CTFAIRFI-L Archives

From: harlan jessup <>
Subject: [CTFAIRFI-L] Re: CT Vital Records Access
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 20:06:52 +0000

There has been much banter and much confusion on this list over access
to vital records in Connecticut, so, one more time, here is the
situation.

Vital records in CT originate at the town level. Since 1897 copies are
required to be filed at the State Dept of Health Resources. For records
before 1850, the Barbour Collection is a virtually complete
transcription. The Connecticut State Library will be glad to search
that collection and their other indexes for a fee, currently $15 for
non-residents for a single name search of all indexes. Contact them on
<www.cslnet.ctstateu.edu/handg.htm>. From 1850 to 1897 you must make
requests directly to the town of origin. There is no statewide index.
After 1897 copies of the records are kept at the state level and you can
make a request there, though they charge $15 and the towns charge only
$5 for a single certificate. The state is currently microfilming the
records, and births and marriages are completely unavailable from them.
The death record microfilming has been completed and a computerized
index has been prepared. They will tell you what town to contact if you
send them a written or faxed request. Try <vitalrec.com/ct.html>, or
tel. 860 509-7897.

Birth records less than 100 years old are restricted. Formerly, this
was to protect those born illegitimately, but now the primary reason is
to prevent such records being duplicated to create false identities for
illegal purposes. Access to these records is limited to the person
himself or his parents, spouse or children or to his legal
representative such as an attorney. They are open to grandparents if
the grandparent is the legal guardian. It will not work to send your
grandmother's forged signature as once suggested on this mailing list.
Access is also granted to members of genealogical societies incorporated
in the State of Connecticut. There are currently about seven such
societies. The most broad-based is the Connecticut Society of
Genealogists, PO Box 435, Glastonbury, CT 06033, dues $32 annually.
Focused on southwestern Connecticut is the Connecticut Ancestry Society,
PO Box 249, Stamford, CT 06904-0249, dues $25 annually. Also there are
several ethnic societies such as the Polish Gen. Soc. of CT and the
Jewish Gen. Soc. of CT.

The Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council (CPGC) is not a
certifying agency and is open to all who do genealogical work for
others. Several members are certified or accredited by national
agencies. This Council has worked long and hard with the legislature so
that Connecticut records will be as accessible as possible. Thanks to
them, records are open, not only for ordering individual certificates,
but for searching, which is so important to genealogists. You can thank
them at <>. In NY, for example, no such searches are
possible, and m. and d. records are closed for 50 years, b. records for
75 years, and you must request individual certificates and wait weeks
for an answer.

The town clerks are responsible for custody of the records and they are
understandably reluctant just to let anyone into the vault. In my town,
Newtown, for example, I just discovered that someone has ripped out the
first 35 pages of a 45 page original booklet on deaths from 1845 to
1870. Fortunately, this had been microfilmed, but the original is
gone. But a membership card usually paves the way into the vault. At
the very least they will bring out a book or two at a time to be
studied.

Of course town clerks and their assistants are people and they sometimes
get harried and might give you the easy negative answer rather than
going through a difficult search. Treat them with respect and you will
usually get help, though nothing beats being on site yourself or having
someone you trust to do the search for you.

Good luck on your Connecticut searches.

Harlan Jessup

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• [CTFAIRFI-L] Re: CT Vital Records Access by harlan jessup <>