In 1864 an attempt was made to register vital statistics. From 1867 to 1874 these records are fairly complete. In 1877 birth and death registration was discontinued and in 1908 it began again. Birth and death records from 1864 to 1877 are indexed by and within the family name by county. The Family History Library has the following birth and death records:

Nova Scotia. Board of Statistics of Marriages, Births, and Deaths. Births, 1864–1877. Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983. (On 37 FHL films beginning with film 1318341; computer number 192230.) The records organized are by county, then town, then year.

Nova Scotia. Board of Statistics of Marriages, Births, and Deaths. Death Records 1864–1877. Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1980. (On 38 FHL films beginning with 1293436; computer number 62237.) The records organized are by county and then by year.

Marriage records from 1864 to 1908 are indexed by county and (within the county) by the family name. The Family History Library has these records:

Nova Scotia. Board of Statistics of Marriages, Births, and Deaths. Marriage records, 1864–1875. Salt Lake City; Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982–1983. (On 17 films beginning with 1317402; computer number 182032.) The records organized are by county and then by year.

The Public Archives of Nova Scotia also has marriage licenses from about 1849–1851 to the county cutoff dates. These are available at the Family History Library on the following microfilms:

Nova Scotia. Board of Statistics of Marriages, Births, and Deaths. Marriages Licenses, 1849–1918. Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1981–1982. (On 535 FHL films beginning with 1301853; computer number 82989). The records are organized by county and then by year. The cutoff dates are:

Annapolis	1908
Antigonish	1910
Cape Breton	1912
Colchester	1914
Cumberland	1913
Digby	1909
Guysborough	1906
Halifax	1916
Hants	1916
Inverness	1908
Kings	1909
Lunenburg	1908
Pictou	1917
Queens	1910
Richmond	1918
Shelburne	1908
Victoria	1918
Yarmouth	1908

Records of marriages after these cutoff dates (as well as of births and deaths after 1908) can be obtained from:

Vital Statistics
Department of Business and Consumer Services
P.O. Box 157
Halifax, NS B3J 2M9
CANADA
Telephone: 902-424-4381
Fax: 902-424-0678

Marriage bonds exist for 1763–1863 (specifically for the years 1763, 1765, 1770–1780, 1782, 1784–1799, 1801–1850, 1854–1856, and 1858–1863). They are arranged in chronological order, and no index is available. They are located in the Public Archives of Nova Scotia and are on the following microfilm at the Family History Library:

Transcripts of Marriage Bonds Issued at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1763–1871. Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983. (On FHL film 1376196 items 2–3 and film 1376197 items 1–3; computer number 242173.)

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FOR FURTHER READING

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For more detailed information on records and research in Nova Scotia, see:

Baxter, Angus. In Search of Your Canadian Roots. Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989. (FHL book 971 D27ba; computer number 518106.) Chapter 15 is about Nova Scotia.

Canadiana Company Limited, a subsidiary of Grolier Society of Canada Limited. Encyclopedia Canadiana. 10 vols. Ottawa, 1957. (FHL book 030.71 En19; computer number 597759.)

Le Centre d'études acadiennes. Inventaire Général des Sources Documentaires Sur les Acadiens. 3 vols. Moncton, N.B.: Editions d’Acadie, 1975–1976. (FHL book 970 F2u; computer number 223520.) This is an inventory of documents concerning Acadians up to 1976.

Jonasson, Eric. The Canadian Genealogical Handbook. 2nd ed. Winnipeg: Wheatfield Press, 1978. (FHL book 971 D27j 1978; computer number 31188.)

Morris, Julie. Tracing Your Ancestors in Nova Scotia. Public Archives of Nova Scotia. Halifax, 1981. (FHL book 971.6 D27m; computer number 244916.)

Punch, Terrence M. Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia. 3rd ed. Petheric Press Ltd., Halifax, 1983. (FHL book 971.6 D27p 1983; computer number 96605.)

Punch, Terrence M. Genealogist's Handbook for Atlantic Canada Research. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1989. (FHL book 971.5 D27pt; computer number 555557.) The third section is about Nova Scotia.

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COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS

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The Family History Library welcomes additions and corrections that will improve future editions of this outline. Please send your suggestions to:

Publications Coordination
Family History Library
35 N. West Temple Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400
USA

We appreciate the archivists, librarians, and others who have reviewed this outline and shared helpful information.

Paper publication: Second edition October 1997. English approval: 10/97.

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