RS141A5 INTRODUCTION: Index to Provincial Registrations of Births

The General Assembly of New Brunswick passed An Act to Provide for the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in 1887 (50 Victoria c.5) to require comprehensive registration civilly of those vital events. Prior to the 1887 Act there was no requirement to record births nor system in place to collect and preserve such information. The records in sub-series "A" of RS141 were created after 1887 but the information recorded in the 'A1b Late Registrations of Births' goes back at least to 1810, and in one of the 'A2/2 County Birth Registers' to 1801.

The vast majority of the births registered with Vital Statistics are organized by year and then alphabetically. Since names are easily found within the records on the various microfilms, no master or electronic index has been created for them: however, it is the goal of the Provincial Archives over the next few years to provide such an index for all the births released for public inspection. Birth records are not released by Vital Statistics to the Provincial Archives for public use until 95 years after the birth.

The Provincial Registration of Births are arranged alphabetically by surname and provide, generally: 1) name and gender of child; 2) date and location of birth; 3) name and occupation of father; 4) maiden name of mother; 5) name of accoucher; 6) and name and residence of informant. Of course, the form used to register the births changed over the years.

This index gives the name and gender of the child, the date of birth, name of father, name of mother, place of birth, county of birth, archival file code, and the microfilm number where the registration may be viewed.

Viewing the Complete Record:
The completed birth registrations are available only on microfilm. The microfilm number is included in the index, along with the reference codes. The films can be viewed at the Provincial Archives in Fredericton, or at a library participating in the inter-library or inter-archives microfilm loan program. 

Official Birth Certificates:
The information provided in the database is for reference only. Official birth certificates necessary for legal and other important purposes cannot be issued by the Archives: they are issued by Service New Brunswick, Vital Statistics, P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, E3B 5H1. Please contact Vital Statistics regarding fees, etc.

This digitization project was undertaken by the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick with matching funds provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Council of Archives' cost-shared co-operative assistance program known as CAIN (Canadian Archival Information Network).