Genealogy Basics: Birth and Death Records

Birth and death records are two of the most important sources for genealogical data because they are completed at or close to the time when the event occurred by someone who was present at that time.

Birth Record
Birth certificates are usually signed by the midwife or doctor who attended the birth. There are 3 kinds of birth certificates: original, delayed and amended.

Original birth certificates are filed at birth. Delayed birth certificates are issued years after the date of birth for the reason that the original birth certificate was not filed. Amended birth certificates are official records which have been revised because the original record contained errors or insufficient information.

Birth certificates often contain the following information:

Name of the child
Name of the parents
Date of birth
Time of birth
Place of birth
Gender of the child
Mother’s name (may include the maiden name)
Occupation of mother
Race of mother
Age of mother
Place of birth of mother
Father’s name
Occupation of father
Race of father
Age of father
Place of birth of father
number of children in the family, excluding the this child
Attending doctor or midwife
Witnesses to the birth

While the certificate of birth is a reliable source of genealogical information, a possibility of error cannot be disregarded if the certificate was filed several years after the actual event.

Death Record
Death records are very important source of genealogical information since it is the most recent record available. It can be a good alternative if birth and marriage records could are not present.

Death records may contain the following information:

Name
Date of death
Cause of death
Place of death
Exact time of death
Age of death
Current residence
Date and place of birth (if known)
Occupation
Civil status (married, divorced or single)
Name of spouse (if married); maiden name of spouse if the deceased is male
Name of parents
Place of burial/ name of funeral home
Name of informant (the person who gives the information about the deceased); relationship of the deceased
Witnesses or officials present at death

Since the information about the deceased is only given by someone who knew the deceased, the accuracy may be questionable or incomplete since the informant may not have the full knowledge about the person.

 FIRST NAME

 LAST NAME

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