1. Date of birth
 
2. Name of child
 
3. Sex
 
4. Condition
 
5. Place of birth
 
6. Name of father or owner of child
 

Birth Register
from Scott County, Kentucky
7. Maiden name of mother
 
8. Color of child
 
9. Residence of parent
 

Birth Registers


 
Birth registers began appearing in courthouses in the mid-1850's.
Registers like this one included more detailed information about the child and its parents than earlier records.
Birth registers rarely give the name of an infant slave and list the slave owner's name in place of the parents. If you know a former slave's birth date, you may be able to identify his or her former owner and look for plantation records for more information.
The letter "L" - in the Condition column - indicates a live birth.

As you can see in the example above, some county clerks didn't fill in all the blanks in their registers. Don't write to the clerk for more information, what you see is what you get in these old registers. You will have to search other records to find the missing details!

Other birth registers may list other information, such as the mother's full name, the age and birthplace of each parent, and the family's religion.

© Palladium Interactive, Inc. 1997.
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