Genealogy--Sources

Taxonomy

Code

Scope note(s)

Source note(s)

  • GR and MS subject headings

Display note(s)

Hierarchical terms

Genealogy--Sources

Equivalent terms

Genealogy--Sources

Associated terms

Genealogy--Sources

11 Archival description results for Genealogy--Sources

11 results directly related Exclude narrower terms

Death registrations

  • GR-2951
  • Series
  • 1872-1988

The series consists of copies of British Columbia death registrations from the Vital Statistics Agency. The records are on microfilm and cover the period 1872 to 1988.

The records are death registrations, beginning in 1872, which consist of completed statements and related documents regarding deaths which have been submitted to District Registrars and then registered by the Registrar or Director of Vital Statistics in Victoria. The statements contain: the registration district name and/or number; the registration number; the name of the deceased; gender; date of death; age; profession (if known); date of birth; cause of death; name of physician; name and residence of informant; religious affiliation; and date of registration. Statements sometimes include the decedent's marital status and names and birth places of the decedent's parents. Each death registration should include a supporting record called "Medical Certificate of Death" which states the cause of death as determined by a physician or coroner. These records are created by physicians or coroners, submitted to District Registrars and registered by the Registrar or Director of Vital Statistics. The certificates contain personal particulars of deceased persons, statements concerning the time and cause of death, and the name and residence of the certifying physician or coroner. However, this document was not included on a regular basis until 1896, and not with every registration until 1912. From 1872 until 1911 the death registrations and medical certificates of death are on separate forms. Beginning in 1912 the two statements are included on one form and both parts are always completed. Some death registrations also include documents received under the Coroner's Act. This Act requires coroners to submit to the BCVSA particulars of the cause and time of death as determined by a coroner's inquest. These documents include "Certificate of Cause of Death as Determined by Coroner's Inquest" and "Warrant to Bury After a View".

The only persons excluded from registration under the 1872 Act were Chinese and Indigenous people. This was changed by an amendment in 1897 (SBC 1897, c. 33, s. 3) which stated that the Act would apply to all races including all Indigenous, Chinese and Japanese people. However, the Act was amended in 1899 (SBC 1899, c. 8, s. 3) to once again exclude Indigenous people from provincial registration. This continued until the Act was amended again in 1916 (SBC 1916, c. 73, s. 3.2) to authorize the registration of Indigenous people, which began in 1917 with Indian Agents submitting registrations monthly. In 1943 this system was formalized with a special form for "Indian death registrations". From 1917 to 1956 "Indian" registrations were recorded in separate volumes with a separate numbering system. For 1917 to 1944 the registration numbers consist of a prefix (the volume number) followed by a sequentially assigned number. From 1945 to 1956 the numbers have a prefix (volume number 95) followed by a sequentially assigned number. Indigenous registrations for 1917 to 1956 have been microfilmed on separate reels of film (B13359 to B13363 and B13374 to B13377), as have the delayed Indigenous registrations in volume number 995 (B13378). From 1872 to 1945 the registration numbers consist of a six-digit sequential running number which periodically starts over again at number one. During these years delayed registrations were maintained as a separate series (volume number 900A) and microfilmed on a separate reel of film (B13358).

Beginning with 1946 the registration and the "finding number" are the same. For each year, the registrations start at volume 001, registration 001. The registration numbers therefore begin with number 001001 through 001999 (volume 001, registrations 001 through 999), continue in volume 2 (002001 through 002999), and so on to the end of the year. Many volumes are physically separated into A and B sections. The A section of these volumes covers registration numbers 001 to 500 and the B section covers numbers 501 to 999. Registration numbers 000001 to 001000 do not exist, and neither do registrations ending in 000. Two numbers are stamped on most of the registration forms. In the upper right-hand corner is the official registration number as described above. At the centre top is a three-part hyphenated numerical code (for example, 05-09-026450). The first part of the code indicates the year of death; the second part is the code for British Columbia; and the third part consists of the six-digit "finding number". The first three digits of the "finding number" are the volume number; the last three digits are the last digits of the official registration number. Users should look for the last three digits of the official registration number within the correct volume. Users will note that from 1872 to 1931 records are also arranged by name of geographical region or registration district, and then alphabetically within the region or district. Beginning in 1932 records are no longer arranged alphabetically by name of person, and by 1 January 1933 the arrangement by place name has also been abandoned. The geographic/alphabetic arrangement cannot be depended upon, except as a secondary method of locating a record.

