Vital Records

Vital Records

Vital records are birth, marriage and death records that can give you much more information than just names and dates.

Even if you are new to genealogy, you should be familiar with vital records. It's a general term used for birth, marriage and death records. These documents are the foundation for any genealogy study.

These records can provide a lot more than just a name and a date. Depending on the region you are searching, you will find more or less information. Standardization of what is collected for the records does not exist.

On a birth registration, you'll probably find the parents' names and maybe even their occupations. You may find the specific location of the birth and the name of the participating doctor. Discovering the nme of the family doctor may be helpful in investigating family health issues.

Marriage records an provide even more information. The full names of the bride and groom, location of the marriage, parents of the bride and groom as well as other information may have been collected.

Death records can be a bit sparse. Full name and age, with date and place of death are the basic details. Cause of death can be interesting, especially if you are curious about any inherited health conditions.

Finding these records can help put together the puzzle of an ancesters life.

Vital Records