Massachusetts Vital Records: Difference between revisions

''[[United States Genealogy|United States]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]'' '''Vital Records''' {{MA-sidebar}}

This data has been superseded by the [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide#Vital_Records|'''Vital Records''']] section on the new [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts Genealogy Guide]].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>  

*Dates:  

::*The recording of these records was ordered by the government as early as 1639, though not all places followed the law.  The [[Massachusetts|Commonwealth of Massachusetts]] was the first state to create a permanent, statewide recording system starting in 1841. It is notable that the city of Boston lagged behind in reporting to the state and its records do not show up in the state system until a tougher regulation was implemented in 1850 (though the city did record these records locally). <br>

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Divorce records have been handled by the probate court system since 1922 and commonly filed where the couple last lived together. These are public records (with minor exceptions). There is a statewide index that starts in 1952 at the Registry listed above. Before that, the county Superior Court had jurisdiction. From 1786 to 1887, all cases were administered through the Supreme Judicial Court. All these records are held at the Judicial Archives in the Mass. Archives facility. The earliest divorce records are scattered through a variety of courts who held joint jurisdiction.  

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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] ($).  

<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 Vital Records]]