Some of our all time most popular articles are the five U.S. and Canadian vital records database lists for FamilySearch.org. We try and keep these lists updated, and we normally post those updates in a separate article. For various reasons, we fell behind for a time. Part of the problem, is we came to discover FamilySearch.org had updated all their database links. Instead of just trying to update our lists, we decided to give the who thing an overhall.
In the process of updating and cleaning our lists, we also standardized on the naming and formatting of all five lists. As there are so many databases noted in our five lists, it has taken a little over two months to complete, but we are done.
We first posted updates to the birth, marriage, and death database lists back on 1 April 2014. The the state census and school tax list was complete on 3 May 2014. Finally, the revamp of the Canadian vital records databases was completed today.
The databases listed below are the updates to the Unites States records lists since 1 April and 3 May. Thus, at this point all five databases are up to date as of 13 June, 2014.
In addition, we have added a permanent link at the top of the blog to a page with links to all five United States and Canadian Vital Records Database Lists. Updates and links will appear regularly in the blog as well as on this new page. Here are the five links as they have appeared in the past, and will continue to do so in the future:
- United States Birth & Christening Records at FamilySearch.org
- United States Marriage Documents & Divorce Records at FamilySearch.org
- United States Death & Probate Documents & Indexes at FamilySearch.org
- United States Territorial & School Censuses and Tax Records at FamilySearch.org
- Canadian Vital Records Databases at FamilySearch.org
Most recent up dates since April and May to United States lists:
Montana, Teton County Records, 1881-2012 — Browsable Images — Images of vital records, naturalization index, land index and probate records from the clerk of court, clerk and recorder offices in Choteau. This collection is being published as images become available. – There are 117,351 Images as of 9 April 2014; up 19,083 images from 26 December 2013.
California, Oakland, Alameda County, Obituary Card Files, 1985-2011 — Browsable Images — Index and images of obituary card file indexes created from local newspapers. The card files for 1985-2002, 2003-2006 and 1986-2011 are located at the Oakland Family History Center. This collection is being published as images become available. — There are 738 Records as of 10 April 2014.
Pennsylvania, Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1977-2010 — Browsable Images — Newspaper clippings collected by the Old Buncombe County, North Carolina Genealogical Society. – There are 122,063 Images as of 11 April 2014.
[NEW] Arkansas, Oakland and Fraternal Historic Cemetery Records, 1867-2013 — Searchable Index —Images of cemetery records including burial and lot sales books and 3 x 5 index burial cards. – There are 25,618 Records as of 16 April 2014.
Delaware Vital Records, 1680-1971 — Browsable Images — A collection of various vital records from the Delaware Public Archives. The collection includes birth, marriage, death, bible, and cemetery records spanning various year ranges.– There are 1,974,520 Images as of 24 April 2014; up 476,907 images since 18 March 2014.
Indiana, Marriages, 1811-1959 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Indexed in partnership with the Indiana Genealogical Society. Name index of marriages recorded in the Indiana Territory and in the state of Indiana between 1811 and 1959. This collection includes searchable index data for marriage records from all Indiana counties except Howard, Johnson, and Montgomery. This is an ongoing project, so additional records will be added as indexing is completed. New images are being added as they become available. Images of some marriage records included in the index cannot be viewed online due to various contract restrictions. In instances where digital images are not available, microfilm copies of the original records are available at the Family History Library and through family history centers.– There are 2,784,135 Records and 1,163,886 Images as of 25 April 2014; up 146,461 images since 22 October 2013.
Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935 — Searchable Index — Index to the birth records created by the counties of Iowa. When completed it will contain records for all of the 99 counties in the state. This collection is 80% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.– There are 2,152,718 Records as of 2 May 2014; up 139,525 records since 7 November 2012.
[NEW] New Hampshire, Marriage Certificates, 1948-1959 – Browsable Images —Images of marriage certificates from the New Hampshire Division of Vital Records in Concord. The Collection is arranged by year, by certificate number, and by name. – There are 96,581 Images as of 2 May 2014.
Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index and images of marriages recorded in the State of Michigan between 1868 and 1925. In some instances, marriages were celebrated and recorded in a county different from the county where the marriage license was issued.– There are 1,533,863 Records and 116,995 Images as of 26 February 2013; up 49,063 images since 9 May 2014.
Georgia, Deaths, 1928-1930 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name Index and images of Georgia statewide deaths. Original records are arranged chronogically by year and then by certificate numbers.– There are 410,112 Records and 483,210 Images as of 9 May 2014; up 286,693 records and 359,550 images since 2 November 2010.
California, County Marriages, 1850-1952 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index of marriage records including a number of different type of documents such as licenses, certificates, registers, applications, affidavits, stubs, etc. Currently this collection is 99% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed. Not all indexed names will have a viewable record image due to contractual agreements.– There are 1,911,081 Records and 2,480,495 Images as of 12 May 2014; up 227628 images since 20 December 2012.
North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index and images of marriage records from North Carolina county courthouses. These records include licenses, marriage applications, marriage bonds, marriage certificates, marriage packets and cohabitation registers. Currently, portions of the following counties are represented in this collection: Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Ashe, Beaufort, Bladen, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hanover, Hyde, Johnston, Lincoln, Macon, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Northampton, Pitt, Richmond, Rowan, Surry, Wilkes. This collection is 46% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.– There are 1,044,146 Records and 466,344 Images as of 12 May 2014; up 125,264 images since 26 March 2014.
