How do I locate a Connecticut birth, death or marriage record?

Adapted from a post on www.charteroakgenealogy.com.

Here’s what you need to know for Connecticut records:

  1. Records may exist going back to the 1640s – but not every family will have them. Connecticut required birth, death, and marriage records from the 1660s forward. However, the law allowed clerks to charge for recording. A family who couldn’t afford the price may not have bothered.
  2. Connecticut doesn’t have counties. Records created before 1 Jul 1897 are only accessible on the town level (although microfilm duplicates have been made and are accessible on FamilySearch and at the State Library). Records after that date exist on the town and state level.
  3. There are limitations on access. Anyone can purchase a copy of a death or marriage certificate, although certain information may be blacked out. Birth certificates are closed for a hundred years, except to certain family members and to members of an approved genealogical society.
  4. You will be asked for identification. If you order a record, be prepared to submit photocopies of your genealogy society card (if needed) and your photo identification.
  5. You will need to follow instructions for payment. Some clerks do not allow checks. Follow instructions.
  6. Where you will get the record will depend on time period:
    • If you don’t know the location:
      • Pre-1850 records have been generally been transcribed and are part of the Barbour Collection. There are versions of this collection on Ancestry, American Ancestors, and FamilySearch. If you can’t find the records you need, be prepared to check all three. Ancestry and American Ancestors have different towns included. There are a few towns missing from Barbour. See https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/genealogyindexes/Barbour for details.
      • Post-1897 records have indexes available on the Connecticut State Library website; FamilySearch; and Ancestry.
    • Pre-1900 records have generally been digitized and are available on FamilySearch. Search the town in the catalog to access the records.
    • Post-1900 records (the exact date depends on the town, check FamilySearch to confirm) can be requested from the town clerk or city health department for $20/copy. Members of an approved genealogical society can view (but not photograph) the record without charge.
    • Still can’t find the record? You can place a request with the state vital records office (https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Vital-Records/State-Vital-Records-Office–Home).

Rule of thumb: FamilySearch first and then the town. State only when all other options have been exhausted.

Connecticut Colonial Census Enumerations

copied from a post at Charter Oak Genealogy

To apply to a Revolutionary War era lineage society, the applicant needs to document not only the ancestor’s service but also the ancestor’s residence during the War.

For Connecticut ancestors, there are four sources typically used to “prove” residence:

  • a marriage record for a spouse; a birth or baptismal record for a child.
  • payment of taxes
  • office holding
  • land transactions

One could add a fifth: census enumerations. Even though few survive, there are scattered records of the 1776 or 1779 census enumerations. The State Library has a finding aid describing what records were available in print. The census of Newington has been transcribed online. The Connecticut Archives collection is now available on FamilySearch but must be accessed through an affiliate library.

Running a genealogy group in a Connecticut library? Here are some resources to help.

Connecticut’s libraries are amazing. And many are trying to make programs and projects happen on limited resources. If you are a library staff member or volunteer in a Connecticut library, here are some resources that can help.

  1. Money: Without a doubt, this is the biggest need for most programs! Connecticut’s community foundations are often an excellent funding resource. Don’t forget about the Quick Grants offered by CT Humanities.
  2. Databases: Even if subscription funding isn’t available, there are still options. The Connecticut State Library offers amazing resources (including subscriptions to Fold3) for Connecticut residents. A library card application is available here. FamilySearch also has a special contract category (“affiliate library” status), which can make records available for patrons that they can’t access at home. To learn more and apply, visit this site.
  3. Finding speakers: Two professional organizations for genealogists cover the Connecticut area. The first is the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council. The second is the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Do be aware that you’re paying a professional! Expect to pay the kind of rates that you would pay professionals in other fields.
  4. Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask! I’m glad to try to help.

Why am I seeing a microfilm icon when researching Connecticut vital records on FamilySearch?

The website FamilySearch is an amazing resource for Connecticut vital records. Most pre-1900 vital records were microfilmed by FamilySearch and placed online after 2018. These records can be accessed by searching for the town name in the catalog.

When you make that search, you’ll notice that a few catalog entries still have microfilm reel images instead of the camera image you’d normally see. The camera image tells you can access the records online from home. The microfilm image means they can only be accessed on microfilm. Why?

It typically has to do with Connecticut vital records law. The short version: by law, birth certificates less than one hundred years old are not open to the public. If the microfilm contains records (even not restricted death and marriage records) created more recently than 2023, FamilySearch has restricted the film to protect the more recent records.

So, how do you access the records? Microfilms are onsite at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and the Connecticut State Library. Depending on the contracts and restrictions on older records, both institutions may be able to retrieve copies. Check with them for details. Provided you meet the requirements of Connecticut vital records law, you can also order copies from the local town clerk or health department.

How do you find your ancestor’s Catholic records when all you have is the name of the priest?

