Nova Scotia Birth, Marriage, and Death Records - International Institute

Brief History of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of the Atlantic provinces and consists of two parts: peninsular Nova Scotia, separated from the mainland by the Bay of Fundy and connected by the narrow Chignecto Isthmus and Cape Breton Island. Originally, first led by France, it was known as Acadia and included what is now New Brunswick.

The British name Nova Scotia dates from 1621 when a Scot, Sir William Alexander, was given a charter for colonization. French influence dominated the territory until 1710, when the British captured Port Royal and renamed it Annapolis Royal; in 1763 the mainland was ceded to Britain and the French built the fortress of Louisbourg on Ile-Royale (Cape Breton).

The French-speaking Acadians were caught in the conflict between the two countries until they were expelled in 1755 and 1758. Halifax was founded in 1749 and its small population was augmented by the loyalists in 1783-4. This led to the creation of New Brunswick and Cape Breton as separate colonies (the latter was re-annexed in 1820). Nova Scotia was a Charter member of Confederation in 1867.

The following record groups are the most valuable when researching vital statistics in Nova Scotia.

Church Records
Church registers are an alternate source for vital statistical information. Although parents’ names are not always listed and generally the registers are unindexed, they do contain the records of baptisms, marriages and burials. The amount of information varies with the denomination and the Baptist records, in particular, are scarce. The registers of the Roman Catholic churches are an exception. Marriage entries in these registers are often endorsed to show the parish in which a contracting party was baptized and a record of the marriage was sent to that parish. Thus, if the marriage entry can be located, the origin of the bride and groom may be found.

Township Records
There are also Township Records that contain births, marriages and deaths amongst the land transactions and cattle marks. The Nova Scotia townships that were established by New Englanders kept records similar to those of New England towns. Early in the life of the township the families were recorded, with birth dates of all children being shown, normally together with the record of the parents’ marriage. Once this record was set up, a chronological record of births, marriages and deaths followed. The origin of the immigrant is often shown here. There is a searchable database of the Township Records. It will allow you to determine if township papers are available for a particular community and provides descriptive information about the township books. This will allow you to plan your visit to the archives and make the most of your time. The contents of the books are not digitized, not available online at present (except for selected pages from the Truro Township Book), and not available through inter-institutional loan. Some of the township books may be available from Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa; if so, this will be noted in the database entries.

Vital Records
According to the book Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia, 4th Edition (1998) by Terrence M. Punch, the vital statistics records for Nova Scotia are located in Record Group #32 at the Nova Scotia Archives.

Marriage records are from about 1849-51 to about 1906-18 and are in R.G. Series “M”.

Marriage Bonds are the only records at the archives up to about 1850. As these are only an intention of marriage, they should be confirmed by an additional source to prove the marriage did happen. Marriage records will generally provide the name, age and occupation of the bride and groom, their parents’ names, birthplace and residence, marital status and place and date of the wedding.

The year the marriage books concluded is the cutoff year for each county’s marriage record. The dates as of 2013 are:

Death records and birth records are from 1864 to 1877 and can be found in R.G. Series “WB” on microfilm. All records are arranged by county and year. Death records will give the name, age, residence, maybe a birthplace and sometimes their parentage.

During an Irish Genealogical Research Seminar held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a talk was given by Dr. Marble regarding researching of Nova Scotia families. A large portion of the talk was included in the Canadian Genealogist, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1980 which is available online. The article covering this topic was “Genealogical Essentials in Researching Nova Scotia Families”, and is well worth reading. Actually, the other articles are also based on Nova Scotia research and would likely be of great benefit to any researcher working in Atlantic Canada. Although the articles were written in 1980 before any computerization or the Internet, the basic premises are still valid. Access to databases and digital records has reduced the time required to find some records, but the methods of search described in the article are still valid.

A selective group of printed sources is listed in Tracing Your Ancestors in Nova Scotia, 3rd edition by Julie Morris (Halifax, 1987).

Check with the Library catalogue for additions to this list. There is also A Catalogue of Published Genealogies of Nova Scotia Families, written by A.E. Marble (Halifax, 1984) available at the Library.

Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management
Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management 6016 University Avenue Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1W4 Telephone: 902-424-6060

Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM) has some historical vital records online. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics. As of January, 2013 the website listed the following records as available:

A searchable database by name is provided and then a digital image may be viewed. If you want copies of the records for genealogical purposes you may purchase them–either e-files or paper–from the website.

Records after the above dates are held by Vital Statistics Office.

The following information has also been obtained from the NSARM website. This institution was formerly known as Public Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS) and some resource materials still bear this name. Although there are some microfilm numbers referred to in this article, they cannot be inter-institutionally loaned from the NSARM. They participate in inter-institutional loan between certain facilities but only as a borrower. Microfilms are not loaned from the Archives.

This information is included to help you understand what other records are available at the Archives. If you cannot personally visit then you may consider hiring a researcher to work on your behalf.

This collection of materials has been organized with name and dates, followed by a description of the records.

Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar - General Fonds 1769-1918
Systematic registration of births, marriages and deaths did not start until August 1, 1864 when the Registration Act added registration to the duties of the Board of Statistics. While registration of births and deaths prior to 1864 was undertaken on a more informal basis, the legislature had regulated marriage from the first session in 1758. They had provided marriage licenses to those not choosing to give notice of their marriage through the reading of banns.

Legislation in 1761 with later amendments and additions in 1782 required township clerks to keep registers of all births, marriages and deaths within their jurisdiction. The forms and procedures to be used in collecting this information were not specified. It was not until 1864 that a centralized agency to collect and present the province’s vital statistics was established.

In that year, the Registration Act provided for the commission of deputy registrars and issuers of marriage licenses. They were required to register all births, marriages and deaths within their jurisdiction and to present regular statistical returns to the secretary of the Board of Statistics. This information was used to compile a provincial register of vital statistics.

This provincial initiative was short-lived, however, since the federal Department of Agriculture and Statistics assumed responsibility for the compilation of information on births, marriages and deaths after Confederation in 1867.

Although the federal government withdrew from vital statistics collecting in Nova Scotia on 1 July 1877 the province continued the registration of marriages, maintaining the position of marriage license clerk within the provincial secretary’s department.

In October 1908, the provincial government resumed the registration of births and deaths when it enacted the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (the title of which was changed to the Vital Statistics Act in 1919). The act created the position of Deputy Registrar-General and divided the province into registration districts, each of which was assigned a district registrar. The provincial secretary was designated the Registrar-General for the province, but the act assigned all functional responsibility for the registration of the province’s births, marriages and deaths to the Deputy Registrar-General.

The Registrar-General’s duties were confined to the “general supervision” of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act and the presentation of the Deputy Registrar-General’s annual report on the province’s vital statistics to the Governor in Council. In 1926, the Provincial Health Officer was made the Deputy Registrar-General. When the Nova Scotia Department of Public Health was revived and reorganized in 1931, the new Deputy Minister of Public Health also became the Deputy Registrar-General, while the new Minister of Public Health was designated Registrar-General.

Fonds consist of nine series:


 * 1) Birth registration books
 * 2) Marriage registration books
 * 3) Death registration books
 * 4) Marriage bonds
 * 5) Marriage license files
 * 6) Returns of marriage licenses issued and marriages solemnized
 * 7) Returns of registered deaths
 * 8) Statistics office correspondence and other material
 * 9) Returns of births registered

Related records may be found in township books from communities that were settled as townships within the colony. These townships were required to keep vital records of settling families.

Marriage Registration Books, 1864-1918
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of marriage registration books prepared initially from quarterly lists of marriage licenses completed by local issuers of marriage licenses and forwarded to the Statistics Office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The local officials would also forward the completed “marriage forms” that contained information on each marriage.

Marriage Registration Books record the names of those married, their ages, their place of birth and residence, their parents’ names and occupations, the name and church affiliation of the minister involved, the names of witnesses and the occupation of the groom.

Each county has separate registration books that start in 1864 and end, depending on the county, between 1906 and 1918.

This series has an alphabetical index arranged by county and year.