New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index of county marriage records for New Jersey. Currently this collection is 100% complete. Due to contract restrictions some images from the following counties may not be available for view: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Union, and Warren.– There are 300,071 Records and 90,538 Images as of 14 May 2014; up 33,799 images since 2 April 2012.
District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index and images of marriage records in the District of Columbia. Currently this collection is 87% complete. Additional records will be added as they are completed.– There are 664,774 Records and 293,832 Images as of 14 May 2014; up 7,888 images since 26 March 2014.
Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — This collection includes civil marriage records created in Pennsylvania counties. The records include registers, affidavits and marriage licenses. In some instances, divorce records are recorded with marriages.– There are 2,246,248 Records and 1,900,516 Images as of 15 May 2014; up 13,566 images since 30 January 2014.
Washington, King County Delayed Births, 1941-1942 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — This collection includes records created in King County, Washington during 1941 and 1942 for people who applied for delayed birth certificates. Delayed certificates can be issued for people whose birth was not recorded at the time of the event. The records were created in the 1940s but the actual births occurred earlier.– There are 5,631 Records and 30,969 Images as of 15 May 2014; up 8,262 images since 18 April 2012.
Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name indexes and images of Tennessee county marriages from 1790 through 1950 acquired from local courthouses. This collection contains searchable index data and images for marriage registers, marriage licenses, marriage bonds, and marriage certificates. Currently this collection is 21% complete. Additional records by county will be added as they are completed. Some images may not be viewable due to contract restrictions.– There are 1,566,937 Records and 1,121,901 Images as of 15 May 2014; up 9,292 images since 31 October 2012.
Texas, Houston, Historic Hollywood Cemetery Records, 1895-2008 — Browsable Images — This collection contains burial applications, obituaries, lot books, interment documents, mausoleum records, and plot maps from the Historic Hollywood Cemetery near downtown Houston. It is being published as images become available.– There are 41,543 Images as of 16 May 2014; up 600 images since 16 November 2012.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Vital and town records acquired from local town clerk offices.– There are 2,442,468 Records and 1,864,418 Images as of 19 May 2014; up 4,493 images since 28 June 2012.
[NEW]Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 — Searchable Index —Compilation of county death records. The collection contains indexes, death records, certificates, registers, etc. for 98 of the 99 counties. – There are 354,301 Records as of 20 May 2014.
Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Images of catholic church records from the Bishop of Chicago. Some indexes go beyond 1925.– There are 107,678 Records and 295,723 Images as of 27 May 2014; up 107,678 records since 12 April 2013.
BillionGraves Index — Searchable Index — Name index of burial records courtesy of BillionGraves which is an expansive family history database of records and images from the world’s cemeteries, all tagged with GPS locations. Volunteers around the world capture images of headstones in a cemetery and upload them to the site.– There are 7,454,513 Records as of 28 May 2014; up 1,328,601 records since 20 March 2014.
Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index and images of county marriage records for Minnesota. Currently the following counties are represented in this collection: Anoka, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Kanabec.– There are 404,879 Records and 585,021 Images as of 28 May 2014; up 122,410 records since 25 March 2014.
New York, Yates County, Swann Vital Records Collection, 1723-2009 — Searchable Index and Browsable Images — Name index and images of the Swann Vital Records Collection from the Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society in Penn Yan, New York. A collection of compiled genealogy, newspaper clippings, bible pages, and family records. The Society named the collection after Frank L. Swann (1894-1987) who was the Yates County Historian from 1956 to 1980. Additional indexed records will be published as they become available.– There are 82,444 Records and 87,588 Images as of 6 June 2014; up 18,497 records since 21 March 2014.
Missouri, State and Territorial Census Records, 1732-1876 — Browsable Images — Index and digital images of extant state and territorial censuses for early counties in Missouri. This collection includes records from the Missouri State Archives and from FamilySearch. Images and index data will be added to this collection as they become available.– There are 12,283 Images as of 29 May 2014; up 4,212 images since 7 February 2014.
[NEW] Wisconsin, Probate Estate Files, 1848-1948 — Browsable Images —Images of probate estate case files from various counties in Wisconsin. This collection includes Barron County (1910-1930), Bayfield County (1874-1919), Door County (1862-1938), Dunn County (1858-1940), Fond du Lac County (1848-1948), Green County (1848-1885), Jackson County (1897-1935), La Crosse County (1877-1935), Pepin County (1900-1935), Shawano County (1861-1933), and Trempealeau County (1900-1920). This collection is being published as images become available. – There are 1,325,826 Images as of 24 January 2014.
[NEW] Massachusetts, Worcester County, Probate Files, 1731-1881 — Browsable Images —Probate estate files of Worcester County located at the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston. The files are arranged by number then alphabetical by surname. The collection is being published as images become available..– There are 299,801 Images as of 16 May 2014.
[NEW] Utah, Utah County Records, 1856-1920— Browsable Images —Images of naturalization, land and death records located at the Utah County Records Center in Spanish Fork. This collection is being published as images become available.– There are 90,000 Images as of 23 May 2014.
[NEW] New York, Probate Records, 1629-1971 — Browsable Images — Name index of death certificates and records of death from 1889 – 1945. Microfilm copies of original records are available at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers.– There are 14,045,639 Records as of 28 May 2014.