Catholic records are a key part of researching Connecticut families who arrived from Quebec, Ireland, Italy, Poland and more. For some families, Church records will be the most detailed records of their time in the US, as they may not have trusted civil government, did not own land, and would have limited assets to leave as probate. However, Connecticut’s Catholic records are not centrally held: to access the records, you need to know the parish.

By 1910, most Catholic families were complying with vital records requirements, even if they were still married in the Catholic Church. These records will list the name of the priest – and can help identify the correct parish. (So will the ancestor’s baptismal certificate you have floating in your family records.) All you need is a reference called The Catholic Directory.

Issued in various forms by various publishers over the years, the different editions of the Catholic Directory have something in common: they tell which clergy were assigned to which churches that year. While older versions listed only the priest, modern versions include all staff. For the late 19th and early 20th century editions, check out Google Books.

What’s the Godard Digest, and how can it help with researching the probate of my Connecticut ancestors?

The Connecticut State Library probate finding aids describe the Godard Digest (Inventory Control Book) as “a list of probate files transferred to the Connecticut State Library.” It further indicates that the Godard Digest “was compiled at the Connecticut State Library under the direction of State Librarian George S. Godard.“

In Connecticut, the probate courts can transfer older records to the Connecticut Archives (housed in the Connecticut State Library) at their discretion. To determine if the records covering the period of your ancestor’s death have been transferred from the court, you can review finding aids available here.

Even if you know the State Library holds the papers from the appropriate period, how can you be sure they have your ancestor’s papers? The Godard Digest was created under the direction of George S. Godard who was State Librarian from 1900 to 1936. The Godard Digest indexes papers first by district and then by surname. Different districts have different coverage periods, so start by checking the finding aid to learn the coverage of the Godard Digest. If it covers the period necessary, check the Digest itself on FamilySearch.

What’s Connecticut Digital Archive – and how can it help my genealogy research?

Hosted by the University of Connecticut, Connecticut Digital Archive serves as a digital repository for the state’s libraries and museums. While not every state institution is a member, there are over 75 currently involved.

You can use the Digital Archive in a few ways. From the home page, you can click on “All Collections” to browse by the hosting institution. If you know your ancestor was from a specific town and wanted to check the records of the local library, this is how. You can also use “Advanced Search” to search by title, genre, keywords, and more. From experience, I recommend using the regular search only if you have time to sort through results. It often will bring more results than you intend.

What can you find on the Digital Archive? Maps, newspapers, historic photos, and more!

What newspaper covered my Connecticut ancestor?

You’ve heard about The Hartford Courant and The New Haven Register. But how do you identify the smaller newspapers that might have covered your ancestor’s day to day life?

The Connecticut State Library has a resource that can help. It allows you to enter a town name and range of years. It will return a list of newspapers published in that town, followed by regional newspapers likely to cover the area. It’s a great starting point for identifying smaller papers.

Once you’ve identified the correct newspaper, you may have to do some digging to be able to access it. (There’s no central online repository for newspapers.) Some newspapers are available through Newspapers.com, particularly the Courant. Some smaller papers are available on Chronicling America. If you still can’t find the paper online, the State Library should have access to any paper in the finding tool.

Connecticut Comptroller Records

The Connecticut State Library today announced the release of an index to the Comptroller records. The Facebook post describes the index as an “Index of Connecticut town officials requesting state aid for support of non-resident individuals in their municipality[…]”

What exactly does that mean? Someone from another town? Another state?

The answer can be found in the 1849 Statute revisions.

Chapter III
Of the Support of Paupers by the State

Sect. 22. The state shall reimburse to any town the expense incurred in relieving and supporting any sick and indigent person, not an inhabitant of this state, and who does not belong to any town in this state, and who is not by law the proper charge of any town or particular person[…]

The revised statutes of the state of Connecticut : to which are prefixed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the state of Connecticut.

The state was responsible for the support of those whose care could not legally be charged to a town – which meant they were either not born in the state or had not lived in the state long enough to establish “Inhabitant” status – or to a specific person who had brought them into the state.

How do I find Connecticut naturalization records?

When you’re searching for naturalization records, remember that 1906 is the “magic” date. The Naturalization Act of 1906 dramatically increased the level of detail found on a record and limited the number of courts in which one could be naturalized. Prior to that date, applicants could naturalize at any court. Earlier records do exist, but they often contain only the name and country (or kingdom) of origin and not the date and place of birth, spousal information, and more, often sought by genealogists. For that information, you generally are looking for a copy of a post-1906 declaration of intention.

Connecticut long ago signed a transfer agreement for naturalization records for the period after 1790. These records are transferred to the National Archives branch at Waltham, Massachusetts. Many have been digitized and can be accessed online. Use the FamilySearch wiki to locate the appropriate databases.