Utah, Salt Lake County Birth Registers - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
Before 1908, entries were made in registers that were divided into columns and rows. Beginning in 1908, entries were made on printed certificates, with four per page. Separate books were kept for Salt Lake City and the rest of the county, although many county entries were recorded in the city books and vice versa. It is not known if these are duplicate entries.

While the state of Utah did not require births be registered until 1905, Salt Lake County started much earlier. Early years record as little as 20% of the births; later years closer to 80% of the births.

Salt Lake County began registering births in 1890. Separate books for kept for deaths in Salt Lake City and for the rest of the county. Beginning in 1905, the Utah State Board of Health required county Board of Health registrars to record all births occurring in their county. Physicians, midwives, and birthing facilities were all responsible to supply this information. County officials sent certificates each month to the state registrar at the Department of Vital Statistics.

This collection includes births for the years 1890 to 1915.

Births were recorded for public health purposes. Birth certificates were also issued to individuals as legal documents. In cases where an individual’s birth had not been recorded, it was not uncommon for that individual to apply for a delayed birth registration since the certificate was needed to receive certain government benefits.

The information in birth entries is generally reliable, although there is always a chance for error.

Record Content
Birth records of Salt Lake County contain some or all of the following information, depending on the time period:


 * Child's name and gender
 * Child's date and place of birth
 * Race or nativity
 * Father's name and age
 * Father’s birthplace and occupation
 * Mother's maiden name and age
 * Mother’s birthplace and occupation
 * Parents' residence
 * Whether a single or multiple birth
 * Birth order of child
 * Number of children born to this mother who are still living

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Use the locator information in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the birth records. Compare the information in the birth record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination. Be aware that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

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.
 * The father’s occupation can lead you to other types of records such as employment records or military records.
 * The parents’ 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.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

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

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites
Salt Lake Valley Health Department

Related Wiki Articles

 * Utah
 * Utah Vital Records
 * Salt Lake County, Utah

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.