FamilySearch Wiki

Alabama Vital Records

Revision as of 15:43, 10 August 2009 by TaylorBE (talk | contribs) (Updated and edited Divorce Section)

United States > U.S. Vital Records > Alabama > Alabama Birth, Marriage and Death Records


  Search Indexes
Marriage Records  Death/Will Records
Early - 1825 1808 - 1870
1800 - 1969 1908 - 1959
1809 - 1920 1962 - Present






Alabama Birth, Marriage, and Death Records Online

The following is a list of online resources useful for locating Alabama Vital Records. Check Alabama Vital Records Online Links for more information about the resources listed below. Most online resources for Alabama Vital Records are indexes. After locating a person in an index always consult the original record.

Introduction to Vital Records

Vital Records consist of birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, and death records in register, certificate, and document format. Check United States Vital Records for more information and additional insights on researching and using vital records. A copy (or an extract) of most original records can be purchased from the Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Alabama Statewide Indexes and Collections at the Family History Library.

Birth Records

Before 1881

No births were recorded by government agencies. See Substitute Records below.

1881 to 1908 

Starting in 1881, the State of Alabama required each individual county to register the birth of children. Because most counties were slow to comply, not all births were recorded. In addition many records from this time period are missing or were destroyed. Birth registers from this time period usually do not list the name of the child.

1908 to Present 

The State of Alabama required the registration of births on a state level beginning in 1908. Early registration in this time period was sketchy. Individual counties complied with the request more regularly over time and almost all births were recorded by 1927. Most of the early birth registers and certificates did not record the name of the child but may contain other important information (see table below). It was more common to find the child's name in the record by the 1920's. Some sources for online indexes are at Alabama Vital Records Online.  Alabama Vital Records State Department of Health has instructions for ordering copies of birth certificates.

Information Found on Alabama Birth Records
Types of Information Before 1881 1881 - 1908 1908 - present
Name of Child

x
Sex/Race x x x
Date and Place of Birth x x x
Parents' Names
x x
Midwife/Doctor
x x
Occupation of Father
x x
Residence

x


Adoption Records

Alabama law requires the creation of a new birth certificate after a legal adoption has taken place. The original birth certificate and evidence of adoption are then placed in a sealed file and the new certificate is substituted for the original birth certificate in the State Department of Vital Statistics files. Starting August 1, 2000, original birth records (as well as all documents in the sealed file) became available to adoptees once they reached the age of 19. See Adoption Research for more information.

When birth parents give a child up for adoption, they must indicate a preference for unrestricted contact, contact through an intermediary, or no contact. If the birth parents choose to have no contact, they must place a copy of their Updated Medical History form in the sealed file. The Alabama Department of Public Health has detailed information on obtaining copies of sealed birth records.

Marriage Records

Before the Statewide registration of marriages in Alabama began in 1936, the Clerk of the Probate Court in each county issued licenses and recorded marriages.

1799 - March 3, 1817 (Mississippi Territory)

Starting in 1799, marriages taking place in the part of the Mississippi Territory that would become Alabama Territory were registered in Orphans Court in the county of the bride's residence.

1818 - 1936 Alabama Territory/State

Marriage licenses and bonds were registered in the Orphans Court in the County of the bride's residence. The Orphans Court was renamed the Probate Court in 1844. Starting in 1888 bonds were only required if the groom was under the age of 21 or the bride was under the age of 18.

The first marriages were usually recorded in a county within ten years of the county's creation date. The Family History Library has microfilms of the county marriage records for most Alabama Counties. These films may be ordered and viewed at a nearby Family History Center.

For marriages prior to 1936, contact the Probate Court in the County where license was issued.

1936 - Present

Alabama started keeping statewide Marriage Records in August of 1936. For current fees and instructions for obtaining copies of the state’s records, contact the Alabama Department of Public Health. The Family History Library has films of the statewide Marriage Certificates for 1936–1992; and an Index for 1936–1959 that may be ordered and viewed at a nearby Family History Center.

There are a number of books with Statewide Indexes for Alabama marriages in the Family History Library collection that may be viewed at the Family History Library or borrowed from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan.

