Canada, New Brunswick, Provincial Returns of Births and Late Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada New Brunswick

What is in this Collection?
These records include indexes and images of provincial returns of births, 1869-1906 and late registrations, 1810-1906. The late registrations from 1810 to 1899 are arranged by birth year and then surname. Although the index is complete, images are being added to this collection as they become available.

The returns of births, 1870-1906, and the late registration documents which were original certificates and some returns, 1810-1899, are arranged alphabetically within each year.

Beginning in 1900, late registration documents are filed in numerical order within each year. An additional set of late registration of births, 1869-1901 had been registered in the years 1900-1901, is arranged by county then chronologically. The typed cards of late birth registrations are arranged alphabetically within the year range of 1810-1899. The years listed are the birth years and not the registration years. There are few returns or certificates for previous years. The "Mc's/Mac's" are filed before the "M's" in each set.

Registrations were kept on printed forms and then bound into volumes. The entries are arranged chronologically by date of registration.

Provincial vital registrations are considered a reliable source in family history research because they contain a record of an event usually registered very near the time the event occurred.

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 birth were collected and kept by the provincial government. The government collected delayed registrations dating back to 1801.

Births were recorded in New Brunswick to better serve public health needs, and to provide demographic and personal identification.

For an alphabetical list of names currently published in the New Brunswick, Late Registration of Births, 1810-1899 collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

For an alphabetical list of names currently published in the New Brunswick, Provincial Returns of Births and Late Registrations, 1810-1906 collection, select the Browse.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of birth
 * Child's name and gender
 * Was child a single, twin or triple birth
 * Was child born alive or stillborn
 * Were parents married
 * Father name and age
 * Father's place of birth
 * Father's origin, occupation and residence
 * Mother's maiden name and age
 * Mother's place of birth
 * Some records contain an explanation of why registration was late

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate year of birth.
 * The place where your ancestor was born.
 * The names of the child's parents.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Surname Range" category, which will take you to the images.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "Year" ⇒Select the "Record Type" ⇒Select the " Surname or Certificate Number" category which takes you to the images.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: 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.

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.

What Do I Do Next?
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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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 parents' birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * 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.

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

 * 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.

Citing These 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.

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