The index is an enhanced copy of the index database maintained by the BCVSA. The microfiche index is derived from this enhanced index. Please note that the information on the computer and microfiche indexes is provided only for the purpose of locating registrations and should not be taken as authoritative. The final authority for all registration information is the registration document itself.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Pre-confederation marriage records

  • GR-3044
  • Series
  • 1859-1872

Records of marriages occurring in the Colony of British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island, submitted to the Colonial Secretary by clergy, 1859-1872, prior to the entry of British Columbia into the Confederation of Canada. The records are bound into eight volumes in two accessions. The volumes contain certified copies of marriage certificates, or returns of marriages, submitted by clergy of various, but not all, denominations. Absent, for example, are the records of the Church of England/Anglican Church. See MS-0520 for Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral records and H/A/Sa21 for St. Stephen’s Church register of marriages, 1863-1880.

Also includes a letter from Rev. John B. Good.

British Columbia (Colony). Colonial Secretary

Baptismal, marriage and burial church registers

  • GR-3258
  • Series
  • Microfilmed 1946 (originally created 1849-1903)

The series consists of copies of British Columbia baptism, marriage and death registers created by churches that conducted the ceremonies. Currently only records (baptisms 1849-1899; marriages 1864-1903) of St. Andrews Cathedral, Victoria , are available.

Churches were required to submit their baptismal registers to the Vital Statistics Division in the 1940s so the registers could be microfilmed. Vital Statistics subsequently created an alphabetical index to the microfilmed registers, and a database was created from the index volumes with supplementary information from the microfilmed registers added to the entries. This information is searchable via the BC Archives Genealogy database. The microfilm copies of the original registers may include some additional information or context that was not included in the database.

Each bound volume was created by one church. Each entry corresponds with one ceremony, but may involve multiple individuals. The entries within each volume are ordered chronologically and may be numbered. Every volume varies in the type and presentation of information included and may not be consistent throughout one volume. All entries include the date of the ceremony, name of individual(s) involved in the ceremony, and the name of the priest who conducted the ceremony.

Baptism register entries may also include name of child, date of birth, place of birth, sex of child, name and surname of father, name and maiden name of mother, residence of parents, profession of parents, religion of parents, name and surname of grandparents, religion of grandparents, and name and surname of godparents.

Marriage register entries may also include name and surname of groom, name and maiden name of bride, age of bride, age of groom, name and surname of their parents, name and surname of witnesses present, religion of named individuals, place of birth, and signatures of parties involved.

Death register entries may also include: death dates, cause of death, age at death, location of internment and information about the funeral ceremony.

Indigenous people are included in the registers (as Indians or Sauvages). Some Indigenous names are included. Many baptisms of Indigenous people were in groups and may only consist of a list of the Christian names the priest gave to the baptized individuals. Tribal or community affiliations may be included.

Some entries include the geographical location that the ceremony took place. This location may vary from the location of the church, as some priests travelled quite widely to conduct ceremonies.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Birth registration index

  • GR-3103
  • Series
  • 1854-1903

The series consists of a single alphabetical index created by the Vital Statistics Agency, for British Columbia birth registration records, 1854 to 1903. The index is computer output microfiche from the original electronic index that appeared on the BC Archives web site in 1999. It contains information that can be used to find individual registrations on the microfilm of the birth registrations.

This information consists of one complete alphabetical listing by surname of births registered within the Province of British Columbia. Each entry contains: name of the person; registration number (the format is year-province code-finding number, e.g., 1879-09-006017); the event date (the format is year/month/day, e.g., 1879/05/29); gender; event place (e.g., Victoria); microfilm reel number assigned by the BC Archives (the B number) and number given to the microfilm reel by the Genealogical Society of Utah (referred to as the "GSU microfilm number" ). The information in the online and microfiche indexes is provided only for the purpose of locating registrations and should not be taken as authoritative. The final authority for all registration information is the registration document itself.

