North Carolina Davidson County Vital Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images of death records and marriage licenses recorded in Davidson County, North Carolina for the years 1867 to 1984. Some of the individual volumes include an index and there are comprehensive indexes to some of the records.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of North Carolina marriages click here.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The information found in most birth certificates includes:


 * Name of the child
 * Sex; whether a twin, triplet or other, race and marital status of parents
 * Date and time of birth
 * Birthplace
 * Names and sometimes ages of parents, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Parent’s residences, races, birthplaces, occupations and sometimes educational attainments
 * Sometimes the number of children born to the mother, and the number of surviving children
 * Attending physician or midwife and time of birth

The information found in most delayed certificates of birth includes:


 * Name of child at birth
 * Date and location of birth
 * Birth attendant
 * Names of parents of the child, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Parent’s residences, races, birthplaces and occupations
 * Abstract of supporting evidence of birth
 * Name of register of deeds

The information found in most marriage records includes:


 * Names of the groom and bride, including the maiden name of the bride
 * Race and sometimes ages of the groom and bride
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Residences of bride and groom
 * Names of parents of the bride and groom, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Parent’s residences, races, birthplaces and occupations
 * Names of witnesses and the officiator

The information found in most death certificates includes:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Sex, race, marital status and age of the deceased
 * Dates of death and burial
 * Birth date and birthplace of the deceased
 * City, county, and state of death
 * Name and location of the cemetery where buried
 * Frequently, the country or state and sometimes the town and county of birth for the deceased
 * Names of parents, often with maiden surname of the mother
 * Name of the informant, who is often a child or other family member
 * Residence or address of the deceased, if foreign-born
 * Whether the deceased was single, married, widowed, or divorced at the time of death
 * Occupation of the deceased

Birth, death and marriage records are the most reliable sources of vital information. Information pertaining to the event is reliable. Other information is dependent upon the reliability of the informant.

The state required counties to begin recording vital records in compliance with state law to document the births and deaths and to better serve public health needs. Death certificates were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

North Carolina birth, marriage and death records are recorded on a printed form which were filled in by hand or typed. Delayed birth certificates may also include handwritten supporting documents. The marriage records are arranged by year and then by the the groom's surname. The "Indexed Register of Marriages" is arranged first by the first letter of the groom's surname and then by the date of the marriage. Note that the first four pages here are special lists: "Marriage License out of State (White)" and "Marriage License out of State (Colored)"--the main index begins with image 5. The death records are arranged by year, then by township, and then chronologically by the date of the event.

The Vital Records Section of the Department of Public Health is responsible for maintaining and issuing certified copies of vital records, including birth, marriage and death certificates for births, marriages and deaths that occurred in North Carolina. They officially began recording birth and death events in March 1913. Birth records were usually filled out by a midwife, doctor or other attendant. Death certificates were usually filled out by a mortician or medical professional. Marriage records were usually filled out by the person performing the marriage. Each official filled in the information concerning the event and obtained personal information on the deceased from an informant, usually a relative. That information was submitted to the county, who sent a copy to the state. Delayed birth records were required in the absence of a certificate of birth. They include affidavits and other supporting information from persons testifying to the birth.

Marriages were not often recorded until after 1868 when the Register of Deeds for each county began to issue marriage licenses. The State of North Carolina began statewide registration in 1913 and achieved compliance by 1920.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records)

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate date the event occurred.
 * The place where the birth, marriage, or death occurred.
 * The names of other family members and their relationships.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Record Type" category ⇒ Select the "Years, Volume, Page" category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parent’s birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use a marriage number to identify previous marriages.
 * The name of the officiator may be a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county.
 * The name of the undertaker or mortuary could lead you to funeral and cemetery records which often include the names and residences of other family members.

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

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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