Alabama Marriages to 1825  

Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920

Information Found on Alabama Marriage Records
Types of Information 1799 - 1817 1818 - 1936 1936 - present
Name of Bride/Groom x x x
Date of Marriage x x x
Location of Marriage x x x
Presiding Official x x x
Bondsmen x
Number of Marriage for Bride/Groom x
Parents' Names x
Age of Bride/Groom x
Occupation of Groom


Divorce Records

Early - 1950

Prior to 1950, divorces could be granted by the State Legislature, Circuit Courts, City Courts, and County Chancery Courts. In 1915, the County Chancery Courts were merged with the County Circuit Courts. Divorces finalized by the State Legislature can be found in the published Alabama Senate and House journals. (Legislative Journals for 1818-1836 are available online at the Alabama Legislature website.) To locate divorce records for this time period, contact the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where divorce was granted.[1]

1950 - Present 

Starting in January 1950, Alabama started keeping statewide divorce records. Contact the Alabama Department of Public Health to obtain divorce records for this time period. There is also a searchable online database for years 1950-1959 at Ancestry.com ($).

Death Records

January 1908 - Present

  • Alabama Vital Records Online has a number of quick links to death indexes for Alabama.
  • Alabama Statewide Deaths from 1908-1974 are available on Record Search
  • The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is online and contains records of deaths for those who had social security numbers and the death was reported to the United States Social Security Administration. Most records start in 1962, but the file does contain a few records of deaths from 1942 until 1961.

The Alabama Center for Health Statistics began filing death certificates in January of 1908 for persons who died in Alabama. Death Certificates contain personal information on the deceased from an informant, usually a relative. The information was sent to the county, who sent a copy to the state.
Death record information may include:

Information that may be included in Alabama Death Records
Types of Information
 		before - 1908
 		1908 - present
Name of Deceased
x

x
Date of Death
x

x
Place of Death
x

x
Date of Birth


x
Place of Birth


x
Place of Burial


x
Parents' Names


x
Occupation of Deceased


x

Marital Status




x


  • Name and location of the cemetery where buried
  • Country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the parents
  • Married name of spouse
  • Names of parents, often with maiden surname of the mother
  • Name of the informant, who is often a child or other family member
  • Age of the deceased usually in years, months, and days
  • Whether the deceased was single, married, widowed, or divorced at the time of death

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

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

Minorities

African American 

African-American research in Alabama falls into two periods: pre- and post-Civil War. Post-Civil War research consists of the same record used to research non-African-Americans. Pre-Civil War slavery research consists of slave importation declarations, plantation records, emancipation records, apprenticeship bonds for freedmen, census records, plantation owners’ family records, church records, cemetery records, military records, probate and court records.

Alabama Indians

When researching Alabama Indians, it is important to identify the tribe to which an ancestor may have have belonged. Most North American Indian records are arranged either by tribal name or by locality of residence.  

Substitute Records

Lost / Missing Records

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 for more information.

Tips

  • The information given on a birth or death certificate is given by an informant.  Learn the relationship of the informant to determine the accuracy of the record.
  • If you are unable to locate a vital records recorded by civil governments; search for a church records of christening, marriage, death or burial. A family Bible may have been used to record family births, marriages and deaths.
  •  African American records 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 record for a child.
  • If a baby's survival was questioned, a birth certificate may not have been created.
  • Check PERSI for your difficult to find family member.

Archives, Libraries & Societies

Bibliography

  • Researching in Alabama; a Genealogical Guide [2]
  • Telephone Interview with Nancy Durpree [3]
  • Vital Records - Home. [4]
  • Alabama. Ancestry's Red Book American State, County and Town Sources [5]

References

  1. ↑ Barefield, Marilyn Davis, Researching in Alabama a Genealogical Guide.Southern Historical Press, 1987.
  2. ↑ Barefield, Marilyn Davis, Researching in Alabama a Genealogical Guide. Southern Historical Press, 1987.
  3. ↑ Nancy Dupree, Reference Consultant for Alabama Department of Archives and History. Telephone interview. 14 Jan. 2009.
  4. ↑ Alabama Center for Health Statistics Vital Records. Alabama Department of Public Health, 2009. Web. 04 Aug. 2009. Alabama Department of Public Health
  5. ↑ Davis, Robert S., and Mary Bess Paluzzi. Alabama. Ancestry's Red Book American State, County and Town Sources, 3rd Edition. Provo: Ancestry.com, 1992. 21-34.
Retrieved from "https://integration-ru.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Alabama_Vital_Records&oldid=201997"