Alabama Vital Records

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Alabama Vital Records Online

Alabama Vital Record Links

The internet is a powerful tool for locating online Alabama Vital Records. Online vital record resources are usually in the form of indexes and extracts of birth, marriage, death and divorce records. While the internet can deliver almost instantaneous results, original records should always be consulted.

Introduction to Vital Records

Alabama Vital Records include, birth, marriage, divorce, and death records.  Documents recording these important events are commonly referred to as "vital records".  A copy or extract of the original record may be obtained by contacting the Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health or the specific county clerk's offices. United States Vital Records offers an overview of vital records in the United States.

Record Availability and Coverage

The Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health has:

• Birth Records beginning January of 1908
• Marriage Records beginning August of 1936. For marriages prior to this time, contact the Probate Court in county where license was issued.
• Divorce Records beginning January of 1950. For divorces prior to this time, contact the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where divorce was granted.
• Death Records beginning January of 1908

 

Birth Records 

Contents: date and place of birth, name of child, name of parents. may include: parents place of birth, sibling numbers, multiple birth

1881 to 1908

 Alabama Counties were requested to register births in 1881. However, the idea of registering a birth was not considered important by many families. If a baby's survival was questioned, they may not report the birth at all. Most of these early birth registers do not list the name of the child, but may contain sex, race, place and date of birth, parents, and possibly the physician or midwife attending the birth.

Check your county for available records. There has been some record loss.

The county death records specify name, age, gender, race, date, place, and cause of death.

1908 to Present

The State of Alabama did not require the recording of births until 1908. The recording of vital records gradually increased with time and was generally complied with by 1927. If a baby's survival was questioned, a birth certificate may not have been created. Most of the early birth certificates do not list the name of the child, but may contain the sex, race, place and date of birth, parents, and possibly the physician or midwife attending the birth. By the 1920's, it is more common to find the baby's name included in the record. Links to some online indexes maybe found at Alabama Vital Records Online. Contact information and instructions for ordering copies of birth certificates may be found at the Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health.

State Records

Statewide registration of births and deaths in Alabama began in January of 1908 and was generally complied with by 1927. The Bureau of Vital Statistics / Center for Health Statistics Record Servies has Alabama birth and death records from 1908 to the present.

The Family History Library has microfilms of statewide Death Records from 1908 to 1974 and Death Indexes from 1908 to 1959 may be viewed at a Family History Center near you. 

Alabama. Department of Health (Montgomery, Alabama). Deaths, 1908–1972; Index to Deaths, 1908–1969. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993.

Alabama Statewide Deaths 1908-1974 are available on Record Search

Adoption Records

http://adph.org/vitalrecords/

Marriage Records

Marriage records: name of bride and groom, date and place of marriage may include: witnesses, parents names, name of officiator

County Records 

Before statewide registration of marriages, the clerk of the probate court in each county issued licenses and recorded marriages. These records usually begin within 10 years of the creation of the county. By 1900?? marriage certificates listed the names of the bride and groom, date of marriage, bondsmen, and licensed officiant. The records may include the names of parents and their ages, occupations, and number of previous marriages for each spouse.

The Family History Library has microfilms of the county marriage records for most Alabama counties.

State Records

Statewide registration of marriages began in August of 1936. The statewide marriage records are located at the State Department of Public Health / Center for Health Stat.....(see address below).

The Family History Library has films of the statewide marriage records from 1936 to 1992 and indexes from 1936 to 1959:

Alabama. Department of Health. (Montgomery, Alabama). Marriage Certificates, 1936–1992; Index, 1936–1959. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993.

For Marriage Records prior to August 1936, contact the Probate Judge in county where license was issued.

Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969

Alabama Marriages to 1825

Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920

Divorce Records

Alabama Divorce Index, 1950-1959

Death Records

Death records: date;and place of death, name of deceased, may include: name of spouse, birth date and place,name of parents,occupation, cause of death, burial place, church affiliation

Alabama Statewide Death Certificate: A free internet index and images to the Alabama Statewide Death Certificates can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search website. For a description of the collection see Alabama Statewide Death Certificates

Alabama Death, 1908-1959

Alabama Department of Archives and History

Other Dates

Pre 1881 Vital Records

1702 Settlement of Alabama began (obtain and link to map showing settlement patterns)

1795-1810 Alabama was part of Mississippi (obtain and link a map)

Alabama a part of Florida (obtain and link to a map)

1817 Alabama became a territory of the United States (what other areas did the territory include; link to a map)

1819 Alabama achieved Statehood (62 years until counties required to record BMD)

Lost / Missing Records

Early vital events may not have been recorded.  Some counties may have lost records due to fire, flood, military actions or other events.

