Alabama Vital Records: Difference between revisions

[[United States Vital Records|Vital Records]] consist of [[United States Birth Records|births]], adoptions, [[United States Marriage Records|marriages]], divorces, and [[United States Death Records|deaths]] recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. [[Locating United States Vital Records|United States Vital Records]] has additional research guidance on researching and using vital records. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/alabama.htm Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health] or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also {{FHL|471426|subject_id|disp=Alabama indexes}} and {{FHL|377581|subject_id|disp=Alabama Record Collections}} found in the Family History Library Catalog.  

The [http://www.alabama.gov/portal/secondary.jsp?page=AboutAlabama_Genealogy State of Alabama] required the registration of births on a state level beginning in 1908. Early registration in this time period was sketchy. Most births were recorded by 1927. Early birth registers and certificates generally do not contain the name of the child but may contain other important information as shown in the table below. It is more common to find the child's name by the 1920's. Birth Certificates are confidential for 125 years following the date of birth. To obtain copies of original birth records, contact the  [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1559 Alabama Department of Public Health].  Also see  [[Alabama, United States - Birth - 1908-Present]].  

In 1799, a law passed in the Mississippi Territory (including present day Alabama) requiring marriage licenses and bonds to be registered at the Orphans Court in the county of the bride's residence. To obtain copies of original marriage records, contact the Probate Court in the county where the license was issued.<br> To access microfilmed copies of county marriage records for some Alabama Counties do a "Place-name Search" of the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Family History Library Catalog] for the appropriate county name in the folllowing format: &nbsp;"Alabama, &lt;county name&gt;". &nbsp;(See [[Family History Library Catalog Place-name Search|How to do a Place-name search]] wiki page.)  

FamilySearch provides a name index to [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1674672 Alabama&nbsp;Marriages, 1816-1957].&nbsp;&nbsp; Background information regarding these historical records is available [https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Alabama_Marriages_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records) here].&nbsp; Also available for some counties are&nbsp;[https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1743384 indexes and images of Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950]. (Records are added as they become available.)  

*Gandrud, Pauline Myra Jones. ''Marriage, Death and Legal Notices from Early Alabama Newspapers, 1819-1893''. Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, c1981. {{WorldCat|11372100|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}} {{FHL|1760|item|disp=FHL Book 976.1 V2g}}

To access microfilmed copies of county marriage records for some Alabama Counties do a "Place-name Search" of the [https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog Family History Library Catalog] for the appropriate county name in the folllowing format: "Alabama, &lt;county name&gt;". &nbsp;(See [[Family History Library Catalog Place-name Search|How to do a Place-name search]] wiki page.)  

To obtain copies of original&nbsp;death records, contact the [http://adph.org/vitalrecords/Default.asp?id=1560 Alabama Department of Public Health]. Also see[[Alabama, United States - Death - 1900-Present]].  

*Alabama. Department of Health. ''Death Records&nbsp;from 1908 to 1974&nbsp;and Death Indexes from 1908 to 1959''.&nbsp;Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1993-2000. {{FHL|683729|item|disp=FHL Film 1,909,110 (first of 734 films)}}; also available at {{RecordSearch|1307888|Name of database}}; also see the wiki page [[Alabama Statewide Death Certificates (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Alabama Statewide Death Certificates]] for information about the database.)

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:  

*[[Alabama Statewide Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Alabama Statewide Death Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]

When searching for birth, marriage, or death records for [[African American Research|African Americans]] after the Civil War, check the record types listed above. Birth, marriage, and death information for African Americans prior to the Civil War can be found in [[African American Slavery and Bondage|other sources]]. See [[Alabama Minorities|Alabama Minorities]] for more information.  

*[[Alabama History|Histories]]:&nbsp;&nbsp;Local histories, family histories and biographies can all be sources of birth, marriage and death information. Often this information is found in county-level records or in surname searches of the Family History Library catalog.  

*[[Alabama Probate Records|Probate Records]]: If no death record exists, probate records may be helpful in estimating when an individual has died. Probate records in the 20th Century often contain the exact death date.

Some records for a given county or for the state of Alabama may have been burned or lost and may be unavailable. Check [[Alabama Lost/Missing Records|Alabama Lost/Missing Records]] for more information.  

*[https://wiki.familysearch.org wiki.familysearch.org]