Canada, British Columbia Death Registrations - FamilySearch Historical Records

CanadaBritish Columbia 

What is in the Collection?
The registration of deaths began in 1872, soon after British Columbia became a province of Canada. This collection contains death registrations, 1872-1986 and 1992-1993. First Nations death registrations, 1917-1956 (with delayed First Nations death registrations, 1916-1950); and overseas casualties, 1940-1945. Due to privacy legislation by the government of British Columbia, some images have been restricted from viewing. The death registrations are recorded on individual, printed forms. They consist of completed statements regarding deaths in British Columbia submitted to district registrars and registered by the registrar or director of Vital Statistics. Each death registration should include a supporting record called “Medical Certificate of Death,” which states the cause of death as determined by a physician or coroner, but this statement was not regularly included until 1896 and not with every registration until 1912. Depending on the time period, the medical certificate may be a separate form or printed on the same form as the death registration. Death certificates contain information from the original registration records and are only available through the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency. A stillbirth may have been registered as either a birth, death, or both.

The only persons excluded from the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Act of 1872 were Chinese and Aboriginals. This was changed by an amendment in 1897, stating the registration would apply to all races. However, the Act was amended in 1899 to once again exclude First Nations from provincial registration until another amendment was passed in 1916, which authorized registration of First Nations to begin again in 1917 with information submitted monthly.

From 1917 to 1956, the First Nations death registrations were recorded in separate volumes. After 1956, the registrations were recorded with the main series. Beginning in 1872, official government registration of deaths applied to the whole province of British Columbia except for the Chinese (until 1897) and First Nations (until 1917).

The “Overseas Casualties, 1940-1945” series contains 3,423 deaths of British Columbians who died overseas during World War II. Registration of deaths began in order to keep a written record of the population for use by the government. Death registrations are the best source of death information in British Columbia beginning in 1872.

When Ancestry.com independently indexed these records, they indexed certificate numbers (which FamilySearch omitted). Thus, it is necessary to refer to Ancestry.com's subscription index, in addition to FamilySearch's index, in order to find death certificates in the Family History Library's microfilms.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Death registrations may contain the following information:


 * Name, age, and gender of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of birth
 * Cause of death
 * Marital status
 * Parents' names
 * Name of spouse
 * Name of physician
 * Registration district name or number
 * Date and number of registration
 * Religious affiliation

Search the Index
Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page then:
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes with the information you know.
 * 2) Click Search. This will provide possible a list of matches.
 * 3) Compare the information in the lists to what you already know to determine if you found the correct person.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * If your ancestor was married, search for a marriage record in the British Columbia Marriage Registrations (FamilySearch Historical Records) collection, with the name of the spouse in the death record.
 * Use the date and place of birth to search for a birth record in the British Columbia Birth Registrations (FamilySearch Historical Records) collection.
 * Use the information to find other records such as christening, census, land and probate records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of British Columbia, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the British Columbia Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Catalog

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, plea se email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

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