West Virginia Vital Research Records Project

1 West Virginia Vital Research Records Project Online Searchable Database and Digital Images of Selected Birth, Death and Marriage Records The West Virginia Vital Research Records Project Vital Registration office. Currently both state is a collaborative venture between the West and county death Records are withheld 50 years Virginia State Archives and the Genealogical from date of issuance. State death certificates Society of Utah (GSU) to place online via the for individuals from all 55 counties dating from West Virginia Archives and History Web site 1917 through 1964 are available online through selected West Virginia county birth, death this Project .

2 Additional state death certificates and marriage Records , and selected statewide will be added in a batch once a year (usually death Records in a viewable, downloadable and January 1) as all the certificates for a given year searchable format accessible at http://www. pass the 50-year mark of issuance. For example While the majority of the in 2016, the state death certificates for 1965 will eligible Records are now in the database, the be added to the database. Project is on-going, with more Records being Six counties were included in the initial added when possible and the system undergoing database for birth, death and marriage Records : refinement as needed.

3 In Virginia /West Virginia , Calhoun, Gilmer, Hardy, Harrison, Mineral and births and deaths were first reported to the Pendleton. For these six counties, as for all the counties in 1853, while marriages were recorded other 49, marriage and death Records are included in the counties from the inception of each county up to the last record microfilmed for that county (see West Virginia Counties chart in our brochure by GSU: Calhoun, Gilmer, and Mineral through or online at 1969; Hardy, Harrison and Pendleton through for formation dates). 1970. For these six counties birth Records may All three types of Records are still reported to include up to 1938, with Records 75 years or county clerks today.

4 In 1917, the West Virginia older at the time of selection posted online. Dept. of Health Vital Registration office began Due to a change in the selection parameters collecting the county reports of births and since the Records of the initial six counties were deaths and issuing official state birth and death posted, subsequent counties added include only certificates from that year through the present, births recorded in those counties more than 100. as well as creating delayed birth Records by years ago, meaning in 2015 only births for 1853. affidavit. Additionally, the state issues copies of through 1914 are available, with additional births marriage applications from 1964 to the present, in one year batches to be added sometime after available through the Vital Registration office.

5 All the Records for that year pass the 100-year Please note that divorce Records are available mark, usually the number of the year recorded only from the appropriate circuit court clerk, plus 101 years. For example, 1915 birth Records and are not available from county court clerks, will be available in 2016. The addition of state the Vital Registration office or the West Virginia birth certificates and of state delayed birth Archives and History Library. certificates to the database is not anticipated, The death Records made available online in although some delayed birth Records may show the Vital Research Records database come from up in the regular county birth Records .

6 Two sources: county Records as recorded on The Records in the database are not fully microfilm by the GSU largely from 1967 to 1970, transcribed and are searchable only by the and statewide death certificates as selected for information requested in the search boxes for release by the West Virginia Dept. of Health each type of record. The Detail pages were set up to transcribe most of the record, but in the original Records , only errors made in the once the tasks of indexing and transcription transcription and indexing process. To correct were underway, GSU found full transcription errors in the original information recorded to be far too complicated and time-consuming, by a county clerk or by the Dept.

7 Of Health, so while earlier entries in the database include researchers must contact the relevant agency. more details, most of the subsequent Records To report transcription errors, indexing errors have basic information with explanatory notes or broken links, send an e-mail identifying the where applicable. The county record images are problem to Due to staff time double-paged, as they were microfilmed, so if the limitations, please do not telephone Archives record you want is not visible on the first page and History with questions about Vital Research shown on the screen, scroll right or left to the Records , and please do not make Research adjacent page to find your record.

8 Some of the requests to the WVVRR e-mail address. For certificate-like marriage Records were recorded instance, if a researcher does not find a record as two to a page and filmed two pages at a time, expected, and would like the staff of the Archives so scrolling up and down, left and right, may be to conduct further Research to locate that necessary to locate a record. Records , or a substitute source such as a census Regarding West Virginia state death record or an obituary, a written Research request certificates, a group of 1920 death certificates, letter is required. Research requests must be #4501 through #5000, are not available.

9 Sent in writing by regular mail, with the proper Sometime after the deaths for 1920 were fee enclosed, to the West Virginia Archives and indexed, but before the record books themselves History Library (address and details posted were microfilmed and transferred to the State at Archives, that certificate book was lost. The ). The West Virginia State Archives following information appears in the Vital can not provide certified copies of any of these Registration index: name, date of death, county of Records . For certified copies of Records , most death, and original certificate number. Although often needed for legal purposes, contact the the Dept.

10 Of Health and the State Archives do not issuing agency, either the county clerk or the have copies of these particular death certificates, West Virginia Dept. of Health Vital Registration the relevant county courthouses should be able Office, (304) 558-9100, online at http://www. to provide county death Records for them, and the county Records are included in WVVRR. The We are aware that the images are over-sized Archives and History Library has the county and that a user must scroll up and down, left Records on microfilm for the use of its patrons, and right, to view the entire record. Also, many and also can provide copies by mail in response of the two-page record images do not print in to mailed Research requests that enclose the a legible size.