To find an individual registration, first look up a person's name in the alphabetical listing. When you have found the right name and event, make note of the registration number, the event date, and the BCA or GSU microfilm reel number. Instructions for locating the actual registration can be found in the finding aid for GR-2965.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Marriage registration index

  • GR-2985
  • Series
  • 1872-1942

Index to marriage registrations compiled on an early computerized system by the Registrar's office in Victoria from indexes created in regional offices. It was printed out sometime in the early 1960s and the pages were bound into volumes which have been microfilmed for public reference purposes.

This index consists of two separate alphabetical listings of all persons married and registered within the Province of British Columbia, from the beginning of 1872 to the end of 1929. The first listing is by the surnames of grooms, and the second listing is by surnames of brides. However, unlike the fiche index (GR-3033), there is no single alphabetical sequence (they are grouped by date) and a conversion list at the beginning of each reel must be used to locate the microfilm reel number for the actual registration.

Each entry contains, from left to right: the last four digits of the record (or registration) number; the name of the groom or bride; the name of the spouse (bride or groom); the place of the marriage; the date of the marriage (format is month/day/year, e.g., 05/21/1885); the volume number in which the registration is found; and the full record (or registration) number.

On each reel the index is preceded by a volume list that shows the BCA and GSU microfilm reel numbers on which each volume of marriage registrations is filmed. This list shows, from left to right: the accession number; the box number; the volume number; the volume description (this consists of the record title "marriage registrations", the range of registration numbers in the volume [also called "record number" in the index] the communities or regions covered in the volume, and the alphabetic range covered in the volume); the date range covered in the volume (this is referred to as the "start date" and "end date" (which are recorded in this format: year/month/day, e.g., 1885/05/21); the number given to the microfilm reel by the British Columbia Archives (BCA); followed by the number given to the microfilm reel by the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU).

To find an individual registration using this index, first look up a person's name in the bride or groom index. These are alphabetical within date groupings (see finding aid for reel list). When the right name and marriage has been found, make note of the volume number, the date of the marriage, and the record number. Then return to the volume list at the beginning of the microfilm reel. Look first for the volume number, then make sure that the record number (called registration number on the volume list) and marriage date fall within the ranges shown in the entry for that volume. If they match, make note of the microfilm reel number to the right of the date range. The BCA number consists of six digits beginning with the letter "B". The GSU number consists of seven digits Instructions for locating the actual registration can be found in the Finding Aid for GR-2962.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Marriage registrations

  • GR-2962
  • Series
  • 1872-1943

Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths began in BC in September 1872. The marriage registration records consist of completed statements regarding marriages submitted to District Registrars, and registered by the Director of Vital Statistics. The series includes: regular marriage registrations; delayed registrations of marriage, maintained as a separate series from 1933 to 1977; registrations of Indigenous marriages collected by Indian Agents and maintained as a separate series from 1917 to 1956; and registrations of Doukhobour marriages, maintained as a separate series from 1959 to 1982.

Records are released annually, seventy-five (75) years after the date of marriage. Microfilm reels for marriages are no longer being released, although marriage registration records for 1934 and later have been released as digital files and are accessed through the Genealogy Search database (http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy). Many of the pre-1934 registrations have been digitized as well and are also on the database.

The records contain: names of bride and groom; ages; marital status at time of marriage (bachelor, spinster, widow or widower, and later, divorced); profession; residence; place of birth; names of parents; profession of father; religious denomination of bride and groom; whether the marriage took place by banns or with a marriage licence; place and date of marriage; church or rite by which the couple was married; names and residences of witnesses; and name of person performing the wedding. Registration forms used by Indian Agents included tribal affiliation.

