Vital Statistics

Nova Scotia Deputy Registrar-General fonds : [1769-1918]

Microfilmed 1980-1984

697 microfilm reels

Systematic registration of births, marriages and deaths began in Nova Scotia on 1 August 1864 when the Registration Act added registration to the duties of the Board of Statistics. While registration of births and deaths prior to 1864 was undertaken on an informal basis, the legislature had regulated marriage from the first session in 1758 and provided marriage licences to those choosing not to give notice of their marriages through the reading of banns. After Confederation in 1867, the federal Department of Agriculture asumed responsibility for the registration of births, marriages and deaths. When the federal government withdrew from vital statistics collecting in Nova Scotia on 1 July 1877, the province assumed custody of the vital statistics records. The province continued the registration of marriages, maintaining the position of marriage license clerk within the Provincial Secretary's department. In October 1908, the provincial government created the position of Deputy Registrar General and resumed the registration of births and deaths. The Deputy Registrar General's office later became part of the Department of Health.

Fonds consists of nine series:
1 Birth registration books;
2 Marriage registration books;
3 Death registration books;
4 Marriage bonds;
5 Marriage licence files;
6 Returns of marriage licences issued and marriages solemnized;
7 Returns of registered deaths;
8 Statistics office correspondence and other material; and
9 Returns of births registered.

Notes

Finding aids:
Series descriptions available.

General note:
Related records may be found in township books from communities that were settled as townships within the colony. These townships were required to keep vital records of settling families.