UpFront with NGS: Vital Records

Showing posts with label Vital Records. Show all posts

08 December 2016

Holiday Gifts to You -- Genealogy Style -- 15 Free and (Relatively) New Family History Resources -- Part 2

The holiday season is a period of gift giving. My gift to you is another series of editions of FREE and (Relatively) New Genealogy and Family History Resources, the 2016 Holiday Version ...

Check out Re-cap – 20 Free and (Relatively) New Genealogy and Family History Resources, 2016 Version – 5 parts post (March 2016) where I did a recap of the 2015 and early 2016 editions.

CANADA

1. Canadian National Digital Heritage Index (CNDHI) -- is an index of digitized Canadian heritage collections located at Canadian universities and provincial and territorial libraries

2. Canadian Digital Census Boundary Files (via Scholars GeoPortal)

IRELAND

3. Letters of 1916: A Year in the Life

4. Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) Prisoners Books (1905-1918)

NEW ZEALAND

5. Scattered seeds - He Purapura Marara -- Dunedin Public Libraries project to digitize 199,000 index cards from 1851-1993 containing information from newspapers and about community groups

UNITED KINGDOM

6. University of Southhampton Knitting Reference Library

UNITED STATES

7. California’s Old Series Trademarks -- The explosion of commerce after the Gold Rush also led to California’s first-in-the-nation trademark law and a fascinating collection opens new window of product labels and logos registered with the Secretary of State.

8. South Carolina Electronic Records Archive (SCERA) – currently includes Birth Certificates (1915), British and Private Records, Local Records, State Records, Constitutional and Organic Papers, and Map Collection

9. Historic Aerial Photos (Iowa) – historic view of Iowa from the late 1930s.

10. The Daily Pennsylvanian Digital Archives (University of Pennsylvania)

11. Cherokee Language Online Database

12. New Jersey Death Records, June 1878-June 1895

13. North Carolina World War I Service Cards (via FamilySearch in partnership with State Archives of North Carolina)

14. Genealogical Forum of Oregon (many record collections)

WORLDWIDE

15. Sephardic Ancestry – A resource website for researching Sephardic Jewish Lineages.

Editor’s Note: As of today, each of the above links worked. Now, whether the links in any of the identified articles work, I cannot vouch for that. And, armed with the information provided, it should be relatively easy to get to determine where the discussed database currently resides. If you get really stuck, drop me an email and I’ll try to ferret out the recalcitrant link or cross out my entry in the above list!

Editor’s Note: Know of a neat resource that you think might be a hidden gem? Drop an email to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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31 December 2015

FREE Access to Popular NEGHS Vital Records Databases (Through 31 January 2016)

News from NEHGS ...

December 30, 2015—Boston, Massachusetts— To assist family historians of all levels with ambitious New Year’s resolutions, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is granting free access from Wednesday, December 30, 2015, through Sunday, January 31, 2016, to historic vital records from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont which will be available for unlimited access during the entire month after registering for a free account. NEHGS, the most respected name in family history, has also assembled a quick guide to resources, services, and staff expertise to fulfill any genealogist’s resolutions to grow the ancestral family tree in the New Year.

Family historians can start fulfilling their New Year’s genealogy resolutions with NEHGS by visiting AmericanAncestors.org/2016.

NEHGS Can Fulfill Your Resolution

Aware of the desire by many individuals to begin the study and documentation of one’s family history in the New Year, NEHGS has many resources and services to assist a genealogist at any level of research and publishing. The Online Learning Center on AmericanAncestors.org offers a complete program of instructional resources to guide both the beginner and the more advanced. In addition, the consultation services and research services divisions within NEHGS provide excellent ways to obtain expert guidance and solutions to the frustrating and mysterious “brick walls” that inevitably appear along the journey of researching ancestral roots. And, the calendar of guided research tours and heritage tours offered during 2016 by NEHGS provides many opportunities for the ambitious and passionate genealogist to participate in intensive days devoted to research, one-on-one consultations, presentations by NEHGS genealogists and local experts, and social activities.

Free Databases This Month

The vital records on AmericanAncestors.org is a collection of valuable information regarding births, marriages, and deaths and is an essential resource for researching ancestral connections. Databases available for unlimited access this entire month after registering for a free account include:

Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910

From original records held by the Massachusetts Archives, these vital records cover the years 1841-1910. The vital records cover births, marriages, and deaths that occurred in Massachusetts and not only hold the records, but also indices to them. The information from the 1841-1910 Birth, Marriage & Death indices has been entered into a searchable database. Each index entry includes the person’s first and last name, the town or city where the event occurred, the year, volume number, and page number. The database is searchable by first and last names, record type, year, and location.

