Provincial Archives of New Brunswick birth, marriage and death records

I have done quite a bit of work through the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick website http://archives.gnb.ca/Archives/?culture=en-CA over the past years, and one thing that I recommend if you are researching the births, marriages, and deaths records (BMD) is that you read the Finiding Aid at http://archives.gnb.ca/Documents/FindingAids/GovernmentRecords/RS141-EN.pdf and the Information page at http://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/Introduction.aspx?culture=en-CA.

They have added the 1919 birth and death records to the search engine in November and December of last year, and have added digitized images of the originals for that year, as well.

So good luck in researching, and let me know how you have done using theses records.

If you haven’t done so already, remember to check the Canadian Week in Review Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.

If you missed last week’s edition, it is at http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/01/canadian-week-in-review-05-january-2015.html

It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!

It has been a regular post every Monday morning since April 23, 2012.

Quebec’s Civil Registers

Ever wonder why French-Canadian baptism, marriage, and death records are usually so complete, and that they go back to the 17th century?

Well, this year marks the 475th anniversary of the signing of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts in 1539, which stated that priests were required to register baptisms and burials. In 1579, another ordinance was signed which required that marriages be registered. 

And in 1667, the Ordinance of Saint-Germain-en-Laye introduced a practice that has proven to be very important to genealogists – that is, the practice of keeping duplicate copies of the baptisms, marriages, and deaths. One copy was kept by the priest, and the second was filed with civil authorities at the end of the year.

Furthermore, in Quebec, civil status registers have the following characteristics -

· There are three types of acts: baptism, marriage, and burial.

· The acts are drawn up by parish priests.

· They are presented chronologically, usually within a single register.

· They are subject to two separate regulations: ecclesiastical and civil. 

The Library and Archives Canada has a very good website explaining Vital Statistics: Births, Marriages and Deaths at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/vital-statistics-births-marriages-deaths/Pages/births-marriages-deaths.aspx 

Ancestry.ca also has the Drouin Collection online, which contains Catholic baptisms, marriages, and deaths – including some Protestant records, also. 

The website is http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=1091

Births, Marriages, Deaths (BMD) Database

The Alberta Family Histories Society (AFHS) recently made the announcement that they have just added thousands of new records, bringing the total to almost 10,000!

It will continue to grow over time, and is a supplemental to the Newspaper announcements page.

The AFHS says that transcribers are needed. Help the Projects Committee record newspaper births, marriages and deaths.

By transcribing, you can 

■ Work from home!

■ Do as little or as much as you’d like (every little bit helps).

■ Have fun adding to the Alberta Family Histories Society’s databases.

■ Get that warm glow contributing to a worthwhile project gives you!

You can go to www.afhs.ab.ca/data/bmd/search.php to check the database, and be a AFHS transcriber!