Alberta Civil Registration

Online Records

 * Alberta Birth Record Indexes, 1877-1896
 * Alberta Marriage Record Indexes, 1870-1942
 * Alberta Death Record Indexes, 1870-1967
 * Alberta, Canada, Births Index, 1870-1896, ($).
 * Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index,1898-1942, ($).
 * Alberta, Canada, Deaths Index, 1870-1966, ($).

Introduction

 * Vital records are birth, marriage, and death records maintained by civil authorities. Civil governments have created records of births, marriages, and deaths.


 * Records containing this information are commonly called "vital records," because they refer to critical events in a person's life. These are the most important documents for genealogical research, although the births, marriages, and deaths of many people have never been recorded by civil authorities.


 * Alberta began province-wide registration of births, marriages, and deaths in 1898, which was generally complied with by 1930. There are a few records of births between 1870 and 1890.

Contents
This table tells you the genealogical information contained in birth, marriage, and death records.

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Birth Records
Usually Contain
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May Contain
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 * Name of child
 * Names of parents
 * Birth date and place
 * Sex
 * Date of registration
 * Name and address of informant
 * Name of registration district.
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 * Mother's maiden name
 * Name of attending physician or midwife
 * Ages of parents
 * Place of birth for parents
 * Occupation of father
 * Remarks
 * Remarks


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Marriage Records
Usually Contain May Contain
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 * Name of bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Ages of couple at time of marriage
 * Residences at time of marriage
 * Birthplaces of bride and groom (town, province, or country)
 * Groom's rank or profession
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 * Names of parents
 * Name of person who performed the marriage (possible clue to family's religion)
 * Names of witnesses (possible relatives)
 * Date of registration
 * Date of registration


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 * Religion of bride and groom
 * Previous marriage (if any)
 * Signatures of couple and witnesses


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Death Records
Usually Contain
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May Contain
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 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Residence
 * Sex
 * Place of birth (town, province, or country)
 * Age at death or birth date
 * Cause of death
 * Name of informant
 * Name of registration district
 * Name of registration district


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 * Religion of deceased
 * Name of spouse with maiden name
 * Names of parents with maiden name of mother
 * Province or country of birth for the parents
 * Date and place of burial
 * Military service such as dates served and unit
 * Name, address, and relationship of informant
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 * Name of funeral home
 * Time of death
 * Length and type of illness or disease
 * Marital status
 * Occupation
 * Name of attending physician


 * }

Provincial Archives of Alberta
Birth, marriage, and death records are available beginning in 1870, although reliable coverage began more in 1898.
 * The Provincial Archives of Alberta provides access to:
 * birth records that are 120 years or older (from the date of birth)
 * marriage records that are 75 years or older (from the date of marriage)
 * death records that are 50 years or older (from the date of death)
 * stillbirth records that are 75 years or older (from the date of stillbirth)

Indexes
Before requesting a record, find your ancestor in the index and copy down the reference number:
 * Birth Indexes'
 * Marriage Indexes
 * Death Indexes
 * Stillbirth Indexes

Requesting and Purchasing a Record

 * Find Birth, Marriage, and Death Records at the Provincial Archives of Alberta--instructions for online requests.
 * When requesting the record for genealogical purposes, be sure to request a certified photocopy of a registration of birth (long form).

Registry Offices
Records too recent to be obtained from the Archives have privacy restrictions. These can still be obtained if you are able to show that the individual is deceased and that you are an eligible next of kin (parent, sibling, children or spouse).
 * Instructions, forms, and fees

Divorce
From 1840 to 1968, divorces in Canada were granted by the Parliament of Canada. From 1867 to 1968, anyone wanting a divorce had to place a notice of intent in newspapers. A petition was submitted to Parliament with details, including the place and date of marriage. Parliament then passed an Act of Divorce granting the divorce.

Library and Archives Canada Database of Divorce Records

 * Acts of Divorce, 1841-1968 Instructions Index
 * Search Database Index
 * After finding the reference in the index, find the divorce in the Acts of Parliament. See the chart at How to obtain copies of divorce acts for a list of parliamentary records with links to libraries holding their microfilms.

Senate of Canada
Senate of Canada Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel Room 1310 13th Floor 40 Elgin Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A4 CANADA Telephone: 613-992-2416 FAQ's
 * The Senate of Canada holds the original divorce files, but they are closed to the public under privacy legislation. You can obtain a certified copy of a divorce act for legal purposes from them:

Adoption

 * Alberta Post Adoption Registry and Post Guardianship services
 * Adoption Reunion Services
 * Exchange information between adoptive and birth families

Tip:Why might it be better to look for the death record of an ancestor first?

 * Your ancestor's death is more recent than his birth or marriage. It is usually best to work from recent events backward, from the known to the unknown.
 * Death records exist for many persons born before birth and marriage records began. Death records may contain birth and marriage information not available anywhere else.
 * Death records may contain birth, marriage, and burial information as well as death information.
 * The death record usually tells you where your ancestor last lived. Then you can look for other records for that place.
 * The death record may lead you to other documents created in connection with the death, such as the burial and probate of your ancestor. Those records may give new family information.