Vital Records
A selection of links to websites helpful for locating birth, death, and marriage records.
See also:
- American Battle Monuments Commission
- This site has a several databases containing listings for persons killed in action or missing in action during wars from the Mexican War to the Vietnam War.
- American FactFinder
- This U.S. Census Bureau site is designed to make finding census information easier. Included are community profiles, reference and thematic maps, and population and housing facts.
- Arizona Birth & Death Certificate Archive
- Birth and death certificates for residents of Arizona are now available to the public through this site, provided the birth was more than 75 years ago, and the death more than 50 years ago.
- Deaths of U.S. Citizens in Foreign Countries
- Information on reports of Americans who have died abroad. Guidance is provided for obtaining reports from U.S. consular offices to the Department of State naming U.S. citizens who died abroad.
- Find A Grave
- This site helps you search for ancestors’ graves, memorials, monuments, burial records, and cemeteries. It also provides links to the graves of thousands of famous people around the world.
- Illinois Statewide Death Index Pre-1916
- This database provides listings of death certificates filed with the Illinois Department of Public Health prior to 1916. Also available is Illinois Death Certificates, 1916–1950 which is an index of of death certificates filed with the Illinois Department of Public Health between 1916 and 1950.
- Marriage Registers of Freedman
- Elaine Everly, NARA staff member, wrote this article on Freedmans’ marriage registers. Published in the Fall 1973 issue of Prologue, it is an invaluable source of family history .
- Missouri Birth and Death Records Database, Pre 1910
- A database which provides over 185,000 records from 87 counties. Birth records give such information as the name of child, date and place of birth, sex, and race; nationality, residence, and ages of parents, occupation and full name of father, maiden name of mother. Stillbirth records include the name of undertaker and place of burial. Death records include the name, sex, color, age, occupation, marital status, nationality, birthplace; date, place, and cause of death; date and place of burial.
- National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
- This website assists genealogists seeking modern vital records and gives current information on state laws and procedures.
- Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- This site, maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs, allows genealogists to search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans’ cemeteries, and various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries. It also provides information on veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.
- New York City Death Index
- 2,760,000 records are included in the database.
- Obituaries and Cemeteries Online
- Helpful links on where to search for burial records, tombstone inscriptions, and obituaries online through this LibrarySpot site.
- Online Searchable Death Indexes
- Created by Joe Beine, this site lists death indexes by state and county, and includes obituaries, death certificate databases, probate indexes, and more.
- Online Searchable Death Indexes for the USA
- This site provides databases for genealogists and other researchers.
- State Archives
- Locations of state archives and historical societies with contact information.
- Vitalrec.com
- This site is helpful for beginning researchers because it is organized by state and then county, and gives instructions on how to make inquiries concerning vital records.
- Where to Write for Vital Records
- The National Center for Health Statistics provides this state-by-state health information site.
- WorldVitalRecords.com
- WorldVitalRecords.com is a division of MyHeritage. It is a subscription service offering birth, marriage and death records; family histories; directories and lists; and more.