Sources for Vital Records

NORTH CAROLINA Public Recording of Births and Deaths began October 1913

North Carolina Vital Records (225 N. McDowell St., Raleigh; 919-733-3526 – Mail to: 1903 Mail Service Center; 27699-1903)

 should NOT be 1

choice for genealogical information http://vitalrecords.dhhs.state.nc.us/vr/holdings/genealogy.html

 $24.00 for 5-year search and one certificate copy, $15.00 for an additional copy

 expedited online, fax, and credit card services available via arrangement with VitalChek http://www.vitalchek.com

North Carolina State Archives (109 E. Jones St., Raleigh; 919-807-7310 – Mail to: 4614 Mail Service Center, 27699-4614)

http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov

 Death Certificates, 1913-1975 [Statewide Index: 1913-1979]

 microfilmed Indexes to Births and Deaths [except Wake, Durham]

 Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 [not required by law]  Cohabitation Records, 1866-1867

 microfilmed Marriage Registers and Indexes  microfilmed Marriage Licenses for many of the counties

Guide to Research Materials in the North Carolina State Archives: County Records

is available in PDF format online at http://archives.ncdcr.gov/records.htm

Most Register of Deeds offices house birth and death records and marriage licenses for their counties

“North Carolina Directory of State and County Officials” http:www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/direct.aspx

Wake County.

Birth and Death records in Register of Deeds. Temporarily moving August 13, 2008 to One Bank of America Plaza, 421

Fayetteville St., Suite 300, Raleigh. Mail: P. O. Box 1897, Raleigh, NC 27602-1897; telephone 919-856-2752 www.wakegov.com/rod

Durham County.

Birth and Death records relocated July 2007 to Register of Deeds, 200 E. Main Street, Durham, NC 27701;

telephone 919-560-0495.

Mecklenburg County. Register of Deeds provides certified copies of recorded birth and death records. Mecklenburg Vital Statistics

office records all birth and death documents and also issues certified copies at 700 E. Stonewall Street, Rm. 320, Charlotte 28202;

telephone 704-336-2819 or via e-mail at OVR@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Search online: http://meckrod.manatron.com

Deaths 1991 to present; Births 1913 to present.

North Carolina Birth, Marriage & Death Databases

Available to Ancestry.com subscribers or free at libraries having Ancestry Library Edition

North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000

– Includes Delayed Birth registrations extending back into 18

century; these require documentary

proof of birthdate or age, birthplace, and parentage from other records and must identify contemporary owner of family Bible if presented for

proof. Durham, Wake, Forsyth, and Dare counties are not covered.

North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004 – Index; some entries include Index Images from microfilm copies of county death indexes.

North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975

– Images of certificates, including stillborn and fetal deaths.

North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 – Index; bonds were not required by law.

North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 – Index, some Images. Not all counties are yet included.

North Carolina Divorce Index, 1958-2004

ALL STATES

 Kemp, Thomas Jay. International Vital Records Handbook. 5

ed. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009).

 “Social Security Death Index” http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp

 “Vital Records Information United States” http://www.vitalrec.com/

 “Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records” http://www.deathindexes.com

 “VitalChek” – order official vital records through the Internet http://www.vitalchek.com

FINDING NEWSPAPERS

 “Guide to Newspapers on Microfilm in the North Carolina State Archives” http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/reference/newspapers.html

 State Library of North Carolina newspaper microfilm holdings Catalog: http://go.dcr.state.nc.us/

Search Catalog by Title (Basic Search) or by Keyword, County, or City in Advanced Search

 U. S. Library of Congress. Newspapers in Microform: United States, 1948-1983. 2 vols. (Washington: The Library, 1984).

For microfilm of Newspapers held in Other Institutions

 Helpful Websites for the Genealogist:

“Skillbuilding: Using Newspapers Effectively” http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/

“Using

Newspapers for Genealogical Research” (State Historical Society of Missouri) http://shs.umsystem.edu/newspaper/newspap.shtml

Genealogical Services  State Library of North Carolina  109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC  Tel.: 919-807-7460  Mail to: 4641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4641

A number of North Carolina county Registers of Deeds are making their birth/ death/ marriage records available online.

Find links to them using NC MOSAIC – http://mosaic.ncdcr.gov