Using Vital Records For Family Trees

Vital records can help fill in many of the gaps we have in our family history research. Once you have an ancestor’s name, you can find that person’s parents’ names and countries of origin by checking a marriage certificate or a birth certificate. All you need is a person’s name to find the date of death and burial place.

If you know a relative got divorced, then you will be able to look up any children they may have had on the divorce record. In addition to using the federal census records, the vital local records are valuable assets as well.

Most of the existing family genealogy records were collected by local governments, starting in the early 1900s. However, the Quakers and earliest immigrants to America were also very diligent note-takers, the Genealogical Publishing Company tells us. In the Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy 1750 to 1930, William Wade Hinshaw lists 455,000 Quakers from New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In the monthly Society of Friends meetings, members listed all births, marriages and deaths dating as far back as 1850. Other records include early immigrant migrations from countries like Germany, Switzerland and Britain, as well as complete histories of the earliest ancestors to states like New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The CDs can be purchased for $39.99 to $59.99 at Genealogical and can be a great way to continue your search of early historical records.

If you want vital records after the 1900s, you will need to write a very brief letter explaining why you need these historical records, as well as your relationship to the person. You should also provide a telephone number where you may be reached. It’s important that you include as much information as you know.

For instance, for a marriage record, include the full names of both bride and groom, along with the month/day/year of marriage and the place of marriage. If you’re looking for a divorce record, then include both of the names, the date and place of the annulment. For birth and death certificates, include the names, dates, locations and parental information if you know it.

You may feel discouraged during your vital records search and feel as though you’re being “nickeled-and-dimed” for each page you’ve requested to have sent to you. There are several ways to get around this. You may wish to pay a genealogist to complete a number of searches for you at one price.

You may also wish to get a few family members to split the cost with you (or take up a $5/person collection at the next family reunion). There are also a number of free resources that may give you the basic information, which can be found at Freeprf.