BMD records surprise: not many genealogists request them

Last year, I visited Ogdensburg city hall in northern New York to pull my grandparents’ BMD records. The mission was successful, and I got copies of the original death certificates. I’ve done the same for other branches of our family in western New York and Rhode Island. 

After getting the sheets, I asked the clerk, “How often do you get people like me requesting vital records for genealogy?”

“About 30,” she said.

“Per month?”

“No, per year,” she replied. “Online, by mail, and in person.”

I was surprised. Just 30 people bother to make vital records requests every year? Birth, marriage, and death (BMD) records are foundational documents for genealogy research. They include addresses, parents’ names, and precise dates - information that typically cannot be sourced on Ancestry, FamilySearch or any other online repository.

Unexpected data points may surface. For instance,  I found social security numbers as well as my grandmother’s highest educational level:

So why aren’t more people requesting vital records from town, city, or county clerks?

It’s not because Ogdensburg’s population was limited. My grandfather’s hometown is a small city with just under 10,000 residents. One hundred years ago, the population was 50% larger. As the state of New York has mandated vital records since the 1880s, there are likely hundreds of thousands of BMD records on file in this office.

Besides city residents, there are also records for people from nearby farming communities who may have been born or died in the local hospital, or married in local churches. There have been thousands of deaths in local nursing homes and two prisons, as well as patients at a largely closed mental institution which at one time had 2,000 residents and its own post office. All of these records can be found at the local city clerk’s office.

The cost may deter some people from pulling vital records. New York municipalities and towns set their own rates, which in my experience run between $10 and $22. That’s less than a single month on Ancestry, where a single month’s subscription to “U.S. Discovery” will set you back $24.99.

Why are BMD records so important?

The information gleaned from BMD records is invaluable. I’ve told the story before of how I determined my great-great-grandparents’ places of birth in England and Northern Ireland from their son’s 1930 death certificate, ordered from a city clerk’s office in Lockport, New York. I broke down two brick walls for $10 and the cost of a stamp.

Besides the cost factor, some family historians may not know the process for getting the records. People may be aware that vital records are maintained by some government agency at the state or local level, but they don’t know what’s on them. Statutory records vary by state, and evolved over time as new data was added or old fields were removed. 

People may not know how to access vital records, especially if no online option is available. Some towns make it easy, others require extra work. In my years of doing genealogy in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, I’ve never found a town or city that actively promotes access to vital records for genealogy, even though they can help generate revenue and boost tourism.

Ancestry doesn't want BMD alternatives 

There are also competitive factors at work. Paid services like Ancestry and MyHeritage certainly don’t want subscribers to take this route, and they dangle the prospect of substitute data (possibly well sourced, but often not) included in online trees by distant cousins.

Clearly, vital records maintained at local town, city, and county offices are an underutilized resource. I challenge everyone reading this newsletter to look at your own family tree, and determine where ancestral BMD records may be located. The FamilySearch vital records index is a great place to start.

Then, Google the town or city or county websites, or the state authority responsible. There may be information on how to request such records remotely, or in person for your next genealogy road trip. If not, pick up the phone and ask how to get the records.

If you hit pay dirt, be sure to let us know!