FINDING BIRTH RECORDS LEWISTON PUBLIC LIBRARY Birth records

FINDING BIRTH RECORDS LEWISTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Birth records are an integral part of our family history puzzle. In the United States births were mostly recorded in church registers until the mid to late 1800’s when vital statistics, such as births, marriages and deaths were officially collected. New England states started recording births on the town level starting as early as the first residents of the town. Marriage records were generally the first vital records to be collected. Many towns began keeping marriage records at their

The earliest birth records were kept by the state of Massachusetts in 1841. The latest state to officially require recording births was Georgia in 1919. However, you may still find birth records locally even before these years.

Places to Search for Birth Records Family Records (including family bibles) Birth records (city, village, town and county) Death and marriage records may contain birth information Census records give ages and sometimes month and year of birth Church records, religious records (baptisms, etc. ) Obituaries Cemetery records and tombstones Newspapers Naturalization Records and Passports Native American Enrollment Records

Birth Records in New York State • • In New York state birth records were first officially recorded in 1880. In the early years, however, not all births were recorded. In New York state birth certificates are made available to the public after 75 years. NYS does NOT have birth records for Albany, Buffalo or Yonkers before 1914.

The NYS Birth Index is available on microfiche at the following ten repositories: New York State Archives, Albany County Broome County Public Library, Binghamton, Broome County Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Buffalo, Erie County Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, Chemung County Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, Warren County National Archives—Northeast Region, New York County (Manhattan) Patchogue-Medford Library, Patchogue, Suffolk County Rochester Public Library, Rochester, Monroe County Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, Onondaga County Flower Memorial Library, Watertown, Jefferson County Utica Public Library, Utica, Oneida County

Ordering Birth Records through the NYS Department of Health Website: https: //www. health. ny. gov/vital_records/genealogy. htm The birth must have been on file for 75 years unless a family relationship can be proven. Ordering a genealogy copy Mail your completed application to: New York State Department of Health Vital Records Section Genealogy Unit P. O. Box 2602 Albany, NY 12220 -2602 Could take about 8 months

Online Help with Birth Records • Summary of births in the United States—detailed summary of birth records for each state https: //www. familysearch. org/wiki/en/Summary_of_Births _in_the_United_States_by_State • New York State application for birth records https: //www. health. ny. gov/vital_records/forms/doh 4384. pdf

Finding Birth Records in Niagara Falls and Lewiston area Niagara Falls City Clerk (1880 -present) Lewiston Town Clerk (1880 -present) **New York State laws apply**