If You Have Virginia Relatives, Governor McAullife Has Good News for You

Do you have Virginia ancestors?  Wouldn’t it be great if you could have access to Virginia birth, marriage, death, and divorce records? Can you imagine the goodies that you might find in there? Parents names and birth places, birth, marriage, and death dates and places, possible other relatives, burial places.  Sounds like a recipe to break down a brick wall or two.

Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe recently announced the completion of a two-year project to bring details from Virginia vital records from the state archives onto your laptop. The project was a joint effort between the Virginia Department of Health and Ancestry to fully digitize the state’s vital records as a means of preservation and permitting public access, all while meeting the state’s privacy requirements.

What does all this mean if you have Virginia ancestry? A lot.

Virginia, Birth Records, 1864-1999

Birth details have been extracted from Virginia birth records for the years 1864-1999 as well as images of birth records for the years 1864–1913, which fall outside the 100-year privacy restriction.

Included in this collection are delayed birth certificates. These are certificates applied for after the fact, often because people needed proof of a birth date later in life when they were applying for, say, a passport or Social Security.  On the delayed birth certificates, you will see a section that states the proof.  Oh, how I wish I could get my hands on the family Bible that this Notary Public saw stating the proof for the birth date of my great-aunt!

And if you find a delayed birth certificate, make sure that you look at the following image.  Someone may have filed the proof with the certificate, like this letter for Eloise Jordan.

Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014

You’ll find indexed Virginia marriage records from 1936 to 2014. And while there are privacy restrictions for records from 1989 to 2014, Ancestry does have images of the actual certificates that were recorded for the years 1936-1988.  These records include specific details about the bride and groom and often the parents’ names as well.

Looking for brothers and sisters?  Search just parents’ names to see if you can find a sibling that you never knew about.  Often the mother’s maiden is given.

Virginia, Death Records, 1912 – 2014

Death records are indexed for the years 1912-2014, and images are available from 1912 to 1987.

Make sure you read the entire record.  There is a story there.  On the record below, we learn that Wyatt died from organic heart disease and that he had been attended by the doctor for 10 years.  He worked as a carpenter and was retired.  We also find his parents’ names and birthplaces. You might think that his mother’s maiden name wasn’t given; however in this case, it was. I happen to know that Jerimiah and Mary were first cousins.

You’ll also notice that part of the document was redacted; that is where you would find the Social Security number.

Virginia, Divorce Records, 1918-2014

Virginia may be for lovers, but not every marriage works out. If it didn’t for your ancestors, they left behind important vital information that lets you know.  Images of divorce records are available from 1918 to 1988 and indexed information from 1989 to 2014. You’ll find birth information and when and where the couple were married, as well as the cause of the divorce and the number of children they had.

These records were made available via a collaboration between the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Ancestry. Read the announcement made by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe here.