Civil Records: Births

Births were usually registered by the infant's father or by a neighbor of the family within a few days of the event. A birth record includes the day and time of the birth; the newborn's name; the parents' names; the town where the birth occurred, which may be different than where it was registered; and the address of the house or hospital where the birth took place. Family information may be included, such as the parents' ages, birthplaces or residences, marital statuses, professions, and the number of other children born to the mother.

You may also find information about the grandparents. Corrections or additions to a birth record may have been added as a note in the margin. Birth records could be entirely handwritten records or forms filled out with handwritten or typed text depending on the time period when they were created. Before the invention of photocopies, when people requested a copy of a birth record, the civil registration officials would provide a certificate of the record. Birth certificates could be a literal and complete transcription of the record or an extract of the same. Each civil birth entry may contain the following information:

• Given names and surname(s) of the newborn
• The hour, day, month, and year of birth
• The town (distinguishable from the municipality or judicial district of the birth)
• The street address of the house, or the hospital, in which the birth took place
• Declarant's marital status, age and/or place of birth and/or residence, and relationship to the newborn child
• Given names and surnames, birthplaces, age, domicile, professions, race, and marital status of the parents and, in some cases, dates of birth.
• Given names and surnames, birthplaces, professions, race, and marital status of the maternal and paternal grandparents, and/or if they have died.
• Names of the witnesses who were present for the act of recording the birth.

To learn how to find similar additional documents from different countries and years, click here to visit the FamilySearch catalog.