Marriage License Files
The marriage license files series contains the “marriage forms” used to create this series and may contain information absent from incomplete marriage registration book entries. Until 1876, the quarterly returns of marriage licenses issued and marriages solemnized series were also used to prepare the marriage registration books.

The series is arranged chronologically by county. A finding aid is provided on the website although the name index itself is not online.

Marriage Bonds 1763-1872
Alphabetical and chronological listings of marriage bonds are available in hard copy at NSARM. A volume list indicating the time period covered by each microfilm reel is available online. An index to the bonds is now searchable online, 1763-1864, as part of the searchable marriage records. A digital copy of the bond is viewable and electronic or paper copies may be purchased.

From the annual reports of the Commissioner of Public Records and the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, it appears the majority of the bonds were delivered by 1860 to the commissioner who then made a catalogue of them covering the years 1752-1855. With the passage of the Registration Act in 1864 another transfer of material was made to the commissioner who then extended his catalogue to 1864. In 1876 the two-volume catalogue and the bonds were transferred to the marriage license clerk.

This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of bonds attesting to the absence of legal impediments to a marriage. Bonds dating from 1763 to 1864 and from 1821 to 1872, record the name, place of residence, marital status, and the occupation of the groom.

Separate forms were used for adherents of the established church (Church of England) and for other Protestants or Dissenters (individuals opposed to the established church). Those for Dissenters included the name and religious affiliation of the minister, while those for the Church of England included only the parish name. If the parties involved were under the age of majority or in the military, letters of permission were attached to the bond.

The existence of a bond is not proof that the marriage actually occurred as the bond was furnished in application for a marriage license and not as a record of marriage. The bonds are arranged chronologically.

The Nova Scotia Government was involved in regulating the process followed for the solemnization of marriage from the beginning of British rule in the colony (1763). Through the provision of marriage licenses, the government provided an alternative process of marriage other than the reading of banns in church.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Secretary’s Office was responsible for the issuing of licenses under the Governor’s seal and signature. In practice, licenses were provided in bulk to local officials to issue upon receipt of the appropriate bond or application.

Bonds Dating from 1763-1863
These bonds were transferred by the Deputy Registrar General in 1959 to the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management office. Related records may be found in the marriage license files series which includes additional bonds, identical in form, to those found in this series but covering the period from 1848 to 1864. Many licenses issued as a result of these bonds, including many for marriages performed in other parishes may be found in the St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Fonds.

Returns of Marriage Licenses Issued and Marriages Solemnized 1864-1875
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of quarterly returns submitted by the local issuers of marriage licenses to the federal statistics office in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The returns are arranged by county, and then chronologically by date and then alphabetically by district within each county. The returns generally list the parties being married, those co-signing the marriage bonds, the minister and church involved and whether the license was returned. Returns of marriages solemnized give the full particulars of the wedding including names of witnesses, ages of those married and the names and occupations of their parents.

The returns were then used to compile the marriage registration books. Numbers found on the returns correspond to registration numbers on individual licenses and not to numbers generated for indexes. The Registration Act of 1864 provided for the appointment of deputy issuers of marriage licenses in all parts of the province. They were responsible for providing marriage licenses to the clergy in their areas, receiving the licenses after they had been used in performance of marriages and recording the marriages by license and also by banns. The quarterly returns were submitted to the federal statistics office in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

These records are also part of the searchable marriage records. A digital copy of the document is viewable and electronic or paper copies may be purchased.

Birth Registration Books 1864-1877
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of birth registration books recording the name of the person born, the date and place of birth, the mother’s maiden name, the father’s name, residence and occupation, when and where the parents were married, the date the birth was registered and who provided the information. This series is indexed by surname of person being registered.

This series is searchable online as part of the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics database. Digitial images of the records may be viewed and electronic or paper copies may be purchased.

Returns of Births Registered 1864-1877
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of quarterly returns of birth registrations made by local registrars and forwarded to the federal statistics office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For each birth the registration information includes the name of the person born, the date and place of birth, the mother’s maiden name, the father’s name, residence and occupation, when and where the parents were married, the date and birth was registered and who provided the information. The returns are in alphabetical order by the name of the registration district.

