There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.

• What Are Vital Records?
• Finding and Obtaining Vital Records
• Interpreting the Information
• Lesson Plan: Getting and Using Vital Records

What Are Vital Records?

Vital records are official records of birth, death, and marriage; they are the documents necessary to build a genealogical foundation for our ancestry. It is important to research vital records for recent as well as earlier generations. When reviewing vital records, you might find conflicting facts. But finding an alternate spelling of a name or a date that you haven't seen before might aid your research.

The best way to research vital records is to view original or copies of originals. Although transcriptions of vital records are available in books and on the Internet, they may contain errors. Abstracts, or summaries, of records contain only what the writer has chosen to include.

Early marriage records usually contain the following information:
    -Name of bride and groom 
    -Date of marriage 
    -Place of marriage 
Some marriage records include additional information:
    -Age of bride and groom 
    -Names of parents
    -Birthplace of bride and groom and sometimes of their parents 
    -Residence of bride and groom 
    -Name of minister or official who performed ceremony 
    -Witnesses to marriage (sometimes relatives or friends of bride and groom)

Birth records generally provide the following information:
    -Name and gender of child
    -Name of father

Death records provide the following information:
    -Name of deceased 
    -Date of death 
    -Place of death 
Death records may also include:
    -Age at death and, possibly, the birth date of deceased 
    -Name of spouse 
    -Name of parents of deceased
    -Place and date of burial 
    -Cause of death 
    -Name of attending physician at death 
    -Length of illness 
    -Name of hospital where death occurred 
    -Address of deceased 
    -Informant (The informant might be a relative or close friend of the deceased, or someone, perhaps a stranger, present at the time of death who provided the information required.)

Births and deaths have been registered in North Carolina only since 1913; before that time the state did not require birth or death records. Before 1868, few marriages in North Carolina were recorded. Marriage bonds were in use from 1741 to 1868. When a marriage was performed by special license, the groom executed a bond in the county where the bride resided. Some of these bonds have survived for about half the counties in the state. Names of parents, age, and other personal information usually do not appear on the bonds. Certification of marriage was not required until 1851.

Up to top
 

Finding and Obtaining Vital Records

Each state dictates when and where vital records are to be maintained. Counties often hold death certificates. Some counties transfer vital records to state archives or records departments. Sometimes vital records find other homes, such as university libraries. Courthouse fires, common in the South during the Civil War, destroyed many vital records.

Different records contain different information. First, determine what record you need to answer the genealogical questions you are asking. The chart at the following link will help you determine what record has the information you seek:
http://www.familychronicle.com/records.html.

Knowing where to look for vital records presents a challenge. Start by calling the clerk of court’s office in the county where you believe the event— birth, marriage, or death—occurred. You can usually find out if it has the record you're looking for and what it costs to have a copy sent to you. If the clerk of court’s office doesn't have the record, it might direct you to another county or agency.

For North Carolina records, start your search at http://www.vitalrec.com/nc.html. It contains information about where to obtain copies of North Carolina vital records and how much copies cost. It includes the addresses of and Internet links to North Carolina Vital Records Office, North Carolina Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Archives, and county vital record offices.

Another helpful on-line resource can be found at http://www.familytreemaker.com/00000262.html, which provides addresses and phone numbers for North Carolina county courthouses.

The site http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncunknow/ncunknow.html offers valuable help when you don't know in what county an event occurred.

When requesting vital records, provide detailed information to help the person looking for the records and to ensure that you will receive the correct records. (Click on the following link for a handout about requesting vital records. Print and copy the page and distribute to your club members. Click the Back icon on your browser to return to this page after printing the handout.)

Up to top
 

Interpreting the Information

Once you have found the vital records you need, other challenges lie ahead. Interpreting the information in these records can be difficult, especially when it conflicts with other primary sources. The following tips will help you clarify vital records:

Delayed birth certificates were commonly issued to people born before birth records were kept. These certificates allowed individuals to obtain other forms of identification, such as passports, or to verify age for Social Security or other retirement programs. A delayed birth certificate is a secondary source. Verify the information listed on the delayed birth certificate with other primary sources.

There are two kinds of marriage records: marriage licenses and marriage certificates. A couple fills out a marriage license before they marry. The official presiding over the wedding ceremony signs the marriage certificate. The documents contain similar information, but the license contains more information than the certificate. You can sometimes confirm marriages through church or temple records. If you don't know the name of the religious organization, note the name of the person who officiated at the ceremony. Then check local newspapers or city directories to determine where the wedding occurred. You can also check the local newspaper for marriage notices. Although notices provide little information, they occasionally state the name of the bride's father or the groom's address.

A death certificate also contains information about a person's life. But keep in mind that information supplied by an informant may not be accurate. Information about the date, time, and cause of death is most likely correct, but others facts should be checked against information found in other primary sources. Unless the deceased is an infant who died soon after birth, confirm the date and place of birth and the parents' names with other sources. Confirm the name of the spouse, if deceased, with other sources. Verify military service dates. Verify the Social Security number, if included on the death certificate, with the Social Security card or with the Social Security Administration.

When vital records differ from family and other records, follow these guidelines:

• For date of birth and names of parents, use a birth certificate before a death certificate, family Bible, tombstone, or obituary.
• For date of death, use a death certificate before a family Bible, tombstone, or obituary.
• For birth and death dates, use a family Bible before a tombstone or obituary.

?Lesson Plan: Getting and Using Vital Records
 

Overview:	Practice finding and interpreting vital records.
Purpose:	Finding, obtaining, and interpreting vital records are challenging but necessary steps in conducting genealogical research. A little practice and guidance can help novice genealogists through the process.
Time:	One club meeting
Objectives:	All competency goals in the N.C. Informational Skills Curriculum, all grade    levels, especially Competency Goal 4 (The learner will EXPLORE and USE   research processes to meet information needs). Skills I, II, and III in the N.C. Social Studies Curriculum, all grade levels.
Materials:	Requesting Vital Records handout, one copy for each club member Photocopies of one person's original marriage license and birth and death    certificates, preferably found by a club member during his or her genealogy    research, one copy for each club member

Procedure:

1. Have each club member write a letter requesting two vital records from a county, the North Carolina State Vital Records Office, or the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Washington, D.C., using the tips provided on the handout.
2. Using the photocopies of one person's vital documents, have your club members list the types of information found in each one and discuss why these facts are important to genealogy research.
3. Have your club members examine the documents for discrepancies. For instance, the spelling of person's name or a birth date may vary among the records. Discuss why the facts on vital records do not always agree and how this affects genealogy research. List ways of pinpointing actual spellings, dates, event locations, etc.

Lesson 4 Handout:

Requesting Vital Records

Linebar graphic by Vickimouse (http://www.vikimouse.com/)