District of Columbia Birth Returns - FamilySearch Historical Records

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. The District of Columbia, Birth Returns collection is available only to those using an LDS FamilySearch Account or a FamilySearch Account.

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1874 to 1897.

Images of birth returns and birth index registers from the Health Department in Washington, D.C. The birth returns name the parents but do not name the child.

For a list of records by dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Office of Registrar of Vital Statistics. "District of Columbia, Birth Returns, 1874-1897." Health Department, Washington, D.C.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
These records usually include the following information:




 * Birth date of child
 * Birth place of child
 * Number of child of Mother
 * Race or Color
 * Gender
 * Mother's Maiden Name
 * Mother's Birthplace
 * Mother's Residence
 * Full name of Father
 * Father's Occupation
 * Father's Birthplace

How to Use the Record
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, Number, and Year Range" category which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Approximate birth date
 * Parents names
 * Birth place

Search the Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s birth record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the birth date 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.
 * father’s occupation can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as military records.
 * The parent’s birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.

It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile birth entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents. Continue to search the birth records to identify siblings, parents, and other relatives in the same or other generations who were born in the same county or nearby.

Keep in mind the information in birth records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.

Related Websites

 * District of Columbia Births on USGenweb Archives

Related Wiki Articles

 * District of Columbia Vital Records
 * District of Columbia Church Records
 * District of Columbia

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Delaware Marriage Records,” database and digital images, FamilySearch ([]: 4 March 2011), William Anderson and Elizabeth Baynard Henry, 1890; from Delaware, State Marriage Records 23 November 1913, no. 859, Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, Dover; FHL microfilm 2,025,063.

for more than one citation example