Death Registration Books 1864-1877
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of death registration books which record the deceased’s name, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, parents’ names and occupation, the deceased’s date and place of death and the informant providing the information. Some forms used to collect the information also include the cause of death, how long the condition was evident and the name of any attending physician. This series is indexed by surname of the deceased.

This series is also searchable online as part of the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics database. Digitial images of the records may be viewed and electronic or paper copies may be purchased.

Returns of Registered Deaths 1864-1877
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds and consists of quarterly returns made by local registrars of deaths to the federal statistics office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This series also includes information recorded for each death which includes the deceased’s name, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, parents’ names and occupation, the date and place of death and the informant providing the information to the local registrar.

Some forms reporting individual deaths include the cause of death, how long the condition was evident and the name of any attending physician. The returns are arranged by county, then chronologically by year and quarter and then alphabetically by district. Among the quarterly returns are found many forms used to report individual deaths. Death registration books series was compiled from this series and contains similar, more complete information.

Coroners' and Medical Examiners' Reports 1920-1974
This series forms part of the Nova Scotia Department of the Attorney General fonds and consists of reports filed with the Attorney General’s department by provincial magistrates judges concerning the advisability of holding a formal inquest or magisterial inquiry concerning a death, or containing the results of such an inquest or inquiry.

Under the Coroners Act and its 1960 replacement the Fatalities Inquiry Act, local coroners or medical examiners were required to report on all instances of death where there was reason to suspect foul play, the cause of death was unknown, the person died in jail, or another statute required a report. These reports give the name of the deceased, the cause of death, some particulars of identification such as age or occupation, and a recommendation about the need for a formal inquiry or inquest respecting the cause of the death.

These reports were then filed with the Clerk of the Crown in the county where the death occurred, and with a provincial stipendiary magistrate who would then decide on holding a formal inquest or inquiry. If no further action was indicated, this was reported to the Attorney General for review. When such an inquest or formal inquiry was held, the report was also forwarded to the Attorney General.

County Clerks' Files
Some coroners’ and medical examiners’ reports that were filed with county clerks of the crown are found in the Nova Scotia County Courts fonds, District Number Three (Digby County) inquest records, 1911-1969. Additional records are in the Coroners’ inquests and medical reports collection and include records for Halifax and Dartmouth (1755-1973), Halifax County (1828-1928), Cape Breton County (1906-1907), Colchester County (1885-1973), Cumberland County (1931-1959), Inverness County (1936-1971), Lunenburg County (1824-1907), Queens County (1818-1940) and Shelburne County (1786-1904)

A database searchable by the name of deceased in the reports of the Medical Examiner concerning deaths occurring within the City of Halifax or the Town of Dartmouth from 1895 to 1967. The database provides the full name, date and retrieval number. Digital images are not available but the records up to 1928 are available on microfilm.

Vital Statistics Office
Civil registrations of birth and deaths began in Nova Scotia in 1864, ceased in 1876, and began again on 1 January 1909 until the present day. As well, some delayed registrations of births were filed after 1908 for individuals born in the province between 1876 and 1908. Birth records filed prior to 1912 are at NSARM and those filed after 1912 are in the Vital Statistics office. Marriage records filed at Vital Statistics begin at 1937 with earlier records available at NSARM. Death records held at the Vital Statistics Office begin in 1962.

But please note that birth certificates of deceased persons born less than 100 years ago or married less than 75 years ago cannot be issued for genealogy.

Death certificates can be released if the death occurred more than 20 years ago and the deceased would be 75 years of age or more. The Vital Statistics Department will search (for a fee) for a record if you provide the identifying information. The standard search covers three years but additional years will be searched for an additional fee.

Notes from the Vital Statistics Office, Deputy Registrar General:


 * Genealogy information is available from Vital Statistics in the form of certificates only. Please submit proof of your identification (i.e. copy of driver’s license or birth or baptism certificate) with your initial request.


 * A search of records cannot be conducted without full and specific information.


 * A three-year search includes the year before the year of and the year after the date given. If the record is not found, the fee is $17.13. Additional three year blocks may be searched for $11.45.

