A Guide to British Columbia Vital Event Registration Records
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BC ARCHIVES GUIDE TO BRITISH COLUMBIA VITAL EVENT RECORDS BC Archives Royal BC Museum Corporation 675 Belleville Street Victoria, BC V8W 9W2 Tel 250-387-1952 Fax 250-387-2072 https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/bc-archives/about-us/about-bc-archives Contents 1 Introduction 2 2 History 2 3 Exclusions 3 4 Delayed Registrations 4 5 Coverage, Organization and Content of Records 5 5.1 Birth registrations 5 5.2 Marriage registrations 7 5.3 Death registrations 8 5.3.1 World War II death registrations 10 6 Indexes 10 6.1 Microfilm 11 6.2 Microfiche 12 6.3 Online 13 7 Locating Registrations 13 8 Non-official Registrations 15 9 Related Records 15 9.1 Baptisms 15 9.2 Colonial marriages 16 9.3 Divorces 16 9.5 Other 18 10 Appendices 10.1 Birth Registrations (GR-2965) - reel number lists 19 10.1.1 General birth registrations 19 10.1.2 Indigenous birth registrations (collected 1957-1956) 19 10.2 Marriage Registrations (GR-2962) – reel and volume lists 20 10.2.1 General marriage registrations – reel number list 20 10.2.2 Indigenous marriage registrations (collected 1917-1956) – reel list 22 10.2.3 General marriage registrations – volume list 23 10.2.4 Indigenous marriage registrations (collected 1917-1956) – volume list 40 10.3 Death Registrations (GR-2951) – reel and volume lists 44 10.3.1 General death registrations – reel list 44 10.3.2 Indigenous death registrations (collected 1917-1956) – reel list 53 10.3.3 General death registrations – volume list 54 10.3.4 Indigenous death registrations (collected 1917-1956) – volume list 103 10.4 Death and Marriage Indexes on Microfilm – reel and volume lists 106 10.4.1 Marriages index (GR-2985) 106 10.4.2 Deaths index (GR-2986) 106 10.5 Geographic Codes (for birthplace in 1977-1984 death registrations) 108 Guide to British Columbia Vital Event Registration Records 2019 1 1 Introduction Also known as civil registration records, British Columbia vital event registrations are official government records of births, marriages and deaths, which, for the most part, occurred in the province. Of great interest to genealogists, these records also contain valuable information for research in social history, sociology and demography. From 1996 to 2009 certain date ranges of birth, marriage, and death registrations were made available on microfilm. Releases from 2010 to date for deaths and marriages are in digital format1 as well as the majority of the registrations on microfilm. The digital images are linked to the index entries in the Genealogy Search database which is also updated annually. This guide will provide some historical background and explain what these records are, what they do and do not cover, how to use the indexes to locate specific references or information, and how to access the records themselves. 2 History The official registration of births, marriages and deaths in BC was first entrusted to the Registrar- General of Titles by the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act of 1872 (SBC 1872, c.26) enacted a year after BC became a province of Canada. Responsibility for reporting events fell primarily on family, clergy and other individuals. District Registrars – often Government Agents2 – to whom events were to be reported were generally responsible for large areas of the province. Given the size of the province, the scattered and itinerant population, the remoteness of many settlements and habitations, and the transportation and communication challenges, it is not surprising that a certain number of events were never reported. The first Vital Statistics annual report described the difficulties. There are many obstacles in the way of obtaining complete Returns, chiefly arising from the great distance from Registry Offices at which a large portion of the population reside; the want of cheap and speedy means of communication; the migratory habits of the people of the Mining Districts; and the difficulty of disseminating requirements of the Vital Statistics Act over a Territory so vast and sparsely settled.3 Just as the office of the Registrar-General changed and expanded over time, so did the legislation. Certain categories of the population were excluded, then included. The forms were modified and the amount of information collected increased. Access to the records and the information contained within them was originally open to anyone. The first restrictions were introduced in the Vital Statistics Act of 1962.4 In 1992, the protection of privacy provisions in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA),5 placed a number of restrictions on access to personal information in all government records. 1 Death registration (1989+) and marriage registration (1934+). 