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Massachusetts Vital Records: Difference between revisions
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''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts|Massachusetts ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts_Vital_Records|Vital Records]]'' | ''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts_Vital_Records|Vital Records]]'' | ||
This data has been superseded by the [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide#Vital_Records|'''Vital Records''']] section on the new [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts Genealogy Guide]]. Go there to find much more information and more online record links.<br> | |||
== Birth, Marriage, and Death Records == | == Birth, Marriage, and Death Records == | ||
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Like most all states, Massachusetts seals the records of adoption that include the original birth certificate with the biological parents. These records stay sealed unless opened by court order. Who can see this sealed information is limited by [http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.showSearchForm law]. There is no way a person can know they are adopted without being told by someone. There are several registries online set up to assist adoptees and biological parents help find each other. To order your [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/laws-regs/dph/regs-u-z/public-health-regulations-vital-records.html pre-adoption birth certificate], download the [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-memo.pdf instructions] and [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-app-form.pdf form].<br><br>To learn more about the history of adoption in Massachusetts, see Joseph Ben-Or, "The Law of Adoption in the United States: Its Massachusetts Origins and the Statute of 1851" in ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', 130 [1976]: 259-269, and online at [http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=235492719 American Ancestors] ($). | Like most all states, Massachusetts seals the records of adoption that include the original birth certificate with the biological parents. These records stay sealed unless opened by court order. Who can see this sealed information is limited by [http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/index.cfm?event=stateStatutes.showSearchForm law]. There is no way a person can know they are adopted without being told by someone. There are several registries online set up to assist adoptees and biological parents help find each other. To order your [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/laws-regs/dph/regs-u-z/public-health-regulations-vital-records.html pre-adoption birth certificate], download the [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-memo.pdf instructions] and [http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/vital-records/pre-adoption-app-form.pdf form].<br><br>To learn more about the history of adoption in Massachusetts, see Joseph Ben-Or, "The Law of Adoption in the United States: Its Massachusetts Origins and the Statute of 1851" in ''The New England Historical and Genealogical Register'', 130 [1976]: 259-269, and online at [http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx?recordId=235492719 American Ancestors] ($). | ||
<center>Thanks to the [http://massmayflower.org Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants] for their contributions to this page </center> <!--Designed by Scott Andrew Bartley in conjunction with the Mass. Wiki Team on 20 August 2012--> [[Category:Massachusetts]] | <center>Thanks to the [http://massmayflower.org Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants] for their contributions to this page </center> <!--Designed by Scott Andrew Bartley in conjunction with the Mass. Wiki Team on 20 August 2012--> </div> | ||
[[Category:Massachusetts]] | |||