In order to obtain a certificate you can attend in person at their office or by mail and since 1997, applications can be dropped off at any Nova Scotia Registry of Motor Vehicle office to be processed through government mail. Online service is now in place on their website.

Payment for your certificates can be made by cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finances, Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Payment in person at their counter service can be made by cash, cheque, money order, debit, Visa, Mastercard or American Express. All certificate prices include a three year search; a three year search may be requested without a certificate (confirmation of event only) for $5.72. Please check for possible changes in fees, by phone or on their website.

Release of all long form certificates are subject to restrictions as set out in the Vital Statistics Act. Certificates are issued in accordance with information on file and cannot be returned for refund.

Vital Statistics Office, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations Vital Statistics Office, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations 300 Horseshoe Lake Drive Halifax, Nova Scotia B3S 0B7 Mailing Address: Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, Vital Statistics P.O. Box 157 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2M9 Telephone: 902-424-4381 Email:[mailto:vatat@gov.ns.ca vatat@gov.ns.ca]

Church Records
Church records are especially valuable for establishing birth, marriage and burial dates for the time period before civil registration. Often they are the only record available for this time period. Nova Scotia Archives and Record Management has microfilmed a large collection of these records and placed them in a single collection, the “Parish Register Microfilm Collection”. This collection contains the records of 512 distinct parishes, congregations, missions and faith communities. The earliest record dates from 1679 but most of the records fall between 1780 and 1920.

NSARM website identifies a few things to be aware of:


 * The microfilms of this collection do not circulate on inter-institutional loan. You must attend NSARM to view them.


 * The original record books were returned to the individual communities after filming and either remain there or were subsequently sent to the archives of the denomination.


 * The records have not been (nor will they be) digitized. Nor are they available online.


 * Most records cannot be photocopied or reproduced without written permission from the church in question. However, “limited photocopying (i.e. individual entries) is permitted from 18th and 19th century Anglican Church registers, and from Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax registers prior to 1901”.

Now, although digital images of the actual records are not available online, there is a searchable database of what records are available. Note that this is not a database of individual names in the registers. However, this database will allow you to do some planning before you go to the archives so you can make the best use of your time while you are there. It will allow you to know if the microfilm of the register of the particular congregation for the particular time period you seek is there. It will allow you to search by church name, denomination, community or other parameters of your choice. It will identify the records held, the beginning and ending dates that are covered by each record and note the availability of other related records such as minute books, parishioner lists, etc. Any restrictions on access to the particular record are also noted.

It is important to remember that the churches were not obliged to send their registers for microfilming. This was an offer by NSARM to offer protection of the records against fire, loss and other destruction as well as making the microfilms available for personal research at NSARM. Many of the registers in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax were sent but very few of those for the diocese of Antigonish or Yarmouth were sent for microfilming.

If the registers you are looking for are not available on microfilm at NSARM, it may be worthwhile checking with the archives of the denomination in which you are interested.

Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI Archives 6017 Quinpool Road Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5J6 Telephone: 902-420-0717 ext. 231 Email:[mailto:archives@nspeidiocese.ca archives@nspeidiocese.ca]

Records dating from 1758 to 1995; predominant dates are from the 19th and 20th centuries. Restricted to diocesan and parish records.

United Church Records
The United Church of Canada Archives holds the local church records of the United Church and its uniting denominations (Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian (1925 union); and Evangelical United Brethren―joined in 1968). The records of the churches which did not join at union but remained part of the continuing Presbyterian Church in Canada after 1925 are held at:

Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives and Records Office 50 Wynford Drive Toronto, Ontario M3C 1J7 Telephone: (416) 441-1111 Maritime Conference Archives, United Church of Canada 21 Wright Street Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 4P8 Telephone: 506-536-1334 ext. 7

Nova Scotia Genealogical Network Association Here you can find links to all the member societies and many local resources, including the Genealogical Institute of the Maritimes for certified researchers. Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers (online) Many historical newspapers have been digitized and are now online. Although they are currently searchable by date only, newspapers are a source of vital information and may be worth the time to search.

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