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IRISH GENEALOGY Researching Your Irish Roots |
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The Desert
Shamrock
Arizona’s
Original Irish Newspaper
Volume 9, Number 5, September/October 1998, page 27
RESEARCHING YOUR
IRISH ROOTS
Civil Birth,
Marriage and Death Records
by Robert M.
Wilbanks IV, B.A.
Professional Genealogist & Historian
In the last article I explained about census records, a significant
type of record in genealogical research. Overall, they help locate where the
family was living in a specific year, and provide a wealth of information such
as who the children or parents were, dates and places of births, marriages and
deaths, occupation, year of immigration, naturalization, and much more.
Another
type of record(s) is civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths;
better known as vital records. Vital records are the most obvious for
genealogical research as they provide a wealth of individual and family data.
However, if you don’t know what city, county, state or country to search, then
the census records is your first best source to locate where the family was
living, and thus determine where to begin your research for vital records.
Also, with ages and number of years married provided in the census, it will be
easier to narrow down the years to search for the vital records; this will be
most helpful in cases where there are no indexes, or the indexes are created
annually.
While
vital records are clearly the most substantial type of record in genealogical
research, the problem is that birth, marriage and death certificates are
primarily unique to the 20th century. Vital records may have been kept at
earlier times in varying formats, dependent upon differing state requirements,
but they often can be rare or few and far between before 1900. Most states did
not initiate required registration of births, deaths and marriages until 1912.
However, these 20th century records can still provide you with information of
an individual back to the mid-1800s.
Some
cities, counties and states may have required births, marriages and deaths to
be kept prior to 1900. This will vary greatly. For example, the townships in
New England began keeping such records in the early 1600s. Virginia has some
scattered records in the 1700s, but began to require registration in 1853.
However, many Virginia counties lost these records to destruction in the Civil
War. The Carolinas have no form of vital records before 1912, while some of the
midwest states began to keep vital records in the 1850s.
In
America, vital records can be obtained from City Hall, the County Courthouse,
or the State’s Department of Health, Vital Records Department. In some cases
they can be found at the State’s Library and Archives. This will vary from city
to city, county to county, and state to state. With research, or through
genealogical societies, you can determine the specifics for the city, county or
state of interest. Meanwhile, many of the vital records from the 1600s and
1700s are available in books at genealogy libraries. Many records from the
1800s are on microfilm and available from the Family History Library in Salt
Lake City through your local Family History Center, as discussed in the
September/October 1997 issue of this publication.
The
Handy Book for Genealogists, by the Everton Publishers, provides a
state by state and county by county overview of existing vital records, as well
as other state and county information. Also, the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services periodically compiles a booklet, Where to Write for Vital
Records, which is a state by state list with dates the records began,
the types of records kept, the cost of certified or uncertified copies, and the
address of where to write. Any public library will have a copy of both of these
books, as well as the State Genealogy Library and the Family History Centers.
Meanwhile,
many British and European countries began keeping vital records nationally in
the 19th century. In Ireland, these records were begun in 1845 for Protestants,
and 1864 for Catholics. Indexes were created annually beginning in 1845, but
after 1878 were created Quarterly. In 1922, the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland began keeping separate civil registration records.
The
records from 1845 to 1921 for all of Ireland are at the General Register Office
in Dublin. The records from 1922 to the present are kept at the respective
General Register Offices in Dublin for the Republic of Ireland, or in Belfast
for Northern Ireland. However, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City has
microfilm copies of the indexes to all of the Irish vital records from 1845
through 1958. They also have microfilm copies of many of the original certificates,
but there are gaps in the collection so you may still have to obtain the
original records directly from Ireland.
As
well as varying in existence from city to county to state and to country, the
kind and amount of information recorded will also vary. Regardless, they will
always provide more, and helpful information and clues for further research.
Because of this varying existence and the amount of information, other records
are required in the family history research process. These include church records,
cemetery records, wills and probate records, deeds and other land and property
records, court records, newspapers, military records, ships passenger lists,
and immigration records, just to name a few. I’ll cover many of these records
in more detail in future issues of this publication.
This
is the eighth of the series of articles in which I have shown you the basics of
searching for your family history, discussing the use of family records, public
records, and networking nationally and internationally. I also discussed
general issues regarding research in Ireland, as well as geography and history
as tools of genealogical research. These previous articles are on my web site
at http://www.getnet.com/~rmwiv. Click on Professional Services then
Genealogical Writings.
DISCLAIMER: This is an important reminder that the above article is provided here exactly as originally written and published several years ago. Therefore, while most of the primary context of the article may still be relevant, please be aware that possibly certain of the information and references may now be outdated, such as individuals and organizations, links, contacts, facilities, etc. Please follow-up accordingly for more updated information.
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©2013, Robert M. Wilbanks IV, Scottsdale, Arizona
created Nov 15, 2013; last updated Nov 15, 2013