Genealogy Tips

Lydia Proctor Mysteries : Using Genealogy to Solve Mysteries of the Past...

What is a Vital Record?

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What is a Vital Record?

A Vital Record is a document issued at the time of an event, usually a birth, marriage or death. They are issued by an authority whether it be a minister, county courthouse, or a state agency. They are necessary to prove that your research is accurate.

A Birth Entry can be found in a number of places: Town clerk (New England States primarily), the local county courthouse (and not always in the county they lived), through a hospital, and via the state. These are considered primary sources. Which means the information is usually pretty reliable.

Substitutions are: Baptismal/church records, bible records, delayed birth entries, town clerk collections (New England States again), etc. These tend to lean more towards secondary evidence depending on the source and time lapsed between the entering of the information.

The Death Entry is the exception as far as reliability. The location of the entry can be found in the same sort of places: The town clerk (New England States primarily), the local county courthouse (and not always in the county they lived), through a hospital, mortuary, and via the state.

Substitutions are: tombstones, obituaries, bible records, town clerk collections (New England States again), etc.

The reason why Death records are considered secondary is because they are only as reliable as the person who gave the information. Obviously the deceased didn't tell the mortician who his father and mother were, or the actual date he was born. So be sure to give these records a bit more leeway when gleaning information.

A Marriage Record can be found in a number of places: The town clerk (New England States primarily), the local county courthouse (and not always in the county they lived), minister's records, church records and via the state. These are also considered primary sources. Which means the information is usually pretty reliable because it was recorded at the time of the event.

Substitutions are: bible records, town clerk collections (New England States again), etc. These tend to lean more towards secondary evidence depending on the source and time lapsed between the event and when it was recorded.

Try to document or at least verify your sources before you send them to another genealogist. They will appreciate it!

Document and verify all the sources you get off the Internet too. It will be worth it in the end.