The Importance of Vital Records

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Vital records can be an integral part of filling in the dates and locations of events in the life of an ancestor. Often used in the genealogical research for the purpose of a family tree, vital records include birth, marriage, and death records with accurate detail, allowing individuals to flesh out good portions of family history.

Therefore, it is important to understand how to access and use vital records. A major advantage of official vital records is that they are both complete and accurate. The information contained within has been verified instead of being based on estimates or guesswork.

Depending on the country, city and time period of the event, they are kept by a variety of sources. Some European countries began keeping them at the national level during the nineteenth century. In the United States and Canada, record keeping is left to the individual state and/or city. New Orleans has the oldest required vital records in the U.S., dating back to 1790, while South Carolina did not require their registration until 1915.

Prior to official registration requirements, they were generally kept by churches. Those early records may vary widely in the information that they contain, but can be a valuable resource when official records are unavailable.

It is important to understand prior to beginning your genealogical research that vital records will not be available for all locations and all periods. Prior to official registration requirements, the registration rate was only 55% or so at best. Even now, registration only occurs 90% to 95% of the time. Additionally, before the days of computerization, records were handwritten and kept in fairly secure locations. Nonetheless, one act of God such as a fire or flood could destroy the records of an entire town.

The exact information that is contained with vital records will vary by the location and time period in which the record was created. Minimally, you can expect a birth record to contain the name, race and gender of the baby as well as the date of birth, and the names of both parents (if known). A minimal death record will contain the name of the deceased and the date and place of death. A marriage record will contain at least the full names of the couple and the date and location of the marriage, while a divorce record will minimally name the couple and list the dates of both marriage and divorce.

Many vital records provide a wealth of knowledge beyond these basics. It may be possible to ascertain names of parents or descendants, previous addresses, information about previous marriages, siblings and many other details from them. Since they vary so widely, it is smart to request every record that you can for each ancestor you wish to research. There is some overlap between records as well, meaning that if you cannot get one particular type of record you may be able to fill in the blanks from a different record.

You may not be able to locate the vital records of each ancestor, but you can request as many as possible to help fill out a family tree missing information. Vital records will provide plenty of information, should they be available, and can help you gather more data on an ancestor and his or her family.

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