records tended to include more information, including the cause of death, parents’ names and birthplace, marital status, and occupation. More recent listings tend to include only name, age, and date of death.

For more information on vital records in Massachusetts and how to obtain them, visit the
Massachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statistics or Mass-Doc.Com.

Please report errors to email@wakefieldlibrary.org

Enter all or part of the Last Name:
Enter all or part of the Date of Death (YYYY-MM-DD):

SEARCH EXAMPLES:

Searching the name SMI will find “Smith”, “Smithson”, “Smiley”, etc.
Searching the name REY will find “Reynolds”, “Carey”, “Jeffreys”, etc.
Searching the date 1998 will find all deaths for that year
Searching the date 2002-09 will find all deaths in September 2002.
Searching the date 199 will find all deaths in the 1990s.
Searching the name JONES with the date 199 will find all Jones deaths during the 1990s.