The Massachusetts Vital Records 1841–1910 database is one of our most challenging projects to date. While we are sure you will find this database to be an essential part of your reference library, we wish to alert you to a few characteristics unique to this database and to the Massachusetts Vital Records in general.

Contents of the Database
There are two components to this database: the Index and the Records. The entire Index has been added to this database and Records will be added regularly until the project is complete. 

The Index contains name of individual, town or village of event, year of event, and volume and page number of the original record. This is what will appear on the search results page. At the far right side of each entry on the search results page you will either see linked text that reads "View Original Image" or regular text that reads "Image Not Available." Clicking on the "View Original Image" link will bring you to the Record, which contains much additional data.

The data recorded in the Massachusetts Vital Records varies depending on the year and the type of record. Birth records typically include the name of the child, date and place of birth, gender, and parents’ names and places of birth. Marriage records include the names, ages, and residences of the bride and groom, their places of birth, and their parents’ names, as well as the date and place of marriage. Death records include the name of the decedent, the date and place of death, place of birth, age at death, residence of decedent, and parents’ names and places of birth. In later years the place of burial was also included.

Missing Images
If a name appears in the index but the image of the record is not available, the record is likely to appear in future installments of the database. However, in some cases there will be no image available at all, even when the name appears in the index. There are a few reasons why:

• Some pages of the original records were destroyed and no longer exist (this is most often the case at the beginning and at the end of the volumes).
• An asterisk (*) next to an index entry indicates that the record is in the volumes of amended records. [Original amended record books and post-1910 records are kept at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Public Records. Amended records from 1841 to 1910 are available on microfilm at the Massachusetts Archives.]
• The original index contains some errors. If we could not verify a name, we did not make the image available.

Remember that vital records were originally kept at the town level and a copy was sent to the state. Records that were destroyed or missing in the state's copy are likely to still exist in the town's original. Write the clerk of the town where the event occurred. The addresses of town clerks of Massachusetts are found here. Additionally, most town records from 1841 up to the late 1800s are available on Family History Library microfilm.

From 1841 to 1849 vital statistics were recorded from May 1 of a given year to April 30 of the next year. After 1850 the statistics were recorded from January to December.