New Hampshire Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937

This database contains the records of births and marriages to 1901, and deaths and marriages to 1937, as filed with the state of New Hampshire. These records are currently held by the New Hampshire Division of Vital Records Administration. The collection includes more than 475,000 birth records, more than 1,000,000 marriage records, and more than 915,000 death records. Names of parents and spouses have also been indexed, when available. Town clerks were required to send copies of vital records to the state beginning in 1866, although participation was limited until the Bureau of Vital Records was established in 1905. The town clerks then extracted historical vital record information to update the files at the state level, although some records were never reported. The database is searchable by first and last names, record type, year, and location.

Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008

This database contains the records of births, marriages and deaths to 2008, as filed with the state of Vermont. These records are currently held by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. The collection includes more than 1.5 million birth records, more than 1.8 million marriage records, and more than 1 million death records. Names of parents and spouses have also been indexed, when available. The records held in this collection refer to the statewide index of vital records maintained by the Vermont State Archives. Town clerks were required to send copies of vital records to the state beginning in 1857. The state government began creating a statewide index to these records in 1919. The database is searchable by first and last names, record type, year, and location.

Registration is required at AmericanAncestors.org as a FREE Guest User to gain access to these valuable resources. Guest User accounts allow web visitors to use a limited suite of AmericanAncestors.org databases and access web content such as making purchases from the online store. Unlimited access to more than 1 billion records and to other benefits is available through membership at NEHGS.

(Image caption) Throughout the entire first month of the New Year, NEHGS is offering FREE access to a popular part of its collection of vital records for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Access requires registration as a FREE Guest User at AmericanAncestors.org/2016.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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28 October 2015

Kansas Supreme Court Adopted New Rules Limiting Access to Marriage Records -- Effective 1 October 2015

The Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) shared that some new rules regarding access to Kansas marriage records unfortunately went into effect 1 October.

Back in April, Upfront with NGS posted RPAC Records Access Threat Alert Issued for Kansas when the possibility of more restrictive access to Kansas marriage records was brought to our attention.

This is an update ...

The [Kansas] Supreme Court adopted ... two rules which severely restrict access to the marriage records and redact information on the marriage records from the public view. The new rules become effective October 1, 2015.

The two new rules may be accessed at:

http://www.kscourts.org/kansas-courts/supreme-court/orders/2015/2015SC82.pdf (Rule 106)

and

http://www.kscourts.org/kansas-courts/supreme-court/orders/2015/2015SC83.pdf (Rule 108)

Rule 106 states that marriage license documents are confidential and not subject to disclosure. A marriage licensing document is a cover sheet completed with the marriage license application and the document containing the personal and statistical information of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the marriage license. Disclosure of the information is restricted to the person to whom the marriage license was issued and selected personnel of the court, and Department of Health and Environment. A “limited” marriage license record is publically available with certain information redacted: Social Security Number, applicant’s date or city of birth, applicant’s mother’s maiden name, and other confidential information. Marriage license documents created before October 1, 2015 may be closed in whole or in part by redaction dependent upon the discretion of the chief justice of the judicial district or the applicant may petition to have their marriage document closed.

Rule 108 calls for the destruction of the confidential cover sheet of the marriage license application mentioned in Rule 106 within one year of its issuance. It also adds marriage license applications to the requirement that they may not be destroyed until they are reproduced. In other words the original marriage record may be destroyed once the state reproduces it but the confidential marriage cover sheet with information is destroyed.

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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10 September 2015

Petition Filed at the Supreme Court of the State of New York for Vital Records Access

Thanks to Jan Alpert of the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) for sharing this piece written by Jan Meisels Allen and sent out as an International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) Records Access Alert last night.

[Editor’s Note: We have edited this piece for length and ... indicates where material from the original post has been removed.]

This past Thursday, September 3, 2015, a legal petition was filed at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Brooke Schreier Ganz and ReclaimTheRecords.org [Petitioner] vs. New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DoRIS) [Respondent]. DoRIS is the parent organization of the New York City Municipal Archives. The petition was made under Article 78 of New York State’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). FOIL allows for public access to records created in the course of government agency business, provided the requestor is willing to pay fair costs for copies. This is believed to be the first time a genealogist has tried to use FOIL to force public vital records back into the public domain. See below for more information...