Although extensive, the records are far from complete. In addition to the legislated exclusion of “Chinese” and “Indians” between 1872 and 1888 and of any Indigenous person in BC defined as an “Indian” under the Indian Act between 1899 and 1916, from civil registration (births, marriages and deaths), there are many marriages (as well as births and deaths), especially in the early decades, that were not registered, or the records were not sent to Victoria.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Marriage registration index

  • GR-3033
  • Series
  • 1872-1929

Index to British Columbia marriage registrations available on microfilm (GR-2962) generated from the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency computer database. It consists of two complete alphabetical listings (one by surname of brides, and the other by surname of grooms) of marriages registered within the Province of British Columbia. Each entry contains: name of the bride or groom; registration number (format is year-province code-finding number, e.g., 1921-09-006017); the event date (format is year/month/day, e.g., 1921/05/29); name of spouse; event place (e.g. Victoria); microfilm reel number assigned by the BC Archives (the B number) and number given to the microfilm reel by the Genealogical Society of Utah (referred to as the "GSU microfilm number" ).

To find an individual registration, first look up a person's name in the alphabetical listing. Note the bride will be listed by her pre-marriage surname. When you have found the right name and event, make note of the registration number, the event date, and the BCA or GSU microfilm reel number. Instructions for locating the actual registration can be found in the Finding Aid for GR-2962.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Death registration index

  • GR-2986
  • Series
  • 1872-1984

This death registration index consists of volumes containing alphabetical listings, by date groups and surname, of all deaths registered within the Province of British Columbia, from 1872 to 1984. The pre-1969 index volumes were compiled on an early computerized system by the registrar's office in Victoria from indexes created in regional offices. The index was printed and the pages were placed into volumes which were microfilmed for public reference purposes. From 1970-1984 index volumes were created annually. At the time of microfilming, index volumes for the years 1980, 1981 and 1983 were not available. Registrations for these years are indexed, however, on the microfiche index (GR-3034) and on the BC Archives Genealogy Search web site.

Each entry in index volumes from 1872 to 1976 consists of, from left to right: the name of the deceased (surname followed by given names), the gender of the deceased, the place of death, the date of registration (format is mm/dd/yyyy, e.g. 05/21/1885), the date of death (format is also mm/dd/yyyy), the number of the volume in which the registration is found, the record (or registration) number, and the age at death (this column does not have a title at the top of the page).

Beginning in 1977 the index entries consist of, from left to right: the name of the deceased (surname followed by given names), gender, birth place (using a numerical code) and date of birth, age at death, place of death, date of death and the registration number.

See attached finding aid for more information.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Death registration index

  • GR-3034
  • Series
  • 1872-1984

This is a nominal index to registrations of BC deaths, generated by the BC Vital Statistics Agency from its computer database of BC deaths, which occurred from 1872 to 1984 and are mostly available on microfilm (see GR-2951).

It consists of one complete alphabetical listing, by surname, of deaths registered within the Province of British Columbia. Each entry contains: name of the deceased; registration number (the format is year-province code-finding number, e.g., 1949-09-006017); event date (format is yyyy/mm/dd, e.g. 1949/05/29); gender; event place (e.g. Victoria); age at death; BC Archives microfilm reel number (the B number) and GSU (now FamilySearch) reel number.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Birth registrations

  • GR-2965
  • Series
  • 1854-1903

The series consists of copies of British Columbia birth registrations created by the Vital Statistics Agency. The records are on microfilm and cover the period 1854 to 1903. An index is available online on the BC Archives web site and on microfiche (GR-3103). In many cases, a digitized copy of the registration record is attached to the online index record.

Birth registrations consist of completed statements regarding births in British Columbia submitted to District Registrars and registered by the Director of Vital Statistics. The statements contain: date of birth, place of birth, sex of child, name of child, name and surname of father, name and maiden name of mother, residence and rank or profession of father, name of person who delivered the child (accoucheur), reason father did not report the birth if the report was made by another person, date of registration and registration number. If the child was originally registered without a name, or if the name was changed, the registration form is accompanied by a certificate, submitted by the person who baptized the infant and signed by the parents or guardian, or by some other document verifying the name. The only persons excluded from registration under the 1872 Act were Chinese and Aboriginals (referred to in the legislation and registered as Indians). This was changed by an amendment in 1897 (SBC 1897, c. 33, s. 3) which stated that the Act would apply to all races including all Aboriginals, Chinese and Japanese. However, the Act was amended in 1899 (SBC 1899, c. 8, s. 3) to once again exclude Aboriginals from provincial registration. This continued until the Act was amended again in 1916 (SBC 1916, c. 73, s. 3.2) to authorize the registration of Aboriginals, which began in 1917 with Indian Agents submitting registrations monthly.

