Canada, New Brunswick Provincial Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada New Brunswick

What is in this Collection?
This collection covers the deaths registered from 1815 to 1938.

Registration of deaths began in 1887 in order to keep a written record of the population for use by the government. The death registrations are recorded on individual, printed forms and consist of completed statements regarding deaths in New Brunswick. These statements were submitted to district registrars and registered by the registrar or director of Vital Statistics.

New Brunswick is one of the four original provinces of Canada. The province entered into the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. Following the passing of the Vital Statistics Act of 1887, registrations of death were collected and kept by the provincial government. In this collection, there are a number of records which date from before the passing of the act. The oldest of these dates is 1815. Death registrations are the best source of death information in New Brunswick beginning in 1815.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name and residence of deceased
 * Age of deceased in years, months and days
 * Gender, race, marital status and occupation of deceased
 * Date and place of birth of deceased
 * Name and birth place of father
 * Maiden name and birth place of mother
 * Cause of death
 * Spouse, if married
 * Name of informant and their relationship to deceased
 * Burial information

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * At least one other piece of information

Search the Index
For the Years 1815-1938, Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches

View the Images
For the Years 1815-1919, View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Year
 * 2) Select Beginning Name - Ending Name

For the Years 1920-1934, View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Year
 * 2) Select Year Range
 * 3) Select Parish/Town

For the Years 1935-1938, View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Year
 * 2) Select Certificate Number Range

For the Years 1815-1938, View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Year
 * 2) Select Beginning Name - Ending Name

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the information to locate funeral home, obituary or cemetery record.
 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, land and probate records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name, especially French or Latin versions.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of New Brunswick, Canada Genealogy.
 * Search in the New Brunswick Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Citing This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

New Brunswick, Provincial Returns of Deaths, 1815-1919

Image Citation:

New Brunswick, Death Certificates 1920-1934

Image Citation:

New Brunswick, Death Certificates 1935-1938

Image Citation:

New Brunswick Provincial Deaths, 1815-1938

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation:

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