2 In 1962 Government Agents were specifically designated as District Registrars (SBC 1962, c.66, ss.24- 28). For a discussion of the roles and history of Government Agents in BC see Dennis Munroe Anholt, “Friends of the government: an administrative history of the British Columbia government agents”. Thesis (PhD), University of Victoria, 1992. 3 Report of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the Province of British Columbia, 1872-3. Victoria, B.C.: Government Printer, 1874, p. 3. 4 SBC 1962, c.66, s.30. 5 SBC 1992, c.61. Guide to British Columbia Vital Event Registration Records 2019 2 Consistent with these provisions, which include an allowance for the disclosure of personal information, under certain circumstances, for historical or archival purposes, the Ministry of Health was given the authority to release historical vital events registrations for genealogical purposes.6 Until 2004, this meant that birth registrations were available 100 years after a birth, marriage registrations 75 years after a marriage, and 20 years after a death.7 In 2004 the Vital Statistics Act was amended and the holdback period on births was extended to 120 years.8 In 1993 the BC Ministry of Health Division of Vital Statistics,9 the BC Archives and Records Service10 and the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU)11 entered into partnership agreements to microfilm the province’s historical birth, marriage and death registration records.12 In an agreement between the Vital Statistics Division and the Archives, an enhanced copy of the Division’s index database, with microfilm reel numbers, was created, loaded on to the Archives web site and launched 13 January 1997, with marriage and death records. The microfilm, with holdbacks of 100, 75 and 20 years respectively, for births, marriages and deaths was made available for public access and a set deposited at the BC Archives, with annual additions.13 Release of registrations on microfilm ceased in 2010 and was replaced in September 2012 with digital images of registrations attached to the index data in a new Genealogy Search database. 3 Exclusions The Births, Marriages and Deaths Act of 1872 (SBC 1872, c.26, s.22), specifically excluded Chinese and Indians from registration although this exclusion was not always observed.14 In 1877 (RSBC 1877, c. 33, s. 22) the exclusionary section was removed and in 1897 (RSBC 1897, c.33, s.3) the Act was made explicitly applicable to “all races and nationalities, including all Indians and persons of Indian blood, Chinese and Japanese”. Two years later, however, an amendment (SBC 1899, c.8, s.3) made the Act applicable to “all races and nationalities except persons who are Indians within the meaning of the Act of the Dominion Parliament respecting Indians.”15 In 1916, although the exception clause was retained, the legislation was amended to allow Indigenous registrations (SBC 1916, c.73, s.3.2) stating that “For the purpose of compiling statistics of births, deaths and marriages of such Indians [i.e. defined as such by federal legislation] the Registrar may accept returns … by the respective Indian Agents in the Province.” Special forms were to be used and the returns were to be “kept separate and apart from the other returns”. In 1943 the exception was removed16 and the registration of Indigenous births, marriages and deaths was thereby made mandatory, but special registration forms and the 6 Date restrictions for release of birth, marriage and death records were not added to the Vital Statistics Act itself until 2004 (SBC 2004 c.55) 7 An exception was made for births and marriages if the parties had been dead for at least 20 years. 8 SBC 2004, c.55. 9 BC Vital Statistics Agency since 1997. 10 BC Archives since 2001; part of the Royal BC Museum Corporation since 2003. 11 Now FamilySearch. 12 The records were and remained in the legal custody of the Ministry of Health. 13 With the change to a 120-year holdback for births in 2004, the annual addition to the birth registrations after 1903 has been frozen until 2025. 14 See Report of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the Province of British Columbia, 1872- 3, p. 6. 15 My italics. Those identified as Status Indians were considered a federal responsibility, especially those on reserves. 16 “this Act shall apply in respect of the birth, death or marriage of any Indian within the meaning of the ‘Indian Act’ of the Dominion.” SBC 1943, c.69, s.2. Guide to British Columbia Vital Event Registration Records 2019 3 separate filing of returns were retained as was the use of Indian Agents as ex officio District Registrars. Not until 1957 was the use of separate forms and returns eliminated (SBC 1957, c.66, s.2). Registration of hitherto excluded Indigenous births, marriages and deaths commenced in 1917 under the amended act with Indian Agents submitting returns monthly. From 1917 to 1956 Indian registrations were recorded in separate volumes with a separate numbering system. Although not specified in the legislation, also excluded from death registrations are those persons for whom a body was never found or identified, e.g.