Birth & Death Certificates: Important Facts
Birth and death certificates are incredibly important to any type of genealogical research because they can provide important data, such as places of birth, parents names, and maiden names. However, there are some important things to know in regards to death and birth certificates.
- 1915 the national birth-registration area was established.
- 1933 all states were registering live births and deaths.
- 1968, the year when 99.1% of live births were actually registered.
- Individual states began birth and death registrations at different, times. There was a law enacted in Virginia as early as 1632.
Registered Births of Enslaved People
The births of enslaved peoples were documented in a variety of ways (see the section on slavery records for more information). However, there were official birth registrations for slaves under certain circumstances. One example is a law that was passed in New Jersey in 1804 that stated from that year forward, males slaves were to be freed at the age of twenty-five and female slaves freed at the age of twenty-one. To comply with the law slaves born in 1804 or after were supposed to have their births registered with county clerks.
For free African Americans prior to 1915 you can contact the county clerks office for proof of registered births (See the section on accessing vital records). However, it is possible that births might be recorded in other unofficial records, such as family Bible and church records.
Indexes & Registers
Many vital records indexes and registers are now available through various genealogy databases and websites, such as the ones listed above. You can also access them at the New York Public Library. Below are just a few examples:
- U.S. Counties: Birth Registers
- U.S. Counties: Death Indexes
- SSA Limited Access Death Master File Information
