Citations—Vital Records
Vital Records
The city, county, or state may keep records of the births, marriages, divorces, and deaths of the people and these are considered the vital records of the community. The information on a local version of a vital record may not be the same on the state version. Indexes may or may not exist for vital records. The researcher is encouraged to search the records when an index does not reveal an ancestor; a recorder’s spelling of a name or an indexer’s interpretation of a name may hide an ancestor who is actually in the record.
Elements of the citation could include: the name(s) of the person(s), date filed, title of the record, type of record, date of record, the number of the record or certificate, the agency creating the record, the city and State of the agency creating the record, Web page title, URL, series title, page number, and volume number. If a record is written in a foreign language, make note of that also.
| First Footnote or Endnote | Subsequent Footnote or Endnote | Bibliography | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth Certificate from Jefferson City | Missouri Department of Health, certificate of birth number [number] ([date filed]), [Name of person], Bureau of Vital Statistics, Jefferson City. | [State] birth certificate no. [number] ([year of certificate]), [Name of person]. | [State]. [Agency]. Birth Certificates. [Repository]. [Repository Location]. |
| Example | Missouri Department of Health, certificate of birth number 9238 (8 August 1911), Elmer Albert Fagyal, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Jefferson City. | Missouri birth certificate no. 9238 (1911), Elmer Albert Fagyal. | Missouri. Department of Health. Birth Certificates. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Jefferson City. |
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| Birth Register St. Louis City Microfilm | City of St. Louis, Missouri, “Registry of Births, [(any other information in the title of the record or that explain the arrangement of the record)],” [date], entry for [Name of person]; Missouri State Archives film number [number]. | City of St. Louis, Missouri, “Registry of Births, [(any other information in the title of the record or that explain the arrangement of the record)],” [date], entry for [Name of person]. | Missouri. St. Louis, city of. “[Specific volume].” Recorder of Deeds, City of St. Louis. MSA microfilm 10379. Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri. |
| Example | City of St. Louis, Missouri, “Registry of Births, City of St. Louis,” April 1907, no page number, (records chronological by first letter of last name), for Stephen Fagyal, Missouri State Archives film number 10379. | City of St. Louis, Missouri, “Registry of Births, City of St. Louis,” April 1907, for Stephen Fagyal. | Missouri. St. Louis, City of. “Registry of Births, City of St. Louis.” Recorder of Deeds, City of St. Louis. MSA microfilm 10379. St. Louis County Library, St. Louis, Missouri. |
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| Marriage Record from Courthouse | [County], Missouri, marriage certificate no. [license number] ([year of marriage]), [Full name of groom as listed on the record] and [Full name of bride as listed on the record]; [Name of record office], [County seat where record is kept]. | [County name] Co., [State abbreviation], marriage certificate no. [number] ([year of marriage]), [Last name of groom]–[Last name of bride]. | [State]. [County]. [Type of Record]. [Repository], [Repository location]. |
| Example | City of St. Louis, Missouri, marriage certificate no. 547597 (1949), Elmer A. Fagyal and Eugenia L. Wolfsberger; Office of the Recorder of Deeds, St. Louis City. | St. Louis City, Mo., marriage certificate no. 546597 (1949), Fagyal–Wolfsberger marriage. | Missouri. St. Louis, City of. Marriage Certificates. Recorder of Deeds, City of St. Louis. |
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| Marriage Contract | [Jurisdiction], [State], [specific volume title,] [page], [item of interest] entry, [Record date]; [Film Location ID] microfilm [number], item [number] | [Jurisdiction], [State abbreviation], [Specific volume title], p. [number]. | [State]. [Jurisdiction]. [Series,] [year to year]. [Record Repository], [Repository location]. [Film location ID] microfilm, [number] rolls. [Film repository], [film location]. |
| Example | St. Louis County, Missouri, Deed Records, v. 3: 75 (original in French with English translation), no. 2134, marriage contract by Pierre Paillant and Elizabeth Crelee, 21 July 1799; FHL microfilm 466,342. | St. Louis Co., Mo., Deed Records, 3:75. | Missouri. St. Louis County. St. Louis City archives records, 1816–1848 : Deeds, Land grants, Marriage contracts, Powers of attorney, Notarial records. St. Louis City Archives, City of St. Louis, Missouri. FHL microfilm, 10 rolls. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. |
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| Marriage from Microfilm | [County], [State], [Series], [Record repository], [Record repository location], v. [volume number or letter]: [volume page number], marriage of [Groom name and Bride name], [year]; [Film location ID] microfilm [number], [Repository], [Repository location]. | [County], [State abbreviation], [Series]. [volume number]: [page number]. | [State]. [County]. [Series]. [Record Repository], [Record Repository location]. [Film location ID] microfilm [number]. [Repository], [Repository location]. |
| Example | St. Louis County, Missouri, Marriage Records, 1877–1980, Recorder’s Office, Clayton, v. 44: 36, marriage of Merrill Piant and Myrtle Louise Abeln (1940); MSA microfilm C9126, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. | St. Louis Co., Mo., Marriage Records, 44: 36. | Missouri. St. Louis County. Marriage Records, 1877–1980. Recorder’s Office, Clayton: [St. Louis County Archives]. MSA C9126. Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, Missouri. |
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| Divorce | [County], [State], [Court name] file [number], [Plaintiff] v. [Defendant], for [“Specific document,”] [date filed]; [Record repository], [Record Repository location]. | [County] Co., [State abbreviation], [Court name] file [number], [Plaintiff last name] v. [Defendant last name], [“Specific document,”] [date filed]. | [State]. [County]. [Series,] [years searched]. [Record repository], [Record repository location]. |
| Example | St. Louis County, Missouri, Circuit Court, Domestic Relations Court, divorce file 216902 (1958), Irene Hampel v. Herman Hampel, “Final Decree;” St. Louis County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Clayton. | St. Louis Co., Mo., Circuit Court, Domestic Relations Court, divorce file 216902, Hampel v. Hampel, “Final Decree,” 1958. | Missouri. St. Louis County. Divorce files, 1958. St. Louis Circuit Clerk’s Office, Clayton. |
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| Death Register from Web page | “[Title of Series],” digital images, [Web page] ([URL]: accessed [date]) entry for [Name of person] ([year of death]); citing [Title of record], volume [number], p. [number]. | [“Title of Series,”] digital images, [Web page], entry for [Name], [date or entry number], [Record county]. | [“Title of Series.”] Digital images. [Web page]. [URL]: [year accessed]. |
| Example | “Missouri Death Records, 1834-1910,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 January 2012, entry for Ernst F. Franz, 1887, no. 7424; citing Register of Deaths in the City of St. Louis, September 1887, no volume listed, p. 532. | “Missouri Death Records, 1834-1910,” digital images, Ancestry.com, entry for Ernst F. Franz, 1887, no. 7424, City of St. Louis. | “Missouri Death Records, 1834-1910.” Digital images. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : 2012. |
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| Missouri State Archives Death Certificates Online | [State] [Department], [“Title of series],” digital images, [Title of Web page] [(URL : accessed [date]) record for [Name on death certificate], [date filed]. | [“Title of series],” digital images, record for [Name on death certificate], [date filed]. | [State]. [Department]. [“Title of series].” Digital images. [Title of Web page].[URL] : [date accessed]. |
| Example | Missouri Secretary of State, “Death Certificates 1910–1961,” digital images, Missouri State Archives (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/death certificates : accessed 2 February 2012) record for Louis August Wilson, 28 October 1957. | Missouri Secretary of State, “Death Certificates 1910–1961,” digital images, record for Louis August Wilson, 28 October 1957. | Missouri State Archives. Digital images. Missouri State Archives: Death Certificates 1910–1961. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates : 2012. |
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| Coroner’s Records (book format) | [Abstractor, author, compiler, or editor], [abstractor, comp. or ed.], [Title], [Series], ([City of publication]: [Publisher], [date of publication]), [page number]. | [Abstractor, author, compiler, or editor], [Title], [page number]. | [Abstractor, author, compiler, or editor Last name, Given name], [abstractor, compiler or editor]. [Title]. [Series]. [City of publication], [State of publication]: [Publisher], [date of publication]. |
| Example | Dennis Northcott, abstractor, St. Louis County Coroner’s Records, 1826–1873; Taken from the Records in the Missouri Historical Society Archives, “Part 4 – Inquests, 1858–1861, Record Book of Louis Charles Boisliniere,” Historical Society Genealogical and Historical Series, Publication No. 1, (St. Louis, The Society: 1997), 103. | Northcott, St. Louis County Coroner’s Records, 1826–1873; Taken from the Records in the Missouri Historical Society Archives, 103. | Northcott, Dennis, abstractor. St. Louis County Coroner’s Records, 1826–1873; Taken from the Records in the Missouri Historical Society Archives. Historical Society Genealogical and Historical Series, Publication No. 1. St. Louis: The Society, 1997. |
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Last modified:
30-Jun-2016 08:39