There are usually two numbers stamped on the registration form. In the upper right-hand corner is a red sequential number which is the record number of the registration. At the centre top is the official registration number in black that looks like this (for example) 64-09-016729. The first part is the year of birth; the second part is the code for British Columbia; the third part is the finding number consisting of six digits. The first three digits of the six-digit finding number show the original volume which the registration was in; the last three are the last three digits of the record number. Since there are always fewer than 1000 registrations in a volume, users should look for the last three digits in the official registration number within the correct volume. Although the registrations have been resorted for microfilming, they are still in a numerical sequence by year, volume and number.

In the early years, birth registrations were gathered and bound in volumes by geographic location for one or more birth registration years. The registrations within each volume were sorted alphabetically by surname, sometimes grouped by smaller localities within the geographic location. Volumes were numbered sequentially and later yet sequential registration numbers were assigned to each registration within a volume. For large municipalities, birth registrations were bound in volumes by registration year. Often, there were multiple volumes for each year, organized and bound through a combination of chronology and alphabetization by surname. In these years, it was not unusual for births to be registered some time, even many years, after the event. These "delayed" registrations were either recorded in the same volume as births of that year, or kept in separate "delayed" registration series. The registration of stillbirths also varied over these years, and were either registered as a birth or a death, or sometimes both. Due to the complex way that birth registrations were gathered and bound historically and the way that delayed registrations have been processed, it was necessary to sort them for microfilming in order of birth year instead of registration year. This has been done to enable the release of open birth registrations. BCVSA has sorted pre-1919 births by year of birth, and volume number and registration number within each birth year. As a result, when viewed in microfilmed sequence, there appear to be gaps in volume and registration numbers within each year. The "missing" volumes and registration numbers are for births that occurred in years earlier than the registration year. Although the sorted birth registrations have been microfilmed in several different sequences, the task of finding a specific registration on the microfilm is very simple since the birth index points to the correct microfilm reel and registration number.

Indian registrations were filmed separately from non-Indian registrations to facilitate distribution of those reels to interested groups. Non-Indian birth registrations: Birth events from 1854 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year. Birth events from 1854 to 1897 have been filmed together as a group for release in 1998. Events from 1898 have been filmed so as to allow for annual release in 1999 and beyond. Delayed registrations of non-Indian births: Birth events from 1869 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year. Birth events from 1869 to 1897 have been filmed together as a group for release in 1998. Events from 1898 have been filmed at the end of the non-Indian birth registrations for those years so as to allow for annual release in 1999 and beyond. Indian birth registrations: Birth events from 1868 have been filmed sequentially in order of year, and volume number and registration number within the year.

If a birth registration is found in the index but is shown as "not filmed" on the reel, or the reel number given has not yet been released, the registration is probably a delayed registration, i.e. it was filed in a volume with later registrations which are less than 100 years old. Copies of these registrations can be obtained from the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

Death registrations - WWII overseas casualties

  • GR-3132
  • Series
  • 1940-1945

The series consists of completed statements that document the deaths of people in the armed forces in World War II who died while on active duty, and who, in civilian life, were residents of British Columbia. While the mandate of the Division of Vital Statistics was to register vital events that occurred in the province of British Columbia, during the Second World War the armed forces completed forms supplied by the province to register the deaths of armed forces personnel overseas, or outside of the province. The Division of Vital Statistics received and maintained these records but did not merge them with registrations for deaths within the province, and did not originally include them in the index to death registrations. The records were microfilmed in 1951; the original paper forms no longer exist. The forms contain personal particulars of deceased persons and the date and cause of deaths. The forms also contain medical certificates of death; these were not always completed by a physician. Although kept separately from the provincial death registrations and not included in the indexes at the time, these records are now included in the general deaths index, both online and on microfiche (GR-3034, Bf44). The information on the computer and microfiche indexes is provided only for the purpose of locating registrations and should not be taken as authoritative. The final authority for all registration information is the registration document itself.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency