Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, and Obituaries

Obituaries, birth notices, engagement announcement, marriage announcements, and other newspaper articles and notices can provide a wealth of genealogical information. Such notices can provide dates and places of birth, immigration, death and burial, name of relatives, and occupations, as well as other useful information. Unfortunately, these notices can be difficult and expensive to find on your own.

If you been having difficulty locating an obituary, or if you don't know where to look (or if you don't want to pay the relatively high fees for access to multiple historical databases), then let Ancestors & Cousins do the work for you!

With subscriptions to numerous databases, Ancestors & Cousins can search thousands of publications (over 10,000 newspapers) to find mentions of your ancestors, your cousins, or anyone in whom you have an interest.

• $30 – When the day, month, year, and place (city and state) of death are known;
• $40 – When the month, year, and place (city and state) of death are known; or,
• $50 – When only the year and place (city and state) of death is known.

Note: Availability of Canadian obituaries and other newspaper notices are more limited.

Ask about non-New York City birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Vital records can provide a wealth of information aside from the obvious; date and place of birth, marriage and death.

• Birth records can provide the address at which the parents lived at the time of the birth, the mother’s maiden name, and the birth order of the child. They can even identify the number of previous children who are still living.
• Marriage records can identify the place of marriage, the wife’s maiden name, the addresses of the bride and groom, the number of previous marriages, if any, and sometimes the specific place of birth (such as the name of the county or town, rather than just the name of the country). Also, the witnesses and the person officiating at the wedding can also provide valuable clues about your ancestors and their families.
• Death records can provide a cause of death, the place of residence at the time of the death, the name of the spouse, mother’s maiden name, place of interment, place of birth, and much more. Frequently, the name, address, and relationship to the decedent of the informant can also provide valuable information about the family.

New York City certificates of birth, marriage licenses, certificates of marriage, and certificates of death - Record Report.

If you are unsure which of the multiple possible record(s) you really need, and if you don't want to pay to order all of them, consider a Record Report. This report will provide a description of the details birth, marriage, and death records. Information can include the identification of the names of parents, maiden names, dates and places of birth, residence, or death, etc. It can be very useful to exclude likely candidates from further research. The Report can potentially satisfy your requirement for the records, or determine which records/individuals really do or do not pertain to your research.

• $15 for the 1^st record, $10 for the 2^nd, and $5 for each subsequent records (per request/Report).

New York City Marriage Records after 1949, but still older than 50 years from today's date:

Ancestors & Cousins can obtain New York City marriage records for marriages after 1937, but that are still older than 50 years from today's date. For these records, please send your inquiry directly to Ancestors & Cousins. For marriage records from before 1950, please see below.

New York City birth certificates, marriage licenses, marriage certificates, and death certificates - Certified copy plus digital image (digital image usually available within the week):

• $16.50 – When year, county/borough, and certificate number are known.
  • If certificate number is not known, add $1.75 for each additional year or borough searched.

You can also order these records directly from the New York City Municipal Archives, but you will find that Ancestors & Cousins is significantly faster, AND less expensive. Order from either Ancestors & Cousins OR from the New York City Municipal Archives at this link.

Pre-consolidation records for Queens exist for 1847-1849 and 1881-1897. Records for Long Island City exist for 1871-1897. All pre-consolidation birth records for Queens are in ledger format.

Birth Records for New York City prior to 1866 are in ledger format.

Note:

All prices in US Dollars (USD).

Where applicable, prices include shipping to addresses in the United States. Outside the United States, additional shipping fees may apply.

When the certificate number is not known:

• For birth certificates, the date of birth and name of both parents is required;
• For marriages certificates, the full names of both parties are required, or the name of one party and that party’s parents are required to in order to ensure the correct certificate; and,
• For death certificates, the following information will help to ensure the correct certificate has been identified: full name, names of parents, name of spouse, place of residence, place of death, occupation, marital status (i.e., single, married, widowed, divorced).