SEE Also: Alabama Burned Counties

Burned Counties Research

To learn of lost records search for the particular county you are intereded in.

The list below indicates some of the known record loss for Alabama counties.

(Butler county courthouse burned April 1853,Calhoun rec loss 1861; 1865,  Cherokee records burned in 1882, Clay rec loss 1875, Coffee/Elba rec loss 1877, Conecuh rec loss 1868,1875,1885,1895, Coosa rec loss 1900,Covington rec burned 1895,Dale rec los 1895, Escambia rec loss 1868, Fayette rec loss 1866; 1916,Franklin rec burned 1890,Geneva rec loss 1898, Green rec loss 1868, Jackson rec loss 1864, 1920, Jefferson rec loss 1870, Limestoone rec loss 1862, Marengo rec loss 1848, 1965, Marion rec burned 1883, 1887, Mobile rec loss 1823,1840,1872,Monroe burned prior to 1833, rec loss 1832,Pickens rec loss 1864, 1876, Pike rec loss 1830, Randolph rec loss 1896, Sumpter rec loss 1901,Walker rec burned 1865,1877, 1886, 1932)

ADD an INTERACTIVE county map of Alabama showing counties with records loss. LINK to County page.

Where to Get the Record,

For information about county birth and death records, write to the county health department. Learn when the county was created.

Addresses for county offices may be located by:

• On Line
  *Reference Aids: HandyBook for Genealogist, Ancestry's Red Book, and others

      For copies of birth and death registrations after 1908, write to:

Center for Health Statistics Record Services State Department of Public Health P.O. Box 5625 Montgomery, AL 36103 Telephone: 334-206-5418 Fax: 334-262-9563 Internet address: RSA Tower 201 Monroe St., Suite 1150 Montgomery, AL 36104

For current fees for obtaining copies of the state’s records contact the state office or visit their Web site.

Alabama Vital Records

Finding aids

Indexes

There are several statewide indexes:

Early Alabama Marriages 1810–1850: Many Continue or End Between 1850 to 1900, a Few Continue Through from 1900–1936. San Antonio, Texas: Family Adventures, 1991. There are indexes for grooms and brides. This same information is published in Early Alabama Marriage Records. These volumes were also published in 1991.

Alabama Marriages Early to 1825: A Research Tool. Bountiful, Utah: Precision Indexing, 1991. Over 6,000 marriages are listed alphabetically with the name of the couple and their date and county of marriage.

Marriage Records [Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina]. Orem, Utah: Automated Archives, 1994. (FHL compact disc Series 9 number 3.) The dates of the records for each county vary. The earliest records begin in 1807 and the latest extend to 1902.

Early (time coverage????)marriage records are also included in the Gandrud and Jones Alabama Records Collection (see the "Genealogy" section of this outline).

Record Reliability

The information given on a birth or death certificate is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to determine accuracy.

Tips

If you are unable to locate a vital records recorded by civil governments; search for a church record of christening, marriage, burial or death. A Family Bible may have been used to record family birth, marriages and deaths.

If you are of African American desent the records for your ancestors may be in separate vital records files with separate indexes.

Privacy laws restrict access to the records of living individuals, the individual must apply for their records, parents may be permitted to obtain a records for a child.

See Also

Subtitute Records

Church Records

Federal census: ........1850-1880; 1900-1930......

Alabama Census

MOVE chart to census

Head of Household | |- |  1831 and 1832 | Alabama | Every name | |- |  1833 | Alabama | Head of Household | |- |  1834,1835,1836,1837,1838 and 1839 | Alabama | Every Name | |- |  1855,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865 and 1866 | Alabama | Head of Household | |- | | | | |} Cemetery Records: Newspapers: obituary, announcemnets, Military Records: pension, elistment Vital records are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under: ALABAMA- VITAL RECORDS ALABAMA, [COUNTY]- VITAL RECORDS ALABAMA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- VITAL RECORDS Web Sites http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start *http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/alabama.htm *http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/deathrecords.html *http://www.ancestry.com/ *http://www.ancestryinstitution.com/ http://www.50states.com/vitalrecords/alabama.htm *http://www.daddezio.com/records/room/RR-AL-NDX.html *http://www.deathindexes.com/alabama/index.html

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)