While Connecticut required birth records as early as 1641, not everyone had one. If you can’t find a birth record for your ancestor, where else might you find their birth date and place recorded?
- Church records: Some churches will baptize a child at birth and keep records accordingly. Keep in mind that many colonial Connecticut families were Congregational. The Congregational Church did not require infant baptism, so their baptismal records do not always correlate to the child’s birth.
- Gravestones: Not every gravestone lists an age, but many do – and can provide enough to help you calculate a birth date.
- Death and marriage record: Some records provide birth dates or at least ages.
- Military draft and census records: Many drafts include a birth date and sometimes a place.
- Obituary: Some list date and place of birth and even parents’ names.
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 