What the Request For Records Is About

Brooke Schreier Ganz is a genealogist and computer programmer living in California, but with New York roots. She is seeking access to copies of the 1908-1929 index to marriage licenses and affidavits, a series originally kept by the NYC City Clerk’s office, now stored at the NYC Municipal Archives. (The dates on these records are usually a few weeks before the actual marriage took place.)

These 1908-1929 marriage licenses and affidavits are usually three pages long and have a wealth of genealogical value, with information not contained on the more commonly requested marriage certificate. The uniquely valuable information contained on these records includes: witnesses’ addresses, usually a more specific town of birth or region of birth (rather than just a country name) for the bride and groom, the bride’s occupation and occasionally the employer's name and address for both bride and groom; and perhaps most importantly has three different sets of handwriting to help those of us who had records that were semi-illegible or has “creative spelling”.

This is not the same data set as the better-known 1800’s-1937 New York City Health Department marriage certificates and their associated “Brides Index” and “Grooms Index” which is already in the public domain.

History

Brooke made a FOIL request for access to these indices in early January 2015. After some back-and-forth e-mails with the Archives' FOIL officer, hers was initially approved by the Archives on official letterhead. A few weeks later, she emailed the Archives to ask for an invoice to get the ball rolling on the microfilm copying. That was when the Municipal Archives changed their minds and denied her request, saying the records are not subject under FOIL. At no time did the Archives ever cite any legal reasoning for denying access to the indices under FOIL. They are not a privacy concern both because of their age and because of 1993 case law in New York State concerning the open publication of marriage indices.

Brooke then brought her plight to the New York State Commission on Open Government (COOG) and spoke with Robert Freeman, COOG’s executive director. COOG is a FOIL watchdog organization, and is funded by New York specifically to look into FOIL questions raised by the public and to bring concerns to the state legislature. Freeman confirmed that her FOIL request was legally reasonable and helped her draft her FOIL appeal letter. The Municipal Archives then denied her appeal.

COOG then issued an “Advisory Opinion” a letter concerning the facts of the request, which you can read here: https://tinyurl.com/RTR-COOG.

Brooke realized to continue to pursue this she would need legal counsel and file an Article 78 Petition...

What Will Happen With the Data If Brooke Wins the Petition

Brooke wants to make this material available to the public at no cost online through the Internet Archive (archive.org) and other genealogical organizations who might want it. The microfilm copies will eventually be donated to the New York Public Library.

She also plans to do further FOIL requests for data access with other city and state archives. Her next one will likely be with the NYC Clerk’s Office for the post-1937-to-present NYC marriage index, which has never been available to the public before in any form. To manage this Petition and future requests, she recently founded the not-for-profit advocacy group ReclaimtheRecords.org.

ReclaimTheRecords.org

You are encouraged to sign up on the website to be kept updated: http://reclaimtherecords.org./

To see what is planned for other data requests go to the “to do list” at http://www.reclaimtherecords.org/to-do/

More content, including a blog with updates, will be added to the website in the near future.

[Editor’s Note: There is also a Facebook (FB) page if you prefer to follow the organization that way]

What You Can Do In Your Locale to Open Records

Others are encouraged to use their state Freedom of Information laws to open records to the public that are of genealogical value. Different jurisdictions’ FOI laws can help us access otherwise unavailable records which can then be placed on the internet. At least for the NYC records they are not digitized so microfilms have to be copied.

If you have any questions, please contact Brooke, she would love to talk with you. Her email for questions about this case and future FOIL cases is: reclaimtherecords@gmail.com

Jan Meisels Allen

Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

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Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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18 June 2015

Virginia Vital Records NOW Online -- Partnership between VDH & Ancestry

Screen Capture for Ancestry.com Virginia Page -- note the NEW symbols next to vital records databases!

Vital records + Access = happy dance for genealogists!

I read a couple of weeks ago about VA vital records becoming available. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention as I’m usually researching 18^th century VA families, long before vital records existed.

I then received on Monday a blog post feed from the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) talking about these same records. Again, I blithely acknowledged the information and again went on my happy way.

Well, just yesterday, I saw another post about these records where FGS cross-posted the RPAC blog post link on FB and this time (remember, 3^rd time is the charm), bells went off in my head on two fronts – 1. that Upfront with NGS readers would probably like to know about these records and 2. I had just talked with a client about her parents divorce in ... drum roll please ... Virginia and our hopes that the paperwork would give us where/when they married (not in VA) so we could pursue that paperwork.

In just a couple of minutes I found the divorce paperwork which confirmed the details on the parents and included the place and date of the marriage. A couple of more minutes and I had placed an order with a SC probate court for the marriage record.

With that done, I’m now sharing with you part of the RPAC announcement and the links to how you can access these records via Ancestry.com.

Virginia Vital Records Online

Posted on June 14, 2015 by FredMoss

With thanks to Peter E. Broadbent, Jr.

More than 16 million Virginia vital records have been digitized and indexed as a result of collaboration between Ancestry and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). These records were officially released to the public on June 2, 2015.

For vital records which are now “open”, the image of the original vital record can be viewed online through Ancestry; for records which are still “closed’, an index with key information is available online through VDH. Virginia death, marriage and divorce records are “closed” for 25 years; Virginia births are “closed” for 100 years ...

Read the full post and learn all the details here.

For those with an Ancestry.com subscription or who can access Ancestry.com through a library or similar facility, here are the direct links for each collection!

Virginia, Birth Records, 1864-2014
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9277

Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9279

Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9278

Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-2014

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9280

The availability of vital records is always a benefit to our research. And, when such access is limited or scheduled to be further curtailed, our community must champion records access. The Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) was instrumental in making this all happen! Thanks and hats off to VGS!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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14 January 2015

Bad News & Good News -- Van Buren County TN Office Destroyed By Fire & Microfilmed Copies of Many Records Available

Image Source, http://www.wsmv.com/story/27791014/van-buren-countys-administrative-building-destroyed-in-fire

Bad News ...

We always hate to report when a repository for documents has been destroyed. Unfortunately, last week the Van Buren County (TN) administrative building was destroyed by fire.

Historical records from the 1840s and later were destroyed, including Civil War artifacts, pictures from the Civil War, birth certificates, death certificates, and thousands of historical records. The local historical society also was housed in the building and lost everything as well.

Good News ...

Though we can never replace those original records that were lost and apparently there are backup copies of some county records (the extent of those holdings is unclear), I did some checking at Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) and FamilySearch, two great resources for TN records, and found that they both have fairly extensive collections of materials for Van Buren County.

Clear here to see what TSLA has which includes records on microfilm encompassing ...

marriages from 1840
wills from 1840
inventories of estates from 1840
deed index from 1840
chancery court minutes from 1868
county court minutes from 1840
circuit court minutes from 1840
tax books from 1886

Additionally, the FamilySearch Catalog lists these resources ...

Do also check out the FamilySearch TN collection (both indexed and image only historical records).

TSLA also has a partnership with Ancestry.com where select TN records are available via the Tennessee Electronic Library to residents of Tennessee, as well as to subscribers at Ancestry.com.

And, Linkpendium lists quite a few resources for this county also.

So, though we are greatly saddened to hear of the fire, it feels a bit better to know that many records had been microfilmed and/or digitized for Van Buren County and are still available to researchers.

This is a reminder that the more records that we can get microfilmed, scanned/digitized, photographed or preserved in some other way and then widely distributed elsewhere, increases the likelihood that in the event of a disaster, backups might be available so that all is not lost!

Editor’s Note: Related Upfront with NGS posts ...

+ Even now records are at risk to be lost ... Fires, flooding, theft, etc., are NOT just something that happened to our ancestors!

+ Disaster Preparedness for Genealogists -- Are you Prepared?

+ Underground Storage = Records Preservation

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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25 August 2014

Good News -- Mother's names to now be added to marriage certificates in England and Wales!

England marriage certificate of my parents, Richard Alfred Acey + Margaret Joyce Fountain, 1958.
Notice that only the fathers are listed!
(Copyright 2014 Diane L Richard)

Since Queen Victoria’s time 1830’s—marriage certificates in England and Wales included only the names of the father of the bride and groom—not the mothers. Scotland and Wales already include mother’s names. In fact when civil registration was introduced in Scotland in 1855 mothers' names were on marriage certificates from day one!

Due to a petition gathering - with nearly 70,000 names and over 100 members of Parliament this will now be changed to include mothers’ names on marriage records. One hundred years ago women were the “property” of their father’s which probably explains why only the father’s names were included. This “rights” an historical wrong against women and for future researchers to learn about their ancestors.

To learn more see: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-28844124. Prime Minister Cameron said: "It's high time the system was updated."

The link above includes a few videos that discuss the history, the petition, and interviews the person behind the petition: Ailsa Burkimsher Sadler.

Source: IAJGS Public Records Access Alert via Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee, via Jan Alpert (Past President NGS)

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog. Any opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of NGS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unless indicated otherwise or clearly an NGS Public Relations piece, Upfront with NGS posts are written by Diane L Richard, editor, Upfront with NGS.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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