Manitoba Births - What else you can try
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This page will give you additional guidance and resources to find birth information for your ancestor. Use this page after first completing the birth section of the Manitoba Guided Research page.
Additional Online Resources
Additional Databases and Online Resources
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- (List of collections) Canada Births and Baptisms, 1661-1959
Manitoba Church Records, 1800-1959 |
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Images Only (Browsable Images)
Some collections have not been indexed but are available to browse image by image.
- 1800-1959: Manitoba Church Records at FamilySearch Historical Records
Click the question mark for instructions for how to search Historical Records browsable images when there is no index.
How to Request the Record When It's Not Online
Province-wide registration for births started in 1882. General compliance occurred in the 1920s. A few birth records exist before then.
To learn more about record limitations and restrictions, see the article Manitoba Vital Records.
To order birth records from 1870-1918, contact:
- Vital Statistics Agency
254 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg MB R3C 0B6
Phone: 204-945-3701
Email: vitalstats@gov.mb.ca
Website
NOTE: Birth records are confidential for births less than 100 years ago. If either party or an immediate next of kin is living, written consent is required to order a record during this restricted period (see Restrictions for more details).
Substitute Records
Additional Records with Birth Information
Substitute records may contain information about more than one event and are used when records for an event are not available. Records that are used to substitute for birth events may not have been created at the time of the birth. The accuracy of the record is contingent upon when the information was recorded. Search for information in multiple substitute records to confirm the accuracy of these records.
| Use these substitute records to locate birth information about your ancestor: | ||
| Why to search the records | ||
| Death records may include the birth date or age of the deceased. With the age, a birth date can be approximated. Click on the link to the left to return to the "Death" page. | ||
| Manitoba can be found in Canada censuses from 1881 to 1921. Manitoba conducted its own census in 1870. Additionally, censuses in the Northwest Provinces (including Manitoba) were taken in 1906 and 1916. Census records often give ages of the recorded individuals, allowing researchers to calculate birth years. | ||
| Gravestone inscriptions and cemetery records may include a birth date or year. | ||
| Baptism records occasionally provide a birth date. In addition, a marriage or burial record may include an age, which can then be used to approximate a birth year. To access church records, first determine the denomination. | ||
| In addition to obituaries, newspapers publish notices of marriages, divorces, deaths, and funerals. In recent years, birth notices have also been published providing the names of the parents and sex of the child. | ||
| Obituaries often include the birth date and place of the deceased. | ||
Research Help
Virtual Genealogy Consultations
Schedule a free online consultation with a research specialist:
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Improve Searching
Tips for finding births
Successfully finding birth records in online databases depends on a few key points. Try the following search suggestions:
- Spelling variations. Your ancestor's name may be misspelled. Search with spelling variations for the first and last name of your ancestor.
- Search parents. Search for the parents, if known, as the child's first name may not be on the birth record.
- Search given name. Search by given name (leave out the last name) with the approximate date of birth.
- Add information. For common names, add more information to narrow the search such as approximate birth year, birth place, or parents' names if known.
- Date range. Expand the date range of the search by 5 years.
- Search province. Search using the province name only instead of by smaller locality.
Why the Record may not Exist
Known Record Gaps
Records Start
- 1882 Civil registration began. Before 1882, births and baptisms can be found in church records.
- 1920s Universal compliance to registration was achieved in Manitoba.
Records Destroyed
- Some vital and parish records have been lost as a result of fires.