Vital records,
as their name suggests, are connected with central life
events: birth, marriage, and death. Maintained by civil
authorities, they are prime sources of genealogical
information; but, unfortunately, official vital records are
available only for relatively recent periods. These records,
despite their recent creation in the United States, are
critically important in genealogical research, often
supplying details on family members well back into the
nineteenth century.
The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy,
by Loretto Szucs and Sandra Luebking.
Division of Vital Records
Rhode Island Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill, Room 101
Providence, RI 02908-5097
State office keeps birth and marriage
records for 100 years and keeps death records for 50 years. For earlier
records, write to the city/town clerk where the event occurred or to the
Rhode Island State Archives, 337Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903.
Additional copies of the same record ordered at the same time are$10.00
each.
Money order should be made payable to General Treasurer, State
of Rhode Island. To verify current fees, the telephone number is (401)
277-2811. This will be a recorded message.
Ancestry.com -
Rhode Island Births, 1636-1930 Rhode
Island Marriages, 1636-1930 - This collection
contains records from the following locations:
Providence Births 1636-1920, Providence Marriages 1851-1920, Providence
Deaths 1636-1930, Bristol County - Barrington, Bristol, and Warren, Kent
County - Coventry, East Greenwich, Warwick, and West Greenwich, Washington
County - Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, North Kingstown, Richmond, South
Kingstown, and Westerly.
