A birth, marriage or death record was created for a particular administrative purpose. Its registration date may differ from the event date.
The method, step by step
- Identify the country, locality, record type and period. Use tables or indexes where available, then open the record image and nearby pages.
- Record the event and registration dates separately, along with parents, spouses, witnesses, occupations and addresses. Note marginal annotations without assuming they appear on every copy.
- Compare names, ages and places with known records. An age at death can be approximate; an informant need not be a relative.
- Preserve the archive reference, entry number and image number. If a register is missing, ask about duplicates or complementary sources.
What to record
Record the event date separately from the registration date, and the record number separately from the image number. Transcribe parents, witnesses, occupations and marginal notes when present. An index locates a record; read the record itself.
Record in your research log
- Event
- registration
- parents
- witnesses
- marginal notes.
Frequently asked questions
Does no search result mean the record does not exist?
No. It may be unindexed, transcribed differently or only accessible onsite. Check coverage, dates and gaps, then browse tables and images.
Sources & references
- FranceArchives ↗ (Resource review date : )
- Portale Antenati ↗ (Resource review date : )
- General Register Office ↗ (Resource review date : )