Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area Death Records
Death records for Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area are maintained by Alaska's Health Analytics and Vital Records Section at the state level. As a census area without borough government, there is no local office that issues death certificates. All requests for certified death certificates from this Southeast Alaska region go through the state vital records system. This page explains the process and points you to historical collections including the Hyder and Craig precinct records that date back to the early 1900s.
Prince of Wales-Hyder Overview
How Prince of Wales-Hyder Death Records Work
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area is part of Alaska's unorganized borough, created for statistical purposes without a borough-level government. All vital records for this area are held by the Health Analytics and Vital Records Section (HAVRS) in Juneau and Anchorage. There is no local vital records office anywhere in the census area. All death certificate requests go directly to HAVRS.
Alaska Statute AS 18.50 governs all vital records in the state. Death records are restricted for 50 years after the date of death. Records from before 1975 are now public. Records from 1975 onward require proof of an eligible relationship. The census area spans Prince of Wales Island and the Hyder area near the Canadian border, and its records reflect communities built around fishing, logging, and mining.
Statewide death registration began in 1913. For Craig, Hydaburg, and Klawock on Prince of Wales Island, and for Hyder near Stewart, BC, compliance with state registration came relatively quickly given the commercial activity in the area. Church records and precinct court records filled in the gaps before formal registration and are now part of the Alaska State Archives holdings.
Requesting Death Certificates from This Region
Certified death certificates for Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area are ordered through the state HAVRS system. Options include in-person at a state office, online through VitalChek, or by mail or fax using the official form. Email orders are not accepted.
The Juneau office at 5441 Commercial Blvd., Juneau, AK 99801, phone (907) 465-3391, fax (907) 465-3618, is the closest state location to the Prince of Wales-Hyder area. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Anchorage office at 3901 Old Seward Hwy, Ste. 101, Anchorage, AK 99503, phone (907) 269-0991, is open the same hours. Mail requests go to Health Analytics and Vital Records, P.O. Box 110675, Juneau, AK 99811-0675.
The first certified copy costs $30. Each additional copy at the same time costs $25. An apostille for foreign use costs $42. A record verification costs $2.50. Orders through VitalChek take 2 to 3 weeks. Mail and fax submissions take 2 to 3 months. All requests need a completed form, government-issued ID copy, and payment.
Note: Submit through one channel only to prevent duplicate processing fees.
Historical Death Records for Prince of Wales-Hyder
Through the partnership between the Alaska State Archives and FamilySearch, several collections specific to the Prince of Wales-Hyder area are available. The Alaska, Hyder, Death Records (1921-1957) covers deaths in the Hyder community during the mining era. The Alaska, Craig, Birth, Marriage, and Death Records (1910-1991) is a particularly rich collection that spans eight decades of vital records for Craig on Prince of Wales Island. A companion collection, the Alaska, Hyder, Marriage Certificates (1920-1957), can help fill in family group details.
The Alaska State Archives at 395 Whittier St., Juneau, AK 99811-0571, phone (907) 465-2270, is the official repository for these territorial-era records. Researchers interested in specific communities on Prince of Wales Island or in the Hyder area should contact the Archives to identify which record groups cover those communities and what years are available. The Archives' Vital Statistics by Name index provides a statewide name search that includes Prince of Wales-Hyder area records.
The statewide Alaska Vital Records collections at FamilySearch (1816-2005) and at Ancestry (1818-1963) include records from the Prince of Wales-Hyder area. The Alaska State Library provides additional genealogy resources for Southeast Alaska, and the National Archives in Seattle holds some federal records relevant to the region.