Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The registration of deaths began in 1872, soon after British Columbia became a province of Canada. This collection contains death registrations, 1872-1986 and 1992-1993. First Nations death registrations, 1917-1956 (with delayed First Nations death registrations, 1916-1950); and overseas casualties, 1940-1945. Due to privacy legislation by the government of British Columbia, some images have been restricted from viewing. The death registrations are recorded on individual, printed forms. They consist of completed statements regarding deaths in British Columbia submitted to district registrars and registered by the registrar or director of Vital Statistics. Each death registration should include a supporting record called “Medical Certificate of Death,” which states the cause of death as determined by a physician or coroner, but this statement was not regularly included until 1896 and not with every registration until 1912. Depending on the time period, the medical certificate may be a separate form or printed on the same form as the death registration. Death certificates contain information from the original registration records and are only available through the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. A stillbirth may have been registered as either a birth, death, or both.

The only persons excluded from the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Act of 1872 were Chinese and Aboriginals. This was changed by an amendment in 1897, stating the registration would apply to all races. However, the Act was amended in 1899 to once again exclude First Nations from provincial registration until another amendment was passed in 1916, which authorized registration of First Nations to begin again in 1917 with information submitted monthly.

From 1917 to 1956, the First Nations death registrations were recorded in separate volumes. After 1956, the registrations were recorded with the main series. Beginning in 1872, official government registration of deaths applied to the whole province of British Columbia except for the Chinese (until 1897) and First Nations (until 1917).

The “Overseas Casualties, 1940-1945” series contains 3,423 deaths of British Columbians who died overseas during World War II. Registration of deaths began in order to keep a written record of the population for use by the government. Death registrations are the best source of death information in British Columbia beginning in 1872.

When Ancestry.com independently indexed these records, they indexed certificate numbers (which FamilySearch omitted). Thus, it is necessary to refer to Ancestry.com's subscription index, in addition to FamilySearch's index, in order to find death certificates in the Family History Library's microfilms.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Death
 * Name, age, and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of birth
 * Cause of death
 * Marital status
 * Parents' names
 * Name of spouse
 * Name of physician
 * Registration district name or number
 * Date and number of registration
 * Religious affiliation

How Do I Search This Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor was married, search for a marriage record in the British Columbia Marriage Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records collection, with the name of the spouse in the death record
 * Use the date and place of birth to search for a birth record in the British Columbia Birth Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records collection.
 * Use the information to find other records such as christening, census, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the British Columbia Record Finder to find other records
 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names
 * Search the indexes and records of British Columbia, Canada Genealogy
 * Search in the British Columbia Archives and Libraries
 * Search in the FamilySearch Catalog

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in British Columbia.
 * Record Finder

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.