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Indexes to the Civil Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages From the beginning of compulsory registration master indexes of the entries in the birth, death and marriage registers were created for the whole of Ireland. Up until 1922 these indexes were held at the Registrar-General's Office in Dublin in bound volumes - red books for the birth indexes, green books for the marriage indexes and black books for the death indexes. The dates covered by each of the indexes were as follows:
The indexes to civil marriages 1845-63 are handwritten, but thereafter all indexes are printed. From 1864 to 1877 indexes for births, marriages and deaths consist of a single yearly volume covering the whole of Ireland. From 1878 the annual indexes are arranged on a quarterly basis. In each index the surnames will be arranged alphabetically, followed by the first names. The name of the superintendent registrar’s district is also given, followed by the volume number and page number of the register. Note that the local registration district is not given. A significant proportion of births, deaths and marriages, were simply not registered at the time of the event. Later, when individuals required a certificate for official purposes, it became necessary to register the event. The index references for these late registrations are included in the volume for the year in which the event took place. For example the index reference for someone who was born in 1882, but whose birth was not registered until 1904, will be found in the birth index for 1882 listed separately at the back of the volume along with any other late birth registrations relating to that year. The same procedure applies to the late registration of deaths. The indexing of the late registration of a marriage is different. It is written in hand at the relevant point in the main body of the index. Copyright 2009 W. Macafee. |