where to find sources for United States birth and death records?

Question

Am about to start a biggish search of United States birth, marriage and death records, but I'm having difficulty finding acceptable birth records. I know the relevant dates and locations, but very often the only source seems to be School Year Books. I'm in the UK and using Ancestry (Worldwide), FindMyPast and FamilySearch. Any advice would be most welcome. Thank you.

Comments

Michael, depending on when and where you are searching, the best sources will differ. When and where are you searching?

---

I'd start with familysearch.org since it is free.

Availability will depend on which state (or even county) and which era.

---

Thank you T for your reply. My grandson's wife, Lauren Kittelman, has given me a copy of her fanchart produced by the Family Search Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. No sources are shown and I'd like to create/update Wikitree profiles as appropriate.

She was born in 1993 in Colorado, her parents and grandparents were married in California. The chart stretches back to 6-8 generations, but typically spreads to other states and countries, obviously unreliable without sources, hence my interest.

It would be good to at least find Lauren's birth record, born in1993, http://[[Kittelman-7|Lauren Kittelman]] daughter of Alan Scott Kittelman and Lisa Marie Stewart both born in 1962.

Mike

---

FamilySearch is going to be your best bet on this at least the first few generations. I doubt you will find a public birth record for someone born 1993 -- primary documents for anyone that might still be living is where identity theft begins. I don't believe you will find public birth records for those born 1962, either. The earliest US Census records now available are 1950 (I don't know if FamilySearch has completed indexing the 1950 records).

The Colorado State Archives are here. Anything that has been made public will be found here somewhere, however, it might be easier searching the same records via FamilySearch.

Hopefully once you go back a couple of generations you'll find a connection to research already in WikiTree.

---

Thank you very much indeed for explaining some of the background circumstances, and for your interest. Much appreciated. Best wishes. Mike

Answer 1

What you will find depends on location and timeframe. More recent records may not be available because of security concerns.

In general, US states did not have requirements for birth/death records before 1880 to 1900. Although you can still find some BMD records depending on location. Familysearch is a good place to start looking, but sometimes you will find things on ancestry that are not on familysearch (e.g. Pennsylvania death certificates).

Here's a resource to find the timeline for state and county boundaries https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/

Note that you might find a social security death index or claim record. A birth certificate (or delayed birth certificate) must be supplied to get a social security number. On ancestry there is also the U.S, Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File

Comments

Thank you Kay for that helpful advice, and the link.

Very kind of you.

Best wishes.

Mike