LibGuides: North Carolina Vital Records: Vital Record Substitutes

Finding Substitute Information for Vital Records

There are numerous documents that contain information about vital events that can be used as substitute records when a traditional record is not available. The following records can be used as substitutes for birth, marriage, and death certificates. Some of these sources will only give estimates or other information to help you narrow down when an ancestor was born, married, or died. This chart provides examples of substitute records and some of the information you may find.

Vital record substitutes can be found in a variety of digital and print collections. Explore the go-to online databases, such as Ancestry and FamilySearch, for records and indexes that contain vital information. The social security death index, for example, provides information related to the birth and death of an individual. This index is available on both Ancestry and FamilySearch. Search other websites such as FindAGrave.com for cemetery records (which can provide a snapshot of a person’s birth, death, and marriage). Newspapers are another key resource to investigate. A list of newspaper databases with North Carolina newspapers can be found on the SLNC Government & Heritage Library online resources page.

In addition to the Family Records collection discussed earlier, the N.C. Digital Collections also contain alien and naturalization records, colonial court records, confederate pension applications, wills from the Secretary of State collection from 1663 to 1789, historical tax lists up to 1809, North Carolina military troop lists for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 pay vouchers, and finally North Carolina historical newspapers from 1751 to 1898.

Vital Records in Special Collections

Specialized collections are great places to look for vital record substitutes. In these unique collections can be found private papers such as letters, manuscripts, business ledgers, family bibles, plantation records, scrapbooks, and many other types of records. Many of these collections are housed in universities, museums, and local history rooms found in local and county libraries. North Carolina historical sites also have collections that may be of value.

Here are several institutions with historical collections that may contain vital records substitutes:

North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries
Southern Oral History Program, UNC-Chapel Hill
W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University
Special Collections, Ramsey Library at UNC Asheville
Special and Digital Collections, Western Carolina University
Special Collections and University Archives, UNC Greensboro
Joyner Library Special Collections, Eastern Carolina University
University Archives, Bluford Library, North Carolina A&T University
North Carolina Museum of History Collections
Historic Stagville (database of genealogical records for enslaved persons and descendants)

Vital record substitutes

Proving dates for births, marriages, and deaths is challenging when written records were not required. Utilizing other types of documents can help researchers gage specific dates or close estimates. Sometimes researching a parent or sibling can also help.

Substitute	Birth	Marriage	Death	Where to find it
Bible Records	Baptisms Christenings	Names of bride and groom Marriage date	Name of deceased Death date Sometimes cause of death	Family Bibles. N.C. Digital Collections
Birth Records	Birth Registers Delayed birth certificates	Name of parents	Not applicable	Ancestry Library Edition, North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000 (avaible in person at GHL)
Cemetery Records	Age or birthdate	Name of Spouse	Deathdate	NC Digital Collections, Cemetery Records and findagrave.com
Census Records	Age range 1790-1840 Age for free people 1850-	1850-1940, especiallly 1900 and 1910	Mortality schedules 1850-1880	SLNC Government & Heritage Library U.S. Census print indexes by state and for the State of N.C., 1790-1870 Indexes by state and county National Archives, U.S. Census- Adult Reference Microform, 1790-1930 (not all states are avaible) Ancestry Library Edition (avaible in person at GHL) HeritageQuest Fold3: 1860, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 Censuses
Church Records	Baptisms and christenings	Name of bride and groom Marriage date	Name of deceased Death date Cause of death	SLNC Government & Heritage Library holdings
County Records	Apprenticeships Guardianships Deeds Military Tax Wills	Court minutes Deeds Estates Tax Wills	Court minutes Deeds Estates Tax Wills	SLNC Government & Heritage Library catalog-search specifying county name
Death Records	Date of birth or age Sometimes name of parents	Name of spouse	Name of deceased Date of Death Cause of Death	Ancestry Library Edition, North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004 and North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1976 (available in person at GHL)
Marriage Records	Age often given after 1868	Date of marriage Name of spouse	Name of spouse	Ancestry Library Edition, North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011 (available in person at GHL)
Military Records	Age or birthdate	Widow's pension-name of spouse	Service records if death during service Pension	*Fold3 record availability depends upon conflict
Newspapers	Birth announcements (20th century)	Wedding announcements	Obituaries	SLNC Government & Heritage Library Online Resources-Newspapers
Private Papers	Letters Business ledgers Account books Manuscript collections	Letters Business ledgers Account books Manuscript collections	Letters Business ledgers Account books Manuscript collections	State Archives of N.C, Private Collections repository collection holdings vary
Social Security	Birthdate Age	Surname change for women at marriage	Date of death	Ancestry Library Edition, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 and U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (available in person at GHL)

*